So, as discussed in my last post, I took some “vacation.” Now, in fairness, I did actually travel (fully masked), and I did meet up with friends (outside at all times), but I also got some writing work done. E_________, my hoped-for third novel is now outlined; The Wrong Shape to Fly, my short story for the Baen anthology, Worlds Long Lost, is completely finished; and I have made a big dent in the final revisions for Braking Day. This latter, though, has got me to thinking about that great Steven Spielberg movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spoiler alert! If you have never seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, stop reading this right now, go stream the movie, and come back to this when you’re done. You will thank me later.
Spoilers follow….
In Raiders, Harrison Ford’s intrepid archaeologist/treasure hunter Indiana Jones struggles mightily to prevent evil Nazis from capturing and making use of the lost (but now found) ark of the covenant. It is one of the great adventure movies: high jinks, near death experiences, thrilling escapes, the lot. A non-stop roller-coaster from start to finish.
But here’s the thing. Indiana Jones fails to prevent the Nazis from capturing the ark and attempting to use it. At the movie’s climax, the victorious bad guys open up the ark and discover that the ark doesn’t care for Nazis at all. The contents of the sacred chest emerge, take one look at the fascists in the room and kill them all. End of story. If Indiana Jones had stayed at home drunk out of his skull on whisky and tequila, the story would have ended in exactly the same way. Indiana Jones had nothing to do with the outcome.
People who study this sort of thing for a living would say that Indiana Jones lacked agency. Being a simple soul, I find it easier to say he couldn’t get stuff done. Indy killed a few folks, saved a few folks, and got himself pretty banged up. But he was unable, when the chips were down, to stop the bad guys getting what they wanted. He couldn’t affect the outcome.
Wrestling as I am with the Braking Day edits, I find myself confronted with a distant cousin of the Raiders’ plot problem. I could have my bad guy create a situation which results in the desired ending for the book. Or I could have my good guy maneuver the bad guy into that same situation. The former would be easier to write, with snappy dialog and some easily achieved tension. But it would also deprive my good guy of his ability to affect the outcome of the novel. The novel’s ending would be brought about by someone other than the hero. The wrong person would have gotten stuff done. As I am by no stretch of the imagination a Steven Spielberg, I don’t think I can get away with that.
Get me Rewrite! Indy kills the Nazis! Saves the Ark all by himself! It’s a wrap!