The Power of Progression
The more you move forward in your art, the better you are at what it is you have chosen to do in this world.
Even the most talented individuals in their respective spheres started out somewhere small, growing into the men or women they eventually became.
In writing, there’s this strange idea that the less you do it—the slower you go—the better things will be.
For me, the most time-consuming aspect is the rewriting stage to a standard I’m satisfied with. I might tinker with a story for months on end, even if it’s a shorter light novel. My last light novel project even surprised me, because it went in a different direction than I had outlined, becoming a meta-style adventure with a shift in the events to show how this story will become mind-bending as the volumes progress.
And speaking of progressing volumes, in my light novel series, I’m shifting into full-length novels for the rest of the series. My first few volumes are shorter introductions to set the world up, then from Session 03 onward, they will become a massive series of twenty books. Aspiration toward quality and an epic feeling are a necessity here.
The Orchestrylus Odyssey is my magnum opus project, and I hope to expand this world into something amazing by the end of it. That means writing shorter stories won’t cut it, because I’m diving into the depths of the human condition, the insidious sides of something beyond understanding, psychology and the mind, and the fact it takes place upon seven spheres the size of Earth in a fantastical array forces me to let the stories grow into what they need to be.
That’s one aspect of being an author that I love. If the characters say: “Help me grow and remove the constraints of the story so far,” then I must listen to that small voice inside and follow the characters where they need to go.
The setup so far is for a foundation, so that the work progresses, and I can shatter that foundation with story revelations as things move forward.
I will follow the kishotenketsu story structure in every story, but the difference with my method is the story will grow in conflict and stakes with every novel. That story structure doesn’t always have characters in massive conflict (think a few Miyazaki movies) and it sometimes has flat arcs that don’t move characters forward into their goals and desires.
Stanzielle receiving Stellatina from Eyn Soph might seem overpowered and easy in the first few light novels, but as the story progresses, she’ll realize that she knows little about what it means to wield such an instrument and she’ll find it isn’t easy at all. She’s not the greatest symphonist in Medley. In fact, she’s technically only doing this as an honorary position from Violeste Allegrette, so her becoming an actual symphonist will require a few arcs to get her to where she needs to be. Stellatina isn’t some MacGuffin instrument, only there to serve the plot. It’s an integral part of the spherical array and its history.
Progression of concepts and ideas furthers the goal of the stories we write, growing the stage on which these characters put on their show.
To progress the story being told means a certain type of patience that comes from chiseling away at our art until the fine lines sink into the formless clay, then baking it to perfection as the material hardens.
We mold the story slowly at first, then pick up the pace as time goes on to impact the reader, viewer, or player harder as things pick up the pace.
My series has a slow start (the kishotenketsu structure requires this) and the overarching story also follows the miniature structure I’ve chosen for each individual novel.
My first writings were in a three-act structure formula, but I kicked it for the four-act structure from Auminous forward. Those early stories and formulations didn’t set that fire alight within my soul.
Doing it this way, I progress my writing with a flavor that many authors in my area of the world don’t use in favor of the three-act method of storytelling.
But the main point is that progression touches every last nook and cranny of the writing process.
The first word becomes the first sentence, then the first paragraph, and the first chapter after that.
And you know how the rest goes.
Progression is important, whether through character arcs, story arcs, or the technical side of the writing process itself.
When writing your own stories, remember the concept of progression as you progress the story through its many twists and turns.
To progress means growth, and with growth comes to the wisdom to write something truly special.
