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Nora Webster – A Novel that Doesn’t Follow the Rules – Or Does It?

by Jean Murray Leave a Comment

Nora Webster, a novel by Colm Toibin, doesn’t seem to follow the rules for novels. But, as the NY Times Book Review notes, this is a “deceptively quiet drama” that drew me in and forced me to keep reading to the end. In my recent reincarnation as a budding novelist, I have found myself analyzing other novels to see if they follow the path set by strict constructionists like K.M. Weiland and Larry Brooks.

If, at the surface, this novel is just “about” the life of a 40-something woman living in Ireland in the 1960’s going through the first years after the death of her husband, and not about some heroic journey or struggle, why did I like it so much and why did it keep me reading?

1. Nora Webster (the character) is appealing. I sympathized with her plight and wondered how I would respond to the death of a spouse. After the funeral, she must deal with nosy neighbors who come unannounced to offer sympathy but really to have someone to gossip about.

Nora also must deal with friends and relatives (including her own children), who want to give her advice or criticize her decisions. Nora seems to be suggestible, making decisions without much thought. She is convinced by relatives to sell the family’s summer home. Although initially, she doesn’t sound convinced, she makes an instant decision when she visits the home and realizes it will provide her with much-needed income.

Nora is also dealing with the memory of her husband, who, she admits, was liked by everyone. Her family liked him more than her, and she must figure out new relationships with these people.

The NY Times book reviewer called her “icy” and says she is “distant and sealed off,” even with her children. This writer obviously has never had a spouse or loved one die. I felt she was in shock and dealing with her grief, which left little room for her children.

Nora is forced to take a job after she had loved being at home and married. Her job situation sounded pretty awful, and she again gets swept along in events without much thought. I thought a number of times as I was reading this about the advice often given to the bereaved, “Don’t make any big decisions for a year after a loss.”

Nora’s story ends three years later when she seems finally to be coming out into the light after the darkness of her grief.

2. Nora’s story is interesting

Ever since I read Larry Brooks’ books (Story Engineering and Story Physics), I’ve tried to analyze novels for their structure. Every novel focused on a main character should have some kind of “hero’s journey,” either external or internal. In an internal struggle situation such as this book, the character should show progress toward some kind of realization.

Nora’s struggle is quieter, as she tries to move forward day by day, dealing with family situations and work situations and financial situations. Her struggle did keep me reading, to find out what was going to happen to her and whether she was going to get her life together and become independent, if not entirely happy.

A novel should also have high points, “pivot points” as Larry Brooks calls them, at defined points throughout the novel. In the case of Nora Roberts (the character) the high points are not readily apparent. So I looked at the book and tried to find the 1st pivot point (at 25%) and the midpoint (at 50%) to see if the story structure was apparent.

The 1st pivot point comes as Nora and her sons visit her sister and her family. Nora asserts her independence by not going on the family outing and increasing the heat in the fireplace. It sounds like a small thing, but it’s a victory of sorts for Nora, who never has been assertive.

At the midpoint, Nora goes to a meeting of workers and votes for a union, without consulting anyone or thinking it over. It seems she is again asserting herself, making her own decisions, when in the past she would have asked the opinion of her husband and others. This decision ends up with some serious repercussions for Nora, as her employers find out about the union and are very upset.

As I said, there’s nothing terribly mysterious or suspenseful in this story. No dramatic ending, either. It’s just the quiet story of a woman. I think that’s why the author chose the name of the book, and why he refrained from another title.

So, can a quiet book that doesn’t have any particular drama make readers want to keep reading? Yes. Even though I recognized that Nora Webster wasn’t going to be plot driven, I was drawn into Nora’s life and wanted to know that she would survive, become stronger, and make a better life for herself.

Sometimes the exception is just an exception.

 

Read my Goodreads review of Nora Webster.

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: book review, Colm Toibin, K.M. Weiland, Larry Brooks, Nora Webster, NY Times Book Review, story structure

Plotting My Novel – A Faint Glimmer of Light at the End of the Tunnel

by Jean Murray Leave a Comment

Plotting a novel is, I’m finding, a tremendously difficult task. Having help with this process is essential.Light at the end of Tunnel

I finished the first draft of my novel at the end of August, put it aside for a couple of weeks, then read through it. I knew it wasn’t working; I wasn’t compelled to keep reading, so I knew my readers wouldn’t be.

Then, I found a great resource that has given me a little glimmer of the light at the end of the long dark tunnel of plotting: It’s Storyfix, by Larry Brooks.

I paid $150 and received an outline with questions from Larry about the specific elements of my plot and characters, the protagonist and antagonist, the premise and dramatic concept. I also submitted a step-by-step outline of the book. Larry replied with detailed comments about what was good about the elements of my plot (not much) and what wasn’t going to work. He did this in the context of what would get readers invested in my story and rooting for my hero. I agreed with his analysis; I knew there were major problems with my plot but I couldn’t see them.

Now I’m in the process of working on my second draft, making my book more intense, making my protagonist more heroic, making the reader not want to put the book down. Sure I have a lot more issues to work through, but I can see a glimmer of light at the end of the plot tunnel and I know that there will be more light as I move forward.

You will probably say that I could have received this advice free, from a writing group, but I don’t believe that. First, I am sure that you get what you pay for. Larry is a professional. He does this all the time, and I paid him, so I expect something good. He delivered.

Second, other writers have an agenda, hidden or obvious, and they have personal reactions, not professional ones. They also don’t have the experience with plotting (maybe it’s why they haven’t been published yet!). I would rather pay one professional for advice than get it from a bunch of amateurs who may or may not know what they’re doing. Would you get a bunch of your friends together and ask for their advice on your psychological or medical problems?

If this sounds like a recommendation for Storyfix, it is, but only in part. My larger purpose in writing this is to encourage new fiction writers to get some professional advice, particularly on plotting. If you are serious about getting published, you must get advice in the developmental stage of your book.

This isn’t an editor I’m talking about; an editor looks at your book as it is closer to being completed, to help you tweak it. At this stage, you are so invested in the plot that it will be difficult for you to start from scratch or to take criticism about major plot elements. (I may be misunderstanding the role of an editor; if so, I’m sure I’ll hear from some of them to set me straight.)

At the developmental stage, you could get feedback from a professional writing coach, or a writing class, or paying a professional to give you feedback, as I did. If you want help with plotting, I would suggest getting one-on-one time with a professional, not just a quick read at a conference. Conference reads are good for other things, but they are not in-depth enough to analyze plot.

I also received excellent information on story structure and other elements of the novel from reading Larry’s two books: Story Engineering and Story Physics. If you are the type of writer who needs to work on structure first before you write, you might find these books helpful. (If you are a “seat of the pants” organic writer, you might be frustrated by this type of advice.)

I would be interested to know your thoughts on the subject of professional advice: what helped you, what didn’t? Do you use a writer’s group? If so, how helpful are they?

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: book editors, Larry Brooks, novel writing, storyfix, writer's groups, writing advice

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