In theory, I hate trilogies/series and everything they stand for. Why couldn't the author just make one super thick book so I could read the story in one go? It would be so much easier on me, and I could even build up my biceps from lifting the 20kg novel. Smiles all around, no?
No. I know why trilogies are necessary. Sometimes a story is just too big to fit into one book, and has to be split up. There's a bigger picture building up from the first story, leading on to more chaos and action and awe. But....
Sometimes it's nice just to have it all wrapped up in one go. I get to sit down, dedicate hours of my time to one book and then I'm left with feelings of satisfaction, knowing that everything has been concluded. Then I can move on into a completely different universe and start the process all over again.
With trilogies however, the first book is just a prelude to a grander design. And this frustrates me, because once I've finished it I'm left wanting more, which means getting out and buying the next one (err, by 'going out', I mean 'shopping online'). Then I have to wait even longer for it all to be concluded. Or - even worse - wait a year or more for the bluddy writer to actually finish WRITING the story.
It took me about two weeks of dithering before I decided to buy The Name of the Wind. I was not disappointed with it, either. Although I was quite surprised when it arrived to find that it had over 600 pages. That I hadn't been prepared for. Because of exam revision, I managed to finish reading it in about a month, and was left with a strong desire for more. Especially when I realised that the 600+ page book had only covered a single day in the main character's life.
Don't get me wrong, it's not entirely about a single day. Although it sort of is. The narrative is basically the main character, Kvothe, telling his life story to another character who thinks he's a legend and wants to write it all down. The present day Kvothe seems like an ordinary, humble inn keeper but according to his recollection, in his youth he was a fiery, talented young lad with great powers.
So Kvothe describing his life takes up a whole day in the narrative, except that when he stops it's not because he's finished, oh no! It's because he's too tired to continue. In his description of his life story, he hasn't even reached his twenties yet.
When it ended, I was left so dissatisfied that I remember screaming at my brother "THIS WHOLE BOOK IS ONLY ONE DAY!!" His eyes widened, he said the obligatory "Wow", and then he got over it. I didn't.
I had to wait a few months for the second novel, The Wise Man's Fear, to be released. I don't remember why, but I didn't buy this one and instead checked it out of my local library. This one also covered the span of a day and cut off the past story prematurely, although it exceeded The Name of the Wind in one aspect: it had 999 pages. I finished it within two days.
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| A quote from Master Elodin, one of Kvothe's teachers. |
Yeah, I was hungry for the story. Want to know the best part? I'm STILL waiting for the third novel to be released! Even the title is uncertain at the present moment. Patrick Rothfuss, what are you up to?!
...This rant may have gotten a little out of hand. It must be said that I do enjoy trilogies, despite the negative feelings I've been throwing at them this entire post. I like owning the entire collection, it makes me happy to know I have them all. It's a bit like Pokémon: you want them all but you're not going to use them all at once. Also, it is a nice feeling when I've gotten to the very last page of the last book, and everything has come to a pleasing close. I invested a part of my soul into it, it's only right that I am rewarded with closure.
I found this cartoon of Patrick Rothfuss on the internet while doing some surface-level research for this blog post, and now I feel (semi-)bad:
Another point I could make about trilogies is that sometimes, the first book ends on a note that doesn't prompt the reader to desire more - although this is rare. The story has been wrapped up, and maybe there are some lingering issues that need resolving but they're in the narrative's future. The immediate danger has passed, characters have settled into themselves and it's a merry end to a tumultuous story. My only problem with this is, I can't decide whether or not it's a bad thing.
From a reader's point of view, it's not. But from a writer's point of view, I'm beginning to realise that it might be a risky option that could lose a great deal of readership. Although it could just as easily gain momentum as the series gets bigger. I suppose it's something I will learn about first hand, one day far in the future. But I'm not going to worry about that now, for one simple reason:
"The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind." - The Name of the Wind.
Holy Crap - let's hope I don't leave a comment too similar to an article, BUT!
ReplyDeleteI always used to wonder this myself until I became aware of the "rules". My first ever post on writing was about cliff hangers which is related to sequels, and here was one of the things I learnt when hiring an editor.
"The other hurdle that comes with a long story is abiding by the debut novel word count. There have been some exceptions, I’m sure, but a debut novel over 100,000 words is rare. That means my story has to be halved no matter what as I know the whole thing won’t fit into 70,000 word novel."
Cutting my story and giving it a premature ending was tough because not only was I ending it where it didn't really end, I had to make it a stand alone novel because:
"Even though you have a sequel in mind, no one wants to waste time and money selling an incomplete story by an author no one knows yet. If it doesn’t sell, you could get dropped before your sequel is even considered and any fans who loved your first book will be left waiting for another that just ain’t coming.
*cue crow caw in the distance*"
But I still had to give it a sort of cliff hanger so that I COULD continue should all go well. I discovered what you were talking about in regards to the the half-wrapped-up ending which I know as a "Soft Cliffhanger".
But all in all, the process of wanting to write a 140k novel but having to force it into 70/80k had me abandoning it. My plan? To write something more conventional. Should it sell and I become AWESOME, then I can bring out a 140k novel. For now though, I'm no one, and people don't like wasting pages on no one...
On the other hand, you get authors who write decent stories and then the publishers encourage sequels for money when deep down the author knows the story is finished!