Short Synopsis (of my novel)
I've been practicing what I've learned in storytelling through writing a science fiction novel. Below is my current short synopsis:
Inventing the future is more complicated than you might think, especially when you're stuck in the past.
In a not-so-distant future, wannabe inventor, Damian De La Cruz, just wants to file his first patent and course-correct his life that fell apart three years ago. But he’s a man stuck in the past, literally, with his dreams transporting him to dangerous places in history rather than inspiring visions for the future.
When his own heartbreaking history comes crashing back into his present, both his real and dream worlds unravel…until, he receives an invitation. KIN, the Kobayashi Island Nation, offers him admission, and a chance to reinvent himself.
A land of technological marvels, KIN welcomes the world’s downtrodden, searching for the next Einsteins who’ll invent a better tomorrow for humanity. However, it’s not all glitz and glamorous gizmos when an act of terrorism leads Damian to discover KIN’s controversial plans for the future…and what it really means to reinvent himself. Forced to decide between joining KIN or rising against it, Damian’s dreamland journeys might just help him choose the right side of history…that is, if he can ever move on from the past.
Adventures in Writing
Welcome to my journey in crafting stories, building worlds, meeting characters, and writing novels.
Some of My Favorite Books
Jurassic Park was the first book that made me love science fiction, having read it in 6th grade. It sparked my curiosity about what possibilities lie within humanity's reach.
Ender's Game rekindled my interest in reading after a long hiatus, blowing my mind with a twist I hadn't seen coming, and a futuristic vision I found thought-provoking.
Harry Potter is one of the best examples of world-building I have ever read. Beyond the book series' characters and adventures that connected with my inner child, the rules and history of magical places were well crafted and spelled out. (See what I did there?)
Redshirts was a Christmas gift from my cousin. The entertaining synopsis pulled me in, and reading it was a delight. The humorous writing style of John Scalzi made me want to attempt a more light-hearted approach with my own style of writing.
Legends & Lattes was an unexpected gem for me. I'd never read a cozy book where I simply enjoyed the experience of reading what happens. No big mystery or intense action, just the relaxing journey of seeing an orc introduce coffee to people who have no idea what it is.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, while not a fictional book, is a fantastic guide to crafting a one. The analysis is well done, with many examples broken down. For an analytical book, it was quite entertaining. It taught me a lot about good structure.
Learnings
Storytelling induces immersion, according to a Forbes article by Shane Snow. If done well, it grabs attention for as long as necessary, regardless of how long our attention span might be. It releases the empathy-related chemical oxytocin, triggering subtle emotions in our brain. Good stories pull us in with what's familiar, then keep our attention with something novel. Content informs us, while emotion takes us on the journey. In the workplace, storytelling can be a persuasive tool for selling customers on a product or transforming C-suite stakeholders into cheerleaders for user experience.
Structure
The Hero's Journey is one of the best gifts I ever received. It was the gift of perspective. My wife gave me the The Writer's Journey for Christmas, which builds on this structural model. It's a time-tested formula that has endured and continues to comprise the structure of most books, movies, and shows.
In User Experience (UX), we know that designing based on existing paradigms helps users understand the end result easier. It builds on what they know, what they can connect with from their previous experience. The Hero's Journey structure has a similar impact.
People connect with heroes, the vehicles through which readers experience the story. In UX, these are our user personas. An inciting incident draws a reader in, setting their expectation for crossing a threshold into a new world or experience. Experiencing character growth within the new setting keeps readers invested. This can mirror a user's path in a UX workflow when we encounter a user need and solve the problem. Structure can effectively communicate the journey.
Style
It's not just what you say, it's how you say it. Many of us have heard this before, but what does it really mean in the context of writing? When there is no intonation to hear, or body language to watch from a speaker? For me, three things stand out.
First, the rule of show-don't-tell is a powerful one. Anton Chekhov wrote, "Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." Use actions, body language, dialogue, character thoughts, sensory details, and adjectives that infer mood and feelings to make the reader empathize with the message.
Second, "brevity is the soul of wit." In linguistics, the Gricean maxims of quantity, quality, relation, and manner touch on this. Say only as much as necessary to communicate the point. If it doesn't contribute to your message, leave it out of your writing.
Third, we focus more on the last words in a sentence. They are the emphasis. It was an interesting point from Sense of Style by renowned linguist and professor Steven Pinker. Utilizing language intentionally this way can excuse the occasional use of passive voice instead of active voice by creating more impact.
Presentation
Vulnerability is the path to authenticity. Authenticity leads to trust, which allows connecting with others. If you were asked to share something vulnerable about yourself with a small audience, what would you say?
For anyone who's ever listened to a story from The Moth Radio Hour, it's no secret that personal stories are compelling. But it's not about the person telling the story, it's about the connection established through the delivery, the listener remembering a similar feeling to what's being shared, or even placing themselves into the shoes of the hero.
Whoever is your audience, be it a reader, a room of people, or the users of your product, connecting with their needs, desires, and pain points will show them the value of what you're presenting.
My wife wanted to watch Star Wars for the first time. She knew I liked it, and she wanted to understand why. Growing up in Brazil, she didn't have the same exposure to its references in popular culture as I did in the United States. She had no expectations for the movie. Sharing a plate of carne asada fries on a Friday night, we sat and watched Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
She predicted the ending before it happened. "How?" I asked, amazed. Her response, unknown to me at the time, would set me on the path toward hundreds of hours of studying, practicing, and revising the written word.
"It's the Hero's Journey," she said. "Do you know what that is?"