What Makes a Journey
By Donald Maass | September 6, 2017 |
Photo by Donald Maass
Since late July, I’ve been on a road trip with my family. Me, my wife, two kids and our dog. We drove across the northern tier of States. Fifteen of them. From New York to Seattle, then on to Vancouver for a family visit. As you read this, we are on our way back to New York City. Today we probably are crossing Nebraska.
We have laughed our way through corn country, seen a sunset on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan (thank you again Vaughn Roycroft), been close to live eagles at a raptor rescue center along the upper Mississippi River, been charmed by Sioux City, been awed by the faces on Mount Rushmore. (Even more awesome were the faces from so many lands there to view that uniquely American monument.)
We’ve been rattled by the prairie wind, eaten huckleberry ice cream sandwiches at a two-pump gas station, seen prize hogs at a county fair, driven past a wild fire, walked the Badlands, crossed high rope bridges strung between redwoods, stood atop cliffs, wet our bare feet in two oceans. We’ve eaten well in unlikely places. We’ve walked among giant origami, learned that inside tipis native women circle left and native men circle right, found heart-shaped rocks in riverbeds and on beaches.
The best thing, though, has been the people we’ve met. The Sturgis motorcycle rally was happening around the time that we crossed South Dakota. Our kids were freaked out by the rough-looking bikers, but one chilly morning as several packed up their Harley’s in a hotel parking lot, my daughter asked one of them, “Don’t you get cold?” They said, oh yes! Which started a conversation about motorcycle clubs and charity rides that changed my kids’ views of bikers.
In a Spokane restaurant, our young Korean-American waitress looked at our mixed-race family and blurted out to our kids, “Are you adopted? I’m adopted too!” She cheerfully talked about her mixed-race adoptive parents and her four siblings, all adopted on different continents. Her childhood in Spokane was a great experience, free of racial prejudice. She was just one of the many friends my kids made. People have been nice everywhere. (Well, except for one painfully thin woman having a very bad day in the parking lot of a natural foods market in Beaverton, Oregon, but hey.)
It’s been a journey. Which has put me in mind of journey novels, and what it is that makes them feel like journeys. Even more than the places that characters go, or the things that they do, what makes a journey novel feel like a journey are the people with whom protagonists travel, those who impede or attack them, and the folks they meet along the way.
Journey novels are among my favorites, and I’ll bet they’re among your favorites too. Gulliver’s Travels, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Around the World in Eighty Days, The Grapes of Wrath, The Lord of the Rings. There are plenty of great contemporary journey novels too. The Phantom Tollbooth, A Wrinkle in Time, The Alchemist, Imajica, Neverwhere. WU’s own Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest. I’m sure you can add to the list.
For our purposes, we can break the casts of journey novels into three categories: 1) The protagonist’s allies and fellow travelers, 2) The protagonist’s enemies, 3) Locals. Allies and fellow travelers both support the protagonist and represent different sides of him or her. Enemies represent what is evil or wrong with the world. Locals reflect different dimensions of humanity, good, bad and in-between. In other words, every character represents something.
Huckleberry Finn has one main companion in his raft journey on the Mississippi River, the runaway slave Jim. Huck is fleeing his violent and drunk father, Pap Finn; even more he is running from his oppressive guardian, the Widow Douglas, and her prim sister Miss Watson, who both attempt to “sivilize” him and teach him religion. You can see the symbolic roles those characters play. Huck longs to be free. Jim is the outward representation of that. Pap Finn and the sisters Douglas and Watson are oppressors of different sorts but together represent everything that’s wrong with civilization. Indeed, pious Miss Watson is the slaveholder owner of Jim.
Huck’s river journey becomes necessary when he fakes his own death to escape his father, a plan which backfires. Jim is blamed for Huck’s “murder” and a reward is offered for his capture. Huck learns of this from a woman new to the area, Judith Loftus, whom he visits dressed as a girl. Mrs. Loftus is suspicious that he’s actually a boy and puts him to several tests which a girl would easily pass. Her role is both to test Huck and to begin his separation from the feminine world of town, home, and school.
