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A Story is a Journey Quest

At a recent writer’s conference one of the participants I met recommended a historical fiction book about Ireland because my historical fiction is set in Ireland from 1968-98.  The book recommended was published in 2010 so I thought it would be a good example of a comparable book in the same genre and historical topic (The Troubles in Ireland) as my book.

I believe that the reader has the right to know what is at stake or what the protagonist must have or die in the first chapter of a novel.  It is the author’s way of setting the hook and enticing the read to turn the page, then another, then another.  As a novice writer the first 10 or so versions of my story started with a kid growing up in Cork, Ireland who goes to college and joins the IRA.  While this information is important to the story, frankly it was boring.  I wanted the reader to trust me that the good stuff was right around the corner.

The book I’m reading that was recommended to me suffers from this problem.  According to my Kindle I’ve read 25% of the book and I don’t have a clue what the protagonist wants.  Worse, the protagonist is changing and developing a real chip on their shoulder, being both unkind and rude to nearly everyone.  The result is I don’t know what the protagonist wants and I’m beginning to dislike the protagonist.  Yet, the writing is often very good but plot and story structure could use some improvement.    

Stories are about journeys that the characters make through life.  We all want something, I want to be a published author and my story, in part,  is about my journey to achieve that goal.  For us to expect readers to buy our books, we must give them a story – a journey – a quest.