Finding the story

In the introduction to the still-untitled Kani story, the last bullet point in my list of “things I still don’t know” was “whether this is even going somewhere at all.” This is still sort of true, but I have some idea where it might go now, and thought it might be interesting to get into the story construction process, without spoilers.

First off, I don’t have an outline for this story yet. I might create one if things get more developed, but what I have for now is notes. As usual, my notes start out with the “character in a context with a problem” formulation. After I’d written the part that you’ve already seen, I restated what I had in the notes:

• character: Kani
• context: a stop in Mensura on an “funemployment” trip
• problem: Kani’s in an early midlife crisis, no longer satisfied with where they’ve been but not sure where to go next

For a longer story—which is what this feels like—you need a plot arc, with a protagonist and antagonist, and a character (or relationship) arc, with a main character and an impact character. You might also remember that MC/IC are character functions, while protagonist/antagonist are character types—the main character is often the protagonist, but the impact character usually isn’t the antagonist. (Saida & Autumn had two semi-independent stories: In one, Saida was the MC/protagonist and Autumn was the IC; in the other, the roles flipped.)

In this piece, Kani is the main character and protagonist; Jillian is presumably the impact character, but not the antagonist. While stories tend to be more interesting when you throw in an “obstacle” character who isn’t the true antagonist but has different ends than the hero and makes things more difficult for them—the police commissioner in Red Savina was more contagonist than antagonist, for instance—but Jillian probably isn’t that, either.

So who is the antagonist?

Well, one of the beats from Save the Cat! is “Theme Stated,” an early moment where the main character’s problem is tacitly pointed out to them, often by another character. Saida & Autumn doesn’t have this beat explicitly stated, but both Goddess and Red Savina do. In the former, protagonist Russell’s friend Marvin exasperatedly tells him that “life isn’t a giant checklist one proceeds through in order”; in the latter, it’s more subtle, but a drunken party-goer in the first sequence tells Gabrielle that her “legendary” parties must be all she lives for. He means it as a compliment, but it’s also an indictment.

And, I realized Jillian might have inadvertently stated Kani’s problem when she matter-of-factly tells the coyote, “I just believe in going for what I want.”

Thinking about that leads to:

• Kani needs to figure out what they want
• Something needs to stand in the way of what Kani wants

That “something” functions as the antagonist, but there’s a good chance that there’s no conventional villain in this piece. Kani’s internal conflict has to be shown externally for dramatic tension, but that doesn’t mean there needs to be someone they’re literally fighting against.

You might notice I haven’t mentioned giants yet. That’s because the theme, the hook, is going to be stronger if it’s something universal. Saida & Autumn has more of a romance-story structure in that the two protagonists need something that the other one provides: Saida needs to get over her PTSD from her dealings with Kenley, while Autumn needs to give Saida the space to set boundaries in their relationship—and both of them want validation in their own way. In Red Savina, the themes ended up revolving around class struggle and feminism; on a personal level, Gabrielle needed to break out of the roles society was forcing on her.

Kani’s story (obviously) involves their relationship with Jillian. She’s a giantess who believes in going for what she wants and what she wants is Kani, so the coyote might be in for a wild ride. But thematically, that isn’t the kind of problem I want in the “character with a context in a problem” formulation. Kani’s real problem is not knowing what they want.

Or, maybe they don’t admit what they want when it seems flustering or weird or unattainable. And that could lead back to giants. We already know that Jillian thinks the coyote is super cute when they’re flustered, so we can be pretty sure that if she finds whatever buttons Kani has she’ll mash them repeatedly.

Kani’s internal fight between “the squirrel wants to do flustering things to me” and “you fool, let the squirrel do whatever she wants to you” is a kind of conflict, and it could certainly be entertaining. But it’s not enough to drive a character arc.

The story’s central question seems like it’s whether Kani’s “search for the next chapter of their life” leaves them as a resident of Mensura rather than a visitor. If that’s the case, though, there needs to be a plausible reason why the coyote won’t stay in Mensura.

There’s one reason already, though: it’s not what Kani plans. They’re only in town for a few more days, and while a hotel stay can be extended, it can’t be extended indefinitely. (Kani’s time in the tech world gave them a lot of savings, but it’s “I don’t have to work for a year” money, not “buy a mansion on a tropical island” money.) Even so, the stakes have to be higher. Eventually, Kani needs to have something concrete to go for that’s only found in Mensura… and a strong temptation not to go for it.

Now it feels like we’re starting to see a story here!

So far, the story has the shape of a romance; if it keeps it, the central question of whether Kani stays in Mensura is going to be expressed as whether Kani and Jillian get—and stay—together. What that means depends on what both coyote and squirrel are truly looking for. Thematically that needs to be something Kani has trouble admitting, and this is a macrophile story. So there are, you know, possibilities.

About scheduling… For both Red Savina and Saida & Autumn, I scheduled posts pretty religiously to go up at 11 AM Pacific Time every Wednesday. For Kani’s Untitled Story, I’m not making any promises beyond a best effort to deliver a similar number of words per month. Things may get on a schedule, they may not; I don’t know how long this piece is going to end up, either. Due to holiday travel and family demands, December was a struggle in a way I hope January won’t be.

In any case, I hope you all have the best new year possible!