In Kentucky, Huck witnesses the slaughter of the men of the Grangerford family by the Shepherdson family, with whom they are feuding. Later, Huck and Jim take aboard two grifters, the Duke and the King, whose claims of royal blood are outrageous and who bungle their attempted swindle of the family of a dead rich man. Still later, on the plantation of Silas and Sally Phelps, Huck is mistaken for the Phelps’s nephew, Tom Sawyer. Tom arrives, continues the ruse, and concocts a plan to free Jim; a plan that goes awry because it is based on adventure books that Tom has read and excites his imagination more than it helps the imperiled slave Jim.
It takes all those secondary characters, and more, to fully enact Mark Twain’s intent to show the hilarity and hypocrisy of humanity. In fact, it is precisely because he includes so many of them, and lampoons our human folly so thoroughly, that his novel endures.
Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere is the tale of young London businessman Richard Mayhew, who helps a mysterious girl named Door, only to find himself invisible. He loses his job, friends and flat. To set things right, Richard must descend to the realm of London Below. There Richard receives help from a tramp, who is the only person who can see him. Along the way he interacts with the Rat-Speakers and a number of characters, like the Earl (of the Earl’s Court) and the angel called Islington, all of whom are, in one way or another way, ironic reflections of different aspects of the London—really, the whole world—above.
Secondary characters also perform symbolic roles in Juliette Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest, a retelling of the classic tale The Six Swans. (Read it. It’s enchanting.) Now, you might think that it is easier to put secondary characters in symbolic roles if you are writing fantasy. Not so. Any novel can feel like a journey and it is the use of secondary characters that makes it so.
So, here are some prompts aimed at making the roles of the secondary characters in your story more sharply meaningful:
- Who are your protagonist’s friends, allies and supporters? What is one way in which each has something your protagonist lacks, or is in some way more like the better person your protagonist must become? Create one moment in which that good quality unmistakably shines.
- Who works against your protagonist? What is the main way in which each antagonistic character manifests the worst of human nature? What is each’s justifying philosophy? What is the worst thing that each can do to your protagonist?
- List the secondary characters your protagonist encounters in your novel’s middle. What would each represent or tell us about human nature if your name was Dante, Orwell, Tolkien or Grimm? Find one way to grow that symbolic meaning.
If you fear that making sharp statements though characters is too obvious or is unrealistic, look at it this way: What makes characters real is what makes them human, and what is wrong with helping us to see ourselves more clearly through your characters?
Likewise, consider this: Novels have power when they make us think. When we recognize universal human qualities in characters, we readers are—guess what—thinking. You can create that delightful effect by deliberately making associations that we will notice. Doing that isn’t artless, it’s artful. It’s timeless storytelling.
What are your favorite journey novels? How are you using secondary characters in your novel in symbolic ways?
Donald Maass (he/him) founded the Donald Maass Literary Agency. in New York in 1980. He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004), The Fire in Fiction (2009), The Breakout Novelist (2011), Writing 21st Century Fiction (2012) and The Emotional Craft of Fiction (2019). He has presented hundreds of workshops around the world and is a past president of the American Association of Literary Agents (formerly AAR).
Raptor rescue center? You were up in my corner of the world! My hometown on the Mississippi River has an eagle center. And during my dad’s funeral service a bald eagle flew above the cemetery (lots of bald eagles in March) while the Air Force Color Guards folded the flag.
Thank you for laying out so clearly the characterizations that make a journey novel memorable. It’s helpful info as I revise and layer the piece of WiP with a protagonist who journeys because of Kristallnacht and other pre-WWII events. Especially your first question, the better person your protagonist must become because my protag is young at the beginning. Good food for thought!
Thanks for the post Don.
A favorite journey novel of mine is Cheryl Strayed’s Wild, but it’s sad that the last part of her trip, the edge of Cascade Locks, is being ravaged by a wildfire right now. There was a short 2-mile trail to a waterfall, not far from there, that was my family’s favorite hike.
