Are you worried you’re wasting your time on your work-in-progress? What to consider when you’re not sure if you should keep going and how one sci-fi author can strengthen the narrative in her novel.

WBF Author Feedback Should You Finish Your Novel.png

May’s author is Karen Burkey. She’s writing a science fiction and romance novel that is the first book in a trilogy. Karen has written fan fiction for a long time. This is her first original novel.

Here’s how she describes her story:

My logline is: Catapulted to the other side of the universe, a brilliant, idealistic scientist must survive long enough to find her way home.

Brief synopsis: An overpopulated Earth is in desperate need of more space and food. Samantha Reynolds is heading to Mars to oversee a project that will provide both, but her family, all too familiar with Mars’ harsh environment, doesn’t want her to go. Their fears seem justified when Sam wakes from cryosleep floating in space amongst the wreckage of her shuttle near an alien planet. Meanwhile, following a collision, Marek Ennes and crew rescue the survivors at the expense of a lucrative job. Marek trades the salvage from the collision for supplies, which inadvertently cripples Sam’s ability to search for Earth. Sam and the other two survivors join the freighter’s crew, learning all they can of their new situation as they search for a way home, even as Sam struggles with her attraction to Marek, an alien. When Marek’s foster brother, Gethin Prothero, arrives on the scene, escalating their sibling rivalry to all-out war, Sam is caught in between. Although she has found a possible route back to Earth, she chooses to stay to save Marek’s life.

In terms of what she’d like help with, Karen says:

I’d like to know the story is worth finishing and I’m not just wasting my time.

A lot of authors ask me if I think their story is worth finishing and I’d like to address that question, before talking about the specific parts of the story that Karen wanted feedback on.

Should you finish this novel?

Whether or not *you* should finish a novel isn’t a question you want an editor to answer for you. There are lots of reasons to finish a novel and lots of reasons to quit that have nothing to do with the actual story that you’re writing. You can break down those reasons into five categories: milestone vs. non-milestone project, your non-writing life, your writing goals, and the story itself.

First, does completing this manuscript help you hit a major milestone? If this is your first novel, or your first original novel, or your first in a new genre, the mere act of completing a manuscript can be a confidence booster. This is especially true if you have doubt about your ability to complete the manuscript. If you complete this one, then you know you *can* do it and you can just move on to improving with the next one. If this novel will help you hit a milestone, finishing it is a good idea.

Second, are you enjoying working on this manuscript? Not every moment that you spend working on a book will be enjoyable. But if you’re hating every step of the project, then maybe it’s time to give this one up and work on something you’re more excited about.

Third, does working on a novel make sense with everything else that’s happening in your life right now? Novels take a lot of time and effort to write. If you’re in the middle of a big life-changing event like a career change, getting married or divorced, becoming a parent, dealing with an illness, or caring for a sick loved one, you may not have the creative energy to put into a novel right now. It is ok to pause or abandon a project, if your non-writing life is nuts right now. Big life changes suck up a lot of your time and a novel may seem like one more extra thing to manage.

It is also ok to keep working on your novel amid big life changes. If you’ve already got an established writing habit, writing may be one part of your life that you hold on to because it helps you feel sane or hopeful amidst uncertainty. When you’ve got huge things going on in your non-writing life, pay special attention to your feelings about writing. Is it something that is helping you cope? Then keep going. If it’s something that feels like a burden, then stop. You can always pick it back again later.

Fourth, does this novel help you achieve your specific writing goals? Maybe your main goal is to self-publish and sell a lot of copies because you need your fiction to make money. Maybe you’re hoping that this book will help you get an agent and a traditional publishing deal. Maybe you’re writing for fun or you just want to write the best damn book possible and see what happens.

Obviously, if your goal is to make money and you’re working on something that isn’t marketable, then you should probably drop this project for something more likely to sell. If you’re writing for fun and your novel makes you want to poke your eyes out, it may be time to find another project. Goals often change over the course of a big project, so from time-to-time it’s good to reassess that the project still makes sense for what you want from your writing now.

Now that we’ve considered all the non-story-related reasons to quit or finish a novel, let’s move on to the big one. “Should I finish this novel” can also be another way to ask, “Will readers like this novel?” In Karen’s case, I suspect this is what she meant, because she said she’s concerned about:

Making sure the balance between quiet moments and action is good and that the thread of emotion through the story is compelling. Another challenge is making sure the narrative doesn’t just wander around aimlessly.

