So the other day I posted about the breakthrough I had in defining the genre of Possum Awesome and the Tome of Tomorrows. Well, turns out I was wrong. Big surprise! I’ve been learning so much lately as I continue to dig through the Story Grid content. I genuinely feel like I’m growing as a writer and I thought I had the genre question nailed! Turns out I was close.
I had the story pegged as an Action Epic. But that kind of story has the protagonist going against the state. Some large corporation or organization that is oppressing the protagonist and those they care about. Through further reading I realized that I was just a tick off the target. The story does feature an oppressive group of rats who hold all of possumdom at ransom through their brute strength and nastiness, however, the main story is about the unraveling of the world as a whole. This places the story in more of a man vs nature situation.
As my protagonist strives to prevent the destruction of the world and all that he comes to know and love, he faces many trials and struggles. I realized my error when I reviewed the info on the Story Grid site about the action genre. The description of the Action Adventure Doomsday story that is written there is exactly how my story should read. As it read :
Action Adventure: Person Against Nature
In this story, the setting typically changes as the protagonist journeys from a specific starting point to a clear destination. The settings dramatize the sense of danger and obstacles to overcome. Requires sidekicks.
Doomsday: The victim the protagonist must save is the environment. The protagonist’s success or failure determines the fate of an entire people. An example of this story is Avatar.
This description is perfect and exactly what I was looking for. For those of you who don’t know. I’ve completed the rough draft of the beginning hook of the story and am moving on to the middle build. I’ve decided that as I move forward I need to write out all my scenes and complete a global foolscap. Which is an extensive plotting tool used in the Story Grid Methodology.
I’m really excited to dig in and get this done. It will layout the book and all my scenes very clearly, giving me a very thorough roadmap to follow to complete the first draft and subsequently edit the book.
This is very exciting! Onward and upward!
If you’re interested in joining me on the journey of writing the book and all my other creative endeavours. Please go to my Patreon Page.
