I’ve received many inquiries regarding the thoughts and processes that went into the creation of my first novel, Trials of Power (Forces of Power Book 1), so I figured I’d take this time to shed some light on the steps I took to create Trials of Power. Primarily, I’ll cover story development, continuity, and character creation. This is by no means a perfect guide on how to create the perfect novel, rather a recount of my personal experience as a writer and author, and how I went about tackling the daunting task of creating a fantasy novel.
Creating the Story
Trials of Power is the first installment of my new Forces of Power series, and ever since the beginning I’ve planned this series as a trilogy. I grew up loving so many different fantasy/sci-fi trilogies that I concluded it would be the utmost honor and privilege if I could give back to the fantasy community by creating an epic trilogy of my own.
This entire trilogy began with a single idea, one that had been percolating in my mind for quite some time. I wondered, “What would our world be like if we were not driven by machines and technology, but by nature.” It was only ever an afterthought, a quick five-second shower pondering after a long day. But on January 11th, 2017, this thought finally turned into an idea for a story–one that will become the series-ending reveal at the conclusion of Forces of Power book 3. And no, you’ll just have to wait with everyone else to find out what that idea is.
Now that I had the idea for the ending of the trilogy, I started building the story backwards: what major events needed to take place, who needed to catalyze each major event, whose decisions would ultimately lead the characters to discovering the major reveal, and so on.
Then it was time for the fun fantasy spin. Since this novel was based on nature, I decided to blend the fantasy element of special powers with the eight defined forces of nature to create the eight power types present in the novel (I will do a later post about the powers in more detail). These powers were then used to help me create the world of Physos, specifically, how this world would look if all its people wielded special powers in moderation. How do they build their houses and cities? How do they perform daily tasks? What sort of political hierarchy does having these powers establish?
It was important to me that everyone in the novel have access to these powers, especially since the superhero trope (one or few individual(s) with extraordinary power) has been done a hundred times over. These powers aren’t meant to be superhuman, or allow these characters to perform superhuman acts. Instead, they were created to be a part of their human nature, a small blessing bestowed upon the people of Physos to supplement the lives they’re already living.
As for a main character, I wanted to try for something fresh, a twist on a common trope that many wouldn’t see coming. Enter Dane Willows.
Creating the Characters
Warning: I’m about to spoil the first few chapters of Trials of Power in the following section. If you do not wish to have your precious thoughts spoiled, please stop right now, take your sorry self over to Amazon.com and get reading Trials of Power! It’s fine, I’ve got nowhere to be. I’ll wait.
Oh, you kept reading? Well, if you’ve read this far, you’ve either read book 1 already (give yourself a pat on the back, you vastly intelligent human), or you’re one of those masochistic lunatics who enjoys forever starving yourself of the pleasure of reading a great plot twist for the first time.
So clearly, as an introverted human with little motive for vocally expressing my deepest thoughts, I decided to base the main character of this novel off my own life experience. Surprise. At the time I began writing this novel, I didn’t really see a clear future for myself. I had no idea where I fit in the world. All around me, I would see friends achieving their dreams, following their path of life with clear direction, all while I struggled to find my next steps. In my eyes, they had found their power–their calling–while I was left powerless in my own life. That was the basis for Dane’s character creation.
I wanted to create a main character whose journey started with failure, and the events following would be his path to self-redemption. The Trials of Power provided the perfect outlet for this failure–a series of tests performed in front of thousands that brought out the power already inside you. Failing the Trials was simply unheard of. Everyone found their power in the Trials, then went on whatever path their power led them on. Naturally, Dane had to fail it, creating the basis for his entire character arc.
Now that I had Dane flushed out, he needed a supporting cast. And the next character that needed to exist was the admirable Cayde Jerwood. Despite what you might think of him (from feedback, you either love him or hate him, there’s no in-between), Cayde’s character was created to be the person Dane wished he could be. Cayde is quite strong with his power, embodies a confidence and calmness Dane aspires to, and, to top it all off, Cayde even has the attention of Quinn Evergleam, Dane’s first love. Oh, the tragic love triangle.
The other supporting characters fell into place with relative ease. I wanted Dane to have a sibling, one who would be with him from the very beginning and be with him for as long as you’re concerned. It was only fitting to create Sage Willows, whose character and personality was derived from my own sister. Then I wanted Dane to have a best friend, someone with whom Dane would always share a connection. Enter Vilik Amaranth. Remember him? Don’t worry, so do I. Vilik fills an important role in the books to come. He’ll be back stronger than ever. Then there’s Leon Cerulis, whom I absolutely adore writing about, who will also fill an important role in books to come.
Finally, there’s Quinn. She was by far the most difficult to write, as I had little experience to draw from for her character creation. But her inclusion was vital. While Dane is at his lowest, it’s Quinn who pulls him from despair and starts him on his journey. She’s the metaphorical fruit on the hanging branch, motivating Dane to push through his struggles and improve his character. And of course, it’s no YA fantasy novel without an aggravating love triangle.
The other supporting characters come and go as they are needed, but each of them was created with a motive in mind. Yes, every character in the trilogy, important or forgettable, has a motive. This is vital. Having a motive is the basis upon which I write each character. While some motives remain hidden to the reader, they explain characters’ actions and dictate their reactions. Assuming I’ve written it correctly, you’ll have no choice but to go back and read the whole trilogy again once you’ve finished it (and once I’ve written it) to see if you can catch all the times a character with a plot-twist motive acted a certain way. This is the needlework that holds the entire plotline together. Speaking of…
Writing a Consistent Story
There is no right way to write a novel. Many people write chapter by chapter then piece them all together. Many write on the fly, creating as they go. I’m a structure and planning kind of guy. I must write from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, or the entire story will implode. It’s just fact. The main plot is already set, but I’ll create other scenes on the fly depending on where the characters take the story. Many of my favorite scenes in Book 1 (namely Leon’s introduction, Dane’s first bout with Cayde, and the entire sequence with Dane and Quinn in Evergleam) came to be because it’s what made sense from how my characters were interacting with one another on their journey.
As far as tracking all these changes, other than storing a seemingly unlimited number of scenes in my head, I opted to create a Google Docs file with all the events so I could search and notate them as needed. I’ll plan each chapter out in a handwritten notebook, actually write the thing, then list the major scenes in the Docs file so I can quickly reference it when I need to check consistency later on. I’ve also created a file for each of the main characters, listing their behaviors, appearance, motives, likes/dislikes, relationships, and any other information I may need to reference later on. This part is particularly difficult to manage, seeing as I often make slight adjustments to their character depending on where scenes take them, so having the information all in one place is pivotal.
Now, regarding long-term consistency (i.e., planning Book 3), this is where I find added value in only plotting the major scenes/twists and leaving sub-plots and filler scenes for in-the-moment creativity. Characters change throughout the story. I don’t know how Dane will react in a certain Book 3 scene. I know the general outcome of his reaction, but his specific reaction will be determined based on the events he has most recently experienced leading up to that scene, combined with the cumulative experiences he has had until that point. This way there is no flaw in continuity from a character stand-point.
In any case, I hope this read was at least a fun look into the general processes I took to originally create Trials of Power. If you’re interested in reading more about my process or other aspects of novel creation, feel free to send me a message on any of my social media pages with other topics! And if you haven’t already, head over to Amazon.com and pick up Trials of Power today!
Until next time,
Ben Crow