In other words, is this a novel that is going to make readers care about the characters and feel invested in what happens to them? There are two parts to this answer. First, which readers does Karen want? That’s important because different groups of readers have different expectations. Second, how can she use those reader’s expectations to tighten up the narrative in her novel.

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Crafting a tight narrative

Karen describes her book as a science fiction and romance novel, so she might want readers who think of themselves as romance readers first, or those who think of themselves as science fiction readers first. She’s got two romantic heroes stuck in a challenging situation where their needs and desires are in conflict. That’s absolutely necessary for a romance readers will love. She’s also got a science fiction action plot with life and death stakes. Science fiction readers love life and death stakes with the possibility of a space war.

However, right now the logline and synopsis are giving mixed messages about whether the romance plot or the action plot is the priority. The logline suggests an action plot, because it’s focused on getting back home to Earth. There’s no mention of romance. The synopsis has a romance ending, but the romantic relationship isn’t the focus of most of the paragraph.

If Karen wants to have romance readers to be her novel’s audience, the relationship should be the priority in the logline, the synopsis, and the plot. If she’d prefer science fiction readers, the action plot should be the focus. We talked about the most common plot types in fantasy and science fiction novels in last month’s post: action, investigation, or romance. Everything we discussed last month about deciding which plot type is the priority also applies to this month’s novel. Since we covered how to figure out which plot is the priority last time, this month, I’d like to talk about how to tighten up an action or a romance arc plot.

When the main plot is an action plot, the events of the plot will be determined by the villain’s plan. That means that the villain wants something that it takes the entire book to get, and the heroes become an obstacle (or a means) to getting the thing that they want. The villain’s plan also creates victims—characters who will be harmed if the villain succeeds in their plan. You strengthen an action plot by giving the villain a goal with a clear endpoint and a step-by-step plan for achieving that goal.

In a romance plot, the events of the plot are determined by the progression of the relationship between the romantic heroes. They may also be fighting a villain, but the villain isn’t the only thing keeping the heroes apart. Each hero has multiple reasons for NOT making a commitment to the other hero. These include external reasons such as trying to get home to another planet, societal rules that forbid interspecies relationships, threats to survival like a lack of food, oxygen, or being tracked by a villain who’s out to kill you or kidnap your sweetheart. Strong romances have heroes who also have internal reasons for resisting a relationship such as not believing that romance is worth the time, believing they don’t deserve love because it’s their fault someone got hurt or died in the past, or not trusting their own judgment about who would make a good romantic partner, because their last partner started out nice, but then turned abusive. It takes the entire book to overcome all the reasons for their resistance.

Tightening up Karen’s plot

I think both the action and the romance arcs in Karen’s book would be strengthened if she gets more clear on the action plot (or subplot) and the villain. Here’s what Karen says about this story’s villain:

Gethin Prothero became the leader of the Prothero clan and their fleet of ships at the tender age of 21. His first act was to exile his foster brother, Marek, the result of long-festering jealousy and the mistaken belief that Marek caused his father’s death. In the 10 years since, he’s grown the reputation of the clan in both business and military circles and is trying to become an important player in Rethelian politics, but Marek inadvertently ruins his chances, changing jealousy in check to hatred and a strong desire to destroy the thorn in his side. Gethin is smart and not a bad leader, but he’s also vengeful and holds a grudge like nobody’s business.

It’s great that Gethin has a close relationship to one of the heroes. Everybody’s got a difficult relative. Karen could make Gethin seem more menacing if he had a goal with a clear endpoint that will harm someone. As a reader, I wouldn’t be able to tell you if Gethin achieved his goal of “become an important player in Rethelian politics” or if he failed. I’m also not super worried about Gethin getting what he wants because it only seems to hurt Marek. Political maneuvering almost always creates winners and losers, so I’d like to know who is losing if Gethin succeeds.

