Limiting the Unlimited

Anything is possible in a novel.  And I do mean anything.  Perhaps the biggest reason I enjoy writing novels is that, no matter what I imagine, I can do it.

If I want to blow up the universe, I can.  If I want to glue it back together immediately afterward, I can.  If I want to write a scene where two gods sit on a couch and talk about dating, no problem.  Done.  And if I want to make a giant space squid eat the moon, no one can stop me.  

It’s easy, relatively, because I don’t have to worry about budgets or special effects.  And readers are a versatile group.  For the most part, they don’t mind watching a good conversation take place or an exploding universe.  And they don’t mind them in the same book.  Just as long as these elements fit together and are engaging.

That freedom is a beautiful thing.

But it comes at a price.  Just because you can write something, that doesn’t mean you should.  The burden of the novelologist is self-control.  Not just the self-control to make yourself write at a reasonable pace, either.  I’m talking about the ability to take a good idea and not use it.  Movies and television have a natural control mechanism.  They have budget and time constraints that make some things impractical.  The original Star Wars films are infinitely better than the prequels, and it’s not because of the writing (which has never been the movies’ strong point).  It’s because the originals were made with a budget, without CGI.  Just because someone could imagine it that didn’t mean it could appear on screen.  And that made the original Star Wars trilogy stronger versus the prequels, which are overindulgent, so crammed with visuals and ideas that none of them really get the time they deserve to get us invested.

It’s not easy to put aside a cool idea, but sometimes, you have to do just that.  I use Star Wars as a shining example, but really, it’s all over the place.  CGI has allowed movies a freedom that previously only novels and comic books enjoyed.  Personally, I love CGI and that ability to make amazing monsters and worlds right on our screen.  But I hate it too because it can become an obstacle.  So if I might offer a bit of advice from a pro who has had to wrestle with this freedom with every book . . .

Don’t overdo it.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to write a scene where a Neptunian supervillain and his pet giant centipede fight some death cult assassins from Atlantis.  But, really, it makes sense in context.  I promise.