Towers of Midnight - Chapters 21-22

In this section, the chronology gets confusing.

When Perrin’s scouts report back, readers get their first strong inkling that Perrin’s storyline is chronologically out of synch with the other ones. The reader requires some thought to sort it out. Mat’s letter established the timing of his storyline, and his meeting with Elayne establishes her chronology as well, though oddly she hasn’t commented on Rand’s mood or location sufficiently to say whether events take place before or after the final scene of The Gathering Storm. Egwene’s and Rand’s scenes are obviously placed after The Gathering Storm.

The confusing order of events has been pointed out as one of the major flaws of Towers of Midnight, even though other books had events take place in different locales without strong indications of when they occur relative to each other, primarily because they did not affect each other. Rand’s epiphany was a turning point and could have been a focus of suspense, but in this book the suspense centers on Perrin and Mat and other players, and discovering whether they survived their own perils while Rand was turning inward and ignoring them.

Confusion could have been reduced by establishing earlier in the story some stronger links to other pivotal moments in other plotlines. Alternatively, a two line preface explaining the chronology to readers would have instantly resolved confusion, but could have been seen as a radical departure from the customary format.

Aiel Wise Ones dismiss the idea of an alliance with the Seanchan, despite the fact that Rand has been working towards that very goal. Morgase learns, finally, that the Forsaken Rahvin was behind her behaviour during her final months as queen. Balwer tells Perrin he is content with his current station in life.

Ituralde’s forces panic and run before the Trolloc onslaught. A Saldaean soldier named Yoeli leads a charge to save Ituralde’s men and bring them inside the city despite orders not to. Once again, people work together, trusting to their own judgment over that of a being placed above them.

As a counterpoint, Gawyn can’t simply do what Egwene wishes, he must follow his own judgment on how to behave. This leads him to stop an assassination attempt on her which was in reality a trap designed to apprehend Mesaana. While he stopped the Seanchan Bloodknives, he inadvertently alerted Mesaana to the trap.

In Caemlyn, Mat plans his entry to the Tower of Ghenjei, and seeks out Birgitte for advice. She tells him a harrowing tale of her own demise in a world where time and space made no sense. Mat’s vulnerability is increased, since in addition to having no foxhead medallion to protect him from the gholam, even his luck offers scant hope of surviving the journey into the Tower of Ghenjei. Unrelated, though adding to the sense of impending doom, Elayne is in trouble, providing the first real cliffhanger ending to a chapter.

Mat encounters some street toughs and battles them in a seemingly pointless scene. Let’s look more closely:

Brooding as he walks the streets, the eerie solitude feels like an opportunity for the gholam to strike. He randomly stumbles upon a robbery, and three toughs leap out to mug him. Mat is relieved to see people instead of something worse.

Mat uses his staff instead of his sword, confounding his first attacker. Mat drops him with one swing and he falls into a second cutpurse, whom Mat quickly knocks out. The third man’s hesitation gives Mat the chance to leap towards him, knock him senseless, then toss a knife into the leader’s throat. This is pure action, but has little meaning, which is why it takes place so quickly.

Mat rambles some nonsense at the man he saved from the muggers, then that man recognizes Mat. Mat disarms him with his scarf, then launches two daggers into the man’s eyes, metaphorically becoming unseen by his opponent. Mat finds a paper with his own face on it, a reminder that Darkfriends and the Forsaken are looking for him. Unmentioned is the fact that wild rumours about him are circulating throughout the city, drawing unwanted attention.

Aside from acting as a reminder of the dangers Mat faces, this short battle offers little beyond a display of Mat’s prowess. Any intimidation created by the reminder about the Forsaken is undone by the astonishing quickness he dispatches his foes with. In this instance, physical action is confused with meaningful action, and the casual way in which Mat kills is contrary to other plotlines in which violence is intently avoided.

Writing Lessons:

Action can’t exist for action’s sake, it should be meaningful to the character or the story.

Towers of Midnight - Chapters 18-20

In this section, characters learn they must set aside their differences and work towards common goals.

Perrin begins his training in Tel’aran’rhiod. His interaction with wolves is one of the more interesting facets of his character, and to be portrayed convincingly, the wolves’ language and culture has to be distinct and recognizable. For the most part, their vocabulary is monosyllabic, implying only cursory language skills, which are supplemented with detailed scents and impressions which they can send to each other.

The longest words Hopper uses are: follow, understand, sparrow, cannot, slumber, always, remember, unnatural, honey, memory, remain, again, quickly, ready, especially, strongly, holding , carrying, running, practice, wrongness.  Of these words, most have simple meanings that are easy for readers to attribute to a clever animal’s mind. The ones which don’t are especially, holding, and unnatural. Especially is suitable for a language that can distinguish levels of gradation, not the precise terms generally used by wolves elsewhere. Holding is something men do, and in other contexts the wolves have called the objects Perrin holds his claws, as though they were part of him. Unnatural is applied to Perrin, yet the purplish wall of the dreamspike is termed wrongness, and the difference is lost on the reader. Wrongness is the more wolfish of the two, in keeping with the majority of the examples in other wolf dialogue, but it’s odd that Hopper would call Perrin’s presence unnatural if men have historically walked the Wolf Dream.

