Must characters interact? - Page 2

tko · 06-24-2012, 01:02 AM

Anything done well, will work. No rules.

But novels are driven by conflict. And the main source of conflict, major and minor, is person against person. So, each of your separate characters will need a foil, a source of conflict. Which will expand your cast.

Sure, you can have long distance conflict. In Sci Fi you can have two spacecraft captains engaged in a battle of wits, light year apart. Well done, that's fun. But they still know of each other. It's not impersonal. They're interacting, just long distance through the magic of technology.

Typically they do meet. Look at Star Trek. At the end the scrip writers resort to hand to hand, teeth to teeth combat.

So, sure, it can be done. But it may take a little more skill to pull off. Each character might need his own little world building, his own supporting cast.

StillHere · 06-24-2012, 03:52 AM

It sounds interesting to me... I enjoy seeing multiple points of view. But as I was reading, I would probably be expecting them all to come together (or at least share some kind of common experience, etc.) by the end. Otherwise it might just come off as a bunch of short stories strung together, rather than one cohesive novel.

06-24-2012, 01:02 AM	#26
tko be as tough as you want Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,426	here's the problem I see Anything done well, will work. No rules. But novels are driven by conflict. And the main source of conflict, major and minor, is person against person. So, each of your separate characters will need a foil, a source of conflict. Which will expand your cast. Sure, you can have long distance conflict. In Sci Fi you can have two spacecraft captains engaged in a battle of wits, light year apart. Well done, that's fun. But they still know of each other. It's not impersonal. They're interacting, just long distance through the magic of technology. Typically they do meet. Look at Star Trek. At the end the scrip writers resort to hand to hand, teeth to teeth combat. So, sure, it can be done. But it may take a little more skill to pull off. Each character might need his own little world building, his own supporting cast.

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06-24-2012, 03:52 AM	#27
StillHere What's another word for thesaurus? Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Boston area Posts: 45	It sounds interesting to me... I enjoy seeing multiple points of view. But as I was reading, I would probably be expecting them all to come together (or at least share some kind of common experience, etc.) by the end. Otherwise it might just come off as a bunch of short stories strung together, rather than one cohesive novel.