Hey Don – Well, you and your magical ability for timeliness are at it again. As I noodle the big picture of my WIP, after being lost in the day-by-day, I can see the journey aspects of it. Book one of the series clearly has a journey. It’s one my protagonist doesn’t want to make, to a place he’d rather not go, but that’s nothing new, particularly to epic fantasy (Mordor, anyone?). In thinking about that, I realized that one of the things lacking for Vahldan was a safe haven—Tolkien’s thematic “home” found in the agrarian and folksy Shire for the hobbits, in the “lost home and glory” of Minas Tirith for Aragorn, the splendor of Erebor for the dwarves, and so on.
It struck me on my walk, taken after reading your essay. Elan (his guardian and love interest) comes to represent home for Vahldan. He finds no welcome in the Longhouse of Danihem. He needs something from there, but it is withheld by societal forces. But through it all, she remains his safe haven. This continues in book two, but becomes much more complicated (especially since he believes he is destined to marry another, and have a child with that outsider, to boot). Which makes the stew of this story all the heartier.
In fact, as I look at the whole arc of the trilogy, this theme continues. At its heart, the entire story is about a perilous journey. I mean, what does home really mean to a banished conqueror? He can’t go back to Dania, and yet he never really feels like he truly belongs, like he can stand on solid ground. Knowing this makes his final acts and yearnings all the more clear. And powerful. Thanks for the magical timing, and for the enhanced perspective.
Great picture! As for the sunset, it truly was our pleasure. Nothing quite as delightful as seeing our beautiful and tempestuous Mishigami through new eyes. Particularly those of the kids (and dogs). I’m sure at some point you all will be yearning for your own version of the safe haven of home sweet home. Safe travels!
Everyone crosses Nebraska. I grew up there! And yes, it’s been a journey.
Don, your trip sounds truly epic! What a gift you’ve given your children. When I was little (some years ago now) we lived in Utah and my dad drove us across the Mohave to LA. I will never forget the Serpentarium with the giant cobra head on the roof. We met some real characters, too, speaking of which…thank you for the wonderful prompts. They’re going on the wall next to my computer. And thank you for sending us an awesome post from the road. Safe travels!
Thanks for sharing about your adventure and segue into adventure novels. Huckleberry Finn is up soon on my reading list and I’ve been wanting to read one of Juliet’s books so now you’ve given me a starting point.
I’m glad you mentioned the importance of secondary characters as symbols of the protagonist’s journey. My WIP is at its heart adventure fantasy and I’ve often struggled to summarize it in a captivating sentence. For me and the few who have read it so far, the real value is found in longer recounting of the characters met on the way and how they mirror Jak’s (protagonist’s) changing inner state. It’s not a novel that’s so much about the destination but about the meaning of the experience. Even in its first draft, it was the narratives of the secondary characters that really jumped out to me, not because they were interesting side characters but because of what interacting with them brings out in the lost young man who is wandering a broken corrupt world trying to figure out how to cling to his ideals and hopes that somewhere in it all he can still be a good person.
In many ways every novel is a journey, but you capture thematic elements in iconic novels that underline who the protagonist meets on that journey and how he(she) interacts with that person changes, well, everything. Love your photo. I’ve been blogging about America’s Backyard, emphasizing the importance of SAVING, KEEPING our national parks and monuments. Americans deserve these vast open spaces that teach us the beauty of this land. So glad you had amazing experiences meeting fellow Americans. As young parents we set out to do just that and our children will never forget the experience. AND WE HAVE THE PHOTOS.
That’s an epic trip! And it sounds like a wonderful experience for your family. I’m glad you had the chance to do it.
I love journey stories too. The Alchemist and LeGuin’s Wizard of Earthsea are my enduring favorites.
What a wonderful family trip Don! When we were driving across the country from WA to SC, we also ran into the Sturgis crowd. They were impressive.
Some of my favorite journey books are that of the spiritual landscape: Augustine’s Confessions; Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain; Kathleen Norris’s Cloister Walk.