To make Gethin’s success or failure more obvious to the reader, it would help to give Gethin a clear endpoint, such as getting appointed or elected to a specific position like Governor, Senator, or Council Member or perhaps he’s negotiating a trade agreement that has favorable terms for his clan, but that would create more enslaved people, or maybe he just wants to humiliate Marek and imprison anyone that has ever helped him during his exile. If readers know who will be harmed if Gethin gets the political position he wants, finalizes the trade agreement, or gets revenge, it’s easier for them to root for the villain’s downfall.

If the action plot is the main plot, saving the victims—those who will be harmed by Gethin’s plan—will become the focus of the Marek and Sam’s efforts. At least, once they discover Gethin’s plan. That would make the romance plot a subplot. This means Sam and Marek’s relationship will make it MORE complicated or risky to rescue the victims. Whether they form a committed relationship by the end of this book doesn’t matter as much as saving the victims.

If the action plot is the subplot, and the romance is the main plot, then saving the victims will become something that threatens the relationship between Sam and Marek. They may disagree about the importance of saving the victims or on the strategy for defeating the villain. Perhaps one of them believes they should sacrifice themselves to save the other victims and the other hero vehemently disagrees. Resolving those differences in opinion is just as important as saving the victims in terms of their ability to have a happy ending.

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Next Steps for Karen

Let’s break down Karen’s next steps into two parts. First, decide which plot is the priority. The romance or the action plot. Second, strengthen whichever plot is the priority.

Here are questions to help determine which plot type is the priority:

Do Sam and Marek form a committed relationship by the end of the novel? (If not, then I strongly advise against using a romance plot as the main plot. Romance readers get very upset when there isn’t a happy ending. They also expect every book in a series to have a happy ending. Usually because each book focuses on a different pair of romantic heroes.)
Are there victims who will suffer if Gethin gets his revenge on Marek, but who can be helped if Marek and Sam are still alive and well? (If not, then you probably don’t have an action plot. Or, since action plots are the most common, you may need to revise your story so there are clear victims.)

Here are questions to help strengthen the action arc whether it is the plot or the subplot:

What does Gethin want and who would be harmed if his plan succeeded? Who are they and why would helping them be important to Marek? To Sam?
If the action plot is the subplot, how do Gethin’s actions threaten Marek and Sam’s relationship? Karen already has plans for Sam to become a bargaining chip against Marek. (This is great!) But does Marek have anything else at the beginning of the story that he would lose if Gethin’s plan comes to fruition? Would Marek become leader of his clan if Gethin died? Would he lose his ship somehow? Would he be forced to come out of exile? Would Marek have a target on *his* back if others weren’t focused on deposing Gethin? Would Marek go to prison for smuggling or for his politics? Choosing one of these options (or coming up with another one) can help strengthen the external reasons that Marek resists Sam and establish who will be harmed by Gethin’s plan.

Here are questions to help strengthen the romance arc, especially if it is the main plot:

For Sam
- She’s got a strong external reason for resisting Marek. She wants to get back home to Earth and also help her crewmates get back to Earth. That’s great!
- She could use stronger internal reasons to resist Marek. Does she have a hard time with trust? Does she believe romantic relationships aren’t worth her time? Does she feel prejudiced against aliens? Does she have a hard time believing her own judgement about who would make a good partner—since she was in a toxic relationship before?
For Marek
- He doesn’t have a strong external reason for resisting Sam. Maybe it’s because he can’t afford to add another person to his crew because they live so close to the edge? (That would mean that he’d always be trying to get Sam and her crew off of his ship as soon as possible.) Or maybe his society has rules against interspecies relationships? (That might mean that having Gethin discover the relationship puts Marek in danger of being enslaved or killed or punished in another way. Marek might go to great lengths to hide or deny the relationship if this is the case.)
- Internally, why does Marek resist? Does he believe he doesn’t deserve love since he thinks he’s responsible for his foster father’s death? Does he know that if he has a relationship with anyone that Gethin (the villain) will try to harm the romantic partner to punish Marek and Marek doesn’t want to endanger anyone else? (This one is both internal and external if Gethin does come after them.) Or something else?

Identifying which plot type is the main plot and which is the subplot can help you craft a tight narrative that will keep readers turning pages. If you want to strengthen an action plot, clarify what the villain wants and what steps they plan to take to get it. If you want to strengthen a romance plot, make sure you’ve got strong internal and external reasons to keep the romantic heroes apart until they're ready for a happy ending.

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