The 5 part structure of Little J and Roger
The notion of issuing Little J and Roger as an eBook did not enter my mind until after the books were written. I had no idea what an eBook was—other than a user’s manual for a computer program or an electronic component of some kind. E-books were not a part of my experience, otherwise. I remain uncertain how to spell it, even now. The intent had been to publish a printed book, an idea I still fancy. The Diphra PDF versions try to replicate the look and features of a printed book.
Print books, it turns out, have certain rules that must be followed, or else. Submissions won’t even get onto an agent’s or publisher’s desk unless they follow a clearly prescribed list. There are some variations in these “guidelines,” but one is common to all: word count. That is the reason the novel had to be divided into segments. The first draft of Little J was around 190,000 words. If you are an unknown or unpublished writer, the rule for a novel is 75,000 minimum to 125,000 maximum. Once you are established, like Stephen King or Tom Clancy, James Michener or JK Rowling, you can go on and on for as long as you like.
Cutting it down to 125,000 was never an option. Too much essential material would be lost. At first glance, dividing it into two parts seemed to be the solution, especially since the timeframe of the story is two weeks. One week per book. That was easy enough to do. The problem then became how to make each book a complete story and still be a part of the whole—no one likes to read just half of something. New scenes were required, new characters, new sub goals. Soon each part became too long, well over the 125,000 word limit. Another split was required.
The three part version had all sorts of problems. More words were needed in one part, for one thing; transitions were a challenge all their own. Eventually, it was clear that three parts would need to morph again and become four. Where will this end? I asked myself. Soon the four part version became five. Happily, that became the solution; this essay will explain later why five should not have come as a surprise.
The subject of how parts of a literary work inter-connect to make a larger whole is somewhat arcane—it’s one of those subjects to which professors and graduate students give their solemn attention. I’ll not replicate their likely discussion of the subject or paraphrase it here for a number of reasons.
But it is a fact that the issue of structure was given a great deal of attention in the writing of this book. So, for anyone who is interested in that aspect of Little J and Roger, I’ll lay out what I conceive to be the operational organization of the series.
It is a contrived structure, as opposed to being an intuitive spontaneous series of events. It meets two sets of requirements: (1) how to make each separate part an entity that stands by itself, and (2) how, at the same time, to make each part an integral part of a larger story.
I will not spend much time with the first requirement. There are five novels, and each has its own way of achieving a separate identity—that’s five essays. Maybe later there will be a demand or an inner need, but not now.
The second requirement is a different matter entirely.
Lest there be impatience I’ll spell it out here in a simple outline. Then I’ll explain that outline.
Part 1, Barr’s Meadow: Introduction [the Conflict, or “argument,” the Protagonist, the Antagonist, the setting, the subject, theme, the time and place. All these elements must be and are introduced in Part 1.]
Part 2, The Poker Club: Action, Development of the Protagonist. [the elements from Part 1 are all present and developed, but the focus is primarily on the Protagonist.]
Part 3, The Shooting Gallery: Action, Development of the Antagonist, the Turning Point. [the elements from Part 1 remain present and are developed further. The nature of the conflict becomes clarified considerably. It becomes clear which side of the conflict will prevail, eventually. That is called the Turning Point.]
Part 4, Thunder and Lightning: Action; a last best chance for the losing antagonist in Part 3 to reverse the likely outcome; the winning protagonist again remains on top, stronger than before.
Part 5, The Champions: Resolution. [The details are filled in, the loose ends tied together, the reasons why are explained or shown. Surprises are often inserted to keep the suspense going and to make the audience worry about a trick ending.]
Fundamental to this structure is the definition of three elements: The Protagonist and the Antagonist, are two sides in a Conflict, or “argument.” These are not people or characters. They are abstractions, concepts. They are what motivates and directs the characters, not the characters themselves. At some point in the story any given character could be represented as being “good,” or “bad.” They can be under the influence of the Protagonist at one time, and represent the Antagonist at another time. Several characters in Little J and Roger do just that, in fact.
So here is how these elements are employed in Little J and Roger: The Conflict, or question to argue, is: Can true love prevail? Even if there are dozens of good reasons why it shouldn’t, or can’t because of the forces arrayed against it?
To argue the case we have the Protagonist side that says ‘yes it can’, and the Antagonist side that says ‘no way’. They are given a place to argue the question: a novel.
The love story selected is out of the ordinary because of two subtexts: same sex romance, and minor involved with an adult. These are controversial and taboo subjects to many, and not generally found as a combination in seriously written fiction. Finding hostile forces is not a problem; finding supportive forces is. The argument seems to start with the scales tipped unfairly in the negative direction. The challenge is daring and irresistible.
The Protagonist force is defined as giving love not taking; it is not self-serving unless sharing at the same time. It is faithful, accepting, non restrictive, non judgmental, trusting. It is an ideal state of mind. Physical pleasure is a benefit, not a goal.
The Antagonist force is defined as self-serving, conditional, impermanent. It uses, collects, seeks power and dominance. It punishes, doubts, fears, and seeks pleasure as a goal. It imitates the desirable, the attractive as a means not an end. It causes pain with as much relish as pleasure.
It may be tempting to identify Julian or Mark as the Protagonists. But they are not personifications. They are most usually driven by the Protagonist force, so making such an identification could be easy. [Admittedly, I do use that label in the synopsis as a shortcut. One flaw I admit in the series is not making enough opportunities for the Antagonist force to influence their thoughts and deeds, in particular.]
It may be tempting to identify either Tom or Geoff as the Antagonist, but even a cursory glance shows them to be governed by the Protagonist force at various times.
We are used to seeing heroes and villains. Those are two dimensional creations that rarely if ever represent more than one side of the conflict. That is the world of melodrama. A true character is three dimensional—capable of being influenced by both sides at one time or another.
Earlier I made a comment about not being surprised that Five Parts turned out to be the solution. That is because of my language and literary studies years ago in college. Classical languages, both Greek and Latin, Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Poetics, The orations of Cicero, and the evolution of these writers ideas during the Italian and English Renaissance is the background that came to the fore as I constructed the world of Little J and Roger. Every play of Shakespeare uses this same five part structure. Admittedly, my use is different as far as material and genre is concerned, but the components and their functions are the same. What is embarrassing is that I didn’t start the project with that structure in mind. I had to rediscover it as I stumbled along in the word count brambles. But it emerged at last from the back of the file cabinet in my brain and gave me a way to fix the problem.
The structure of Little J and Roger is not in plain sight; the characters don’t wear labels or tattoos, there are no author’s arrows pointing at important things to notice. It isn’t subtle, either. It is seen most clearly from a distance. As the viewer gets closer in, the details of the story are what capture the reader’s attention. That, at least, is the intent. The mechanics are supposed to be invisible.
So, the answer to the question, “why five books,” is that it takes that long to prove the case and win the argument. Cicero’s formula to win his positions in the Roman Senate was seven parts; he was very thorough. Shakespeare adapted his concept and was able to do the job in five. That’s one reason they are read and performed today: a sound structure.
It occurred to me to consider collapsing the five books back into one, since eBooks have no rules about word count. Maybe one day I’ll look at that. For now, I’ll leave well enough alone.
Thus, the pedant in me has found relief; he’ll shut up now. The writer in me hopes that, having read this far, you may have found another level of Little J and Roger to enjoy. You have the perfect excuse to read it a second time.
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