Eric Knight’s LASSIE COME HOME has to be my favorite journey novel. The gallant old couple Daniel and Dally who save Lassie’s life when she is literally on her last legs, and the peddler Rowlie who entices her into joining him on the road are all vivid secondary characters. In very different ways they embody human loneliness as well as generosity and compassion.
One of the greatest secondary characters I’ve run across is Muttie Scarlet, from Maeve Binchy’s books, SCARLET FEATHER, HEART AND SOUL, and MINDING FRANKIE. He spends his days with his “associates” visiting the local bookie, while his wife cleans houses, yet his simple goodness and kindness shine through on every page. When he does win a large bet, most of it goes to his wife for safekeeping, and the rest is spent on gifts to benefit his family, friends, and neighbors. Someone asks if he isn’t going to get anything for himself, and his response is, “Haven’t I everything a man could want already?”
I love road trips. Yours sounds epic.
One of my favorite journey stories has stayed with me since I was a teenager. I See By My Outfit by Peter S. Beagle. It’s the story of a motorcycle ride he and a friend took across the USA.
Blessed be your journey, Don.
Dang it, Don, there you go again, making me think more deeply about what I’m doing in my WIP. Now, if only I knew how to do it . . . Wish I’d known when you were in Oregon, might have driven up to say hey–I live in the southern half of the state, but have family in and around Portland. Your journey sounds marvelous, much like many we’ve made with our kids.
Thanks for your insights. I copy your exercises into a word doc and started in on them. Found a treasure inside my WIP that I’d totally not seen before. Many thanks. Life and writing are journeys!
Don, I love journey stories—they seem such a classic structure for a novel, for both movement in time, place and emotion. Huck Finn is in my top five fictional works: I’ve probably read it 10 times.
I think Jim represents freedom too, but also conscience. Huck’s perspective opens and evolves in a wonderful way during their passage down the river (and the river itself seems its own metaphor). But the book is also laugh-out-loud funny too, even with Tom’s mangled and dithering attempts at the end, which almost seem tacked-on by Twain.
Your trip sounds great too. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road in this country, but have only done the coast-to-coast drive once, and despite the dilution of the word now, it was epic. Thanks for another evocative post.
You’ve provided a terrific journey for your children, further opening the door to curiosity and wonder. It’s a door that, once opened, can’t be closed. You’re journey also parallels my life, for I was raised in New York/Vermont and now reside in smokey western Montana.
My life journeys inhabit my writing, and manifest both literally and figuratively. My fantasy protagonist, who’s long labored to find a way to help others while hiding from the world, reluctantly embarks on a journey, rediscovering parts of herself along the way. Your insights couldn’t be better timed for the journey I’m on at the moment. For that, I thank you.
Hi, Don:
I just forwarded to my wife the link to this post with the subject line: Road Trip!!!
As luck would have it, I’m writing my post today for next Tuesday, and it also deals with journeys, but from a much different perspective, so I’ll save the lion’s share of my thoughts for that.
However, your division of secondary character into separate camps mirrors my approach in my classes and The Art of Character.
Those who assist the protagonist can be allies, mentors, confidantes, family members, love interests — or a larger role I call the Revenant, who helps the hero on a deeper level deal with his Ghost (the event or person from his past who best exemplifies what has held the hero back in his life.)
Those who oppose can be the main opponent, secondary opponents, and characters I call “Counterweight Characters” (individuals who like the status quo as-is, and don’t want the hero to change).
Another important role though is that of Betrayer — someone who switches allegiances mid-story, either from hero to opponent or vice versa. These character can provide reveals and reversals and turn your story in new unexpected directions. (In a journey story this could be someone pretending to help you only to lead you astray, or someone who at first tries to steer you astray, then has a change of heart and decides to help you).
Now, I add to that two other roles: Outsider/Visitor/Stranger and the Village.
If the story takes place on or near the hero’s home ground, the Outsider is someone who sees that home ground in a new way because he’s not prone to the usual assumptions about it (like Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird). The Village is comprised of those characters who support the main characters’ daily lives.
