Yet another question about plot/structure

[Fresie]

Hi guys,

yes, once again I've written myself into a corner, once again I need your advice.:D

I'm not sure how to plot the story at the moment. As I said before, it's a fictionalised biography of a World War II secret agent. I'd love to make it as realistic as possible, especially as I know the guy's true story. But what's a secret agent's life like? -- it's very fragmentary, he moves from one mission to another. In a novel though -- as I believe -- events should form one quite logical storyline, with events and characters interconnected in some way or other throughout the story.

So I'm facing two choices:

One (the one I don't like very much) is to link all his missions to something big, like he's all over Europe in search for the atomic bomb secret or something. I don't like this route very much, and my advisors have already told me, "Don't make James Bond out of him!" I don't want to, on the contrary, I want this book to be realistic, and things just didn't happen this way in real life.

But the other route is -- a chain of three consequent episodes: he goes to one place/country, does some good deed there, is then sent to another, does something noble there again, then goes to yet another... That's how it happened in real life, and all these deeds have no logical connection whatsoever -- so would they make a good plot? Or, let's put it this way, how can I connect these fragmentary episodes (again, there're three of them) to make one coherent plot? Is it at all possible? What do you think?

Especially as these three adventures only make the middle of the book -- the story starts way before the war (when he gets hired) and ends a long time after, when his profession is already the thing of the past. I have no problem with them, they're nearly finished. But it's this war-time middle that really bothers me.

(I'm making it more of a character-oriented story, to show how the war and his profession change him and other characters. But it'll have a healthy dose of adventure in it.)

Thank you! :)

[Fresie]

As an afterthought -- as it's a character-oriented story, do you think it would work if these three wartime episodes were connected not through the plot as such, but through changes in his character and mentality? With every episode and every good/bad deed he commits (he's a very young man, BTW), he learns a bit more about life, about the war and human nature. He makes friends and enemies --relationships that might backfire later, even after the war (I can manage that). But the three stories themselves won't be connected. Do you think it might work this way?

Thanks again!!

[Nateskate]

I'm not sure how far you are into it?

There's a number of ways to approach it. Instead of focusing entirely on the aspects of his business life, focus on the aspects of his personal life, and how he resolves it.

You can have his personal quest mirror his missions, to find and maintain a stable relationship. Have him conflicted, sort of coming from the secret agent's pursuit of love. Starts out with nothing but cold distant relationships, and accidently he falls in love, either a collegue, which jeapardises his career, or a civilian, one who constantly crosses his path, and eventually he comes to that crossroads between the mission and the love of his life.

Or the family he left behind approach, like a man going into the foriegn legion. Have him running from something in his past. All of these attempts to save the world, and throwing his life into peril are somewhat of a prolonged death wish that he has to resolve. But he finds a link to the past, a child he didn't know he had, who has now come looking for him. A secret agent that can ellude the malicious government but that can't escape his past, or hide from the son. And you can flashback and forth like a chase scene, where the son is slowly piecing together that his father is into espionage. Bring them together in the midst of a mission, where the father is suddenly torn between the final mission and a sudden desire to link with someone else, finding that against his will he is starting to care about someone else.

[Fresie]

I'm not sure how far you are into it?

About halfway through. I had no problems whatsoever with the prewar part, but I've attacked the wartime middle from different angles several times and I'm not satisfied. It's this lack of a common denominator for his three missions that bothers me.

But your advice is marvelous, Nateskate, I'll have to think about everything you said. Funnily enough, he does have a lost son (as did the real-life person)! Thank you so much! <img border=0 src="http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif" />

[Nateskate]

You are welcome. That could be a strong emotional thread, and it because it probably didn't impact your core plot, you could probably puch it into several core places, weaving it in and out. Hope it works out.

[macalicious731]

If your character is changing mentally throughout these episodes, then that's your plot. When I read your first post, I was also thinking the episodes may not be connected together, but perhaps there's still some way you could connect them, for him personally. The characters he meets might relate to other people in his past, etc etc.

[pianoman5]

You probably won't welcome this suggestion, Fresie, since you're half way through, but does it have to be fiction?

If you know your subject well enough, or if he were prepared to spend time with you, it might make a gripping piece of narrative non-fiction. As a market proposition, true stories of fascinating lives are often hot property, whereas spy-based novels are ten a penny.

You quote Twain in your own sig, "Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to be believable", and as if to prove it one more time you've created this dilemma for yourself, of working the truth about a real spy's life - disparate unconnected missions - into a seamless whole that hangs together as good fiction.

I think the term 'fictionalised biography' is an oxymoron. Fiction is lies and biography is truth, albeit sanitised. JMO, but I think it's best to keep the notions separate. If it's fiction think up some whoppers that make a terrific story - or if it's biography tell the truth, the whole truth, thrillingly.

[Writing Again]

What about one adventure one novel?

[Fresie]

Thank you so much guys!

perhaps there's still some way you could connect them, for him personally. The characters he meets might relate to other people in his past, etc etc.

Yes, thank you, I too tend to think it's probably the most natural way to develop the story--this and what Nateskate said, in any case interweaving human stories. That's a very good thought.

You probably won't welcome this suggestion, Fresie, since you're half way through, but does it have to be fiction?

E-e-r... in a way, yes, simply because the person's already dead and he was never willing to talk about those years to begin with (in fact, it's my own father). So I simply don't know enough to write a responsible non-fictional account. Another thing is, I write it mainly to show how people used to think at that time, in which ways their mentality was different, how the war FELT to them, and I think I could do it more effectively in fiction where I can literally transpose the reader (if I'm good enough <img border=0 src="http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/happy.gif" />).

What about one adventure one novel?

Sounds tempting, and I did think about it myself. Theoretically, it could make three books -- the prewar times and the very beginning of the war, the war adventures, and his post-war struggle as he's changed... One thing I'm afraid of, is that the subject is weird enough as it is (I absent-mindedly forgot to mention this time that it's a Soviet secret agent we're talking about) and who would want to buy three books of it? I just don't know. <img border=0 src="http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/frown.gif" />

Thanks a lot! I really need to go and do some thinking... you've given me lots of food for thought!