In a journey, the traveler is the Outsider/Stranger, so the role gets reversed–meaning you can perhaps consider developing an “Insider:” Someone who can tell the traveler what’s what in this strange new place.
And the Village is simply that, except without the explicit ties to the protagonist — they are instead rooted in their own lives and own world. They personify what happens in this place, why it happens the way it does, and what meaning it has for them.
As always, great fun taling stories with you. And the trip has whetter my appetite — my wife and I love cross-country drives, and depending on how destructive Irma is, we may be taking one come December. Your list of adventures sounds like a great bar to reach for.
Ahem — doorbell rang while I was in the middle of editing. So: “talking” stories and “whetted” my appetite. Sorry.
Also, these roles are not fixed. An Insider can be a Betrayer, etc.
I always enjoy reading your posts, Don. I’m currently on a journey myself, one that I’d rather have just read about! A huge BC wildfire is just a few miles from our ranch and we are living out of our suitcases, waiting either for the fire to push us further from home or for the rains to come and save our community in the nick of time.
Meanwhile, my trucker hero has been paused in his journey toward solving his fifth murder mystery while I cope with the distractions of real life. I suspect I will be rewarded with a greater understanding of characters facing natural disasters, as many people around the world are doing this summer.
Thanks for the tips.
I love the imagery of the huckleberry ice cream sandwiches at the two – pump gas station.
I have to thank my high school English teacher for introducing me to so many wonderful novels. In addition to Boy’s Life (one of my all-time favorites), he introduced me to another called Peace Like A River by Leif Enger. A hardworking, small town family is just minding their own business when they find themselves separated and on the run after false accusations befall one of their children. A true journey in the sense of traveling as well as personal growth and change. Thanks for reminding me to add it to the bookshelf.
The Man Who Was Poe by Avi is another fantastic journey in its own way. Quite mysterious (even more so if you’re unfamiliar with his writing style), he makes you feel like you’re walking the damp cobblestone streets and rationing your food and candles right alongside the characters.
Safe travels!
Bill Bryson’s journeys turn reading in a simple easy-chair into a five-star hotel holiday.
“For our purposes, we can break the casts of journey novels into three categories: 1) The protagonist’s allies and fellow travelers, 2) The protagonist’s enemies, 3) Locals. Allies and fellow travelers both support the protagonist and represent different sides of him or her. Enemies represent what is evil or wrong with the world. Locals reflect different dimensions of humanity, good, bad and in-between. In other words, every character represents something.”
Hi Don-
I’m intrigued by “every character represents something” – and I’ve been thinking about how that relates to each character in my story as perceived by my protagonists viewpoints and cultural biases. My question is how does the reader respond to a character that may be beloved by one character, yet feared by another? Is he good? Or evil? Or somewhere in between? I’m not really thinking in terms of character flaws so much as I’m considering how easy it is to ‘slot’ people into a category based on assumption (and I think my protagonists often do that until proven otherwise). Yet, I’m drawn to the concept of what each secondary character represents/symbolizes. I’m going to ponder this post for a long time. Also, I need to go back and reread Huck’s story. Thank you.
Enjoy your travels, Don. This journey and time with family is priceless.
I loved your journey book choices. I especially enjoyed Gaiman’s Neverwhere and the variety of characters he met along the way. His character descriptions remind me of Dicken’s who hung out on the streets, alleys, and taverns and sought out scruffy people to include in his books.
My protagonist meets an interesting character early in her journey. He could quip about how he has lightened his heavy load. Of course, it will go right over her head.
Thanks for the tips, Don!
My current WIP is a travel story/road trip – My protagonist’s enemy is himself. In the middle of the story one of the secondary characters he meets is a woman he initially snubs and mistrusts but who shows him his better self. I like Odysseys and loved Lord of the Rings. But the road travel books I have enjoyed that are more reflective are Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing; Jim Harrison’s Legends of the Fall and The English Major; Paul Auster’s Brooklyn Follies. Is it possible to create a compelling story that is not fast-paced thriller or suspense?