Overall, the few words wolves use which are mildly inappropriate can only be identified as such because of the consistency in tone, sentence structure, and vocabulary in the rest of their speech.

Ituralde is defending Maradon from a Trolloc horde, yet they won’t come to his aid. He holds his position, waiting for Rand to send help as was promised.

Faile confronts Berelain about the rumours, and she denies anything inappropriate happened. Wouldn’t she consider it appropriate if Perrin set aside his wife for her? In any case, Faile makes Berelain realize that Faile will challenge her to a death match unless she can find a way to dispel the rumours. Berelain concocts a plan that requires Faile and Berelain to behave as though they were friends, with no animosity between them, one of many examples of characters setting aside differences to work towards common goals.

Mat is badly failing to keep a low profile, thanks to rumours in Caemlyn which he cannot hope to quash. He meets with Elayne, and they discuss the manufacture of his dragons. The negotiation scene is heavy on dialogue. Mat says the opposite of almost every point he had made to himself before the talk began, consistently upending expectations. The negotiation ends with both Mat and Elayne satisfied at the outcome. Each of them will benefit from their arrangement, keeping a portion of the dragons, which are primarily to be used in the Last Battle. Defending against lightning strikes with the One Power is simple, so these cannonballs should be stopped as easily, unless they are deployed against Trollocs.

Mat had to sweeten the offer by giving up his sole protection against the gholam stalking him. Writers can be backed into a corner when their heroes become too powerful, and readers can see through contrived attempts to bring them back to a more normal power level. Mat giving up his medallion works effectively, because the immediate threat to Mat is obvious, and he is trading a short-term risk for a long-term gain, which is an entirely believable course of action. The reader’s emotional reaction to the threat and outrage that Mat has to give up his only defense will likely override any analysis which recognizes this deliberate effort to place Mat in a situation which he can’t easily escape.

Nynaeve takes her test to be confirmed an Aes Sedai, to be given and judged by several of the highest ranking Aes Sedai. Throughout the test, she consistently ignores the precepts placed in her mind to save the inhabitants of the test realms. She later says that without context, she can’t know why the rules have to be followed so strictly, so it is right that she flout them to act as she thinks an Aes Sedai should. There is a fierce debate about whether she should follow strictures or be trusted with forbidden weaves, or the ability to decide what the greater good is. She is raised by a narrow margin, yet by undergoing the test, she has decided she already knows what she must do, and the shawl of an Aes Sedai is a worthwhile goal, but not her ultimate goal. For this realization, she is able to claim the prize she most desires, Lan’s bond. As with the Ebou Dar scene in which they were married, Nynaeve is instantly rewarded for her personal growth.

Writing Lessons:

Portray other cultures with a consistent use of language specific to that culture.

Knife of Dreams - Chapters 20-21

In this section Lan resumes his quest, and Rand checks in on old allies.

Lan’s quest in the Blight has been paused since the end of The Eye of the World. In truth he set aside his suicidal need to avenge his homeland when he agreed to be bonded by Moiraine in order to fight the Shadow in a more constructive fashion. Twenty years of chasing down obscure leads in two-street villages and cities must have seemed so opposite to how he intended to live. But a Malkieri’s word is his bond, and he held to his task for two decades, finally rescuing a handful of Emond’s Fielders from the Shadow, leading them to the Blight, where he finally got another taste of the destiny that awaited him, a man vs. Blight showdown to the death.  Lan’s quest mirrored Rand’s own in The Eye of the World, and the tales of Malkier and Manetheren formed Rand into the man he needed to be to defeat Ba’alzamon. As I have postulated before, while Lan’s mentorship enhanced Rand’s manhood and battle prowess, he also led Rand astray, forming an idea in Rand’s mind that he alone could face the Dark One, and that he must do it alone, with as little help as possible. Rand still isn’t completely over that attitude, and neither is Lan.

Since leaving the Eye of the World, Lan has given cursory advice to the boys, but has had no character to speak of. Moiraine passed his bond as though he were a tool, not a man. Moiraine’s death compelled him to seek out Myrelle, who was able to save him from death by despair. Sent to Ebou Dar to help Nynaeve, he represented no more than her just reward for finally breaking her block by surrendering. He has been part of the décor, acting out his role, but had little say in anything, including the choice of where he goes. Lan recognizes that he is of little use when a hundred thousand Trollocs tear across the fields. He can’t advise Rand, he can’t fight Rand’s enemies. Rand has outgrown his need for Lan.

So, Lan grumbles that someone should be doing something in the Borderlands to prepare for the Last Battle. Nynaeve says that is his duty, while hers lies with protecting Rand from Alivia. She unselfishly grants him his long-standing wish to march into the Blight, to fight the Shadow. But, she selfishly dumps him as far from his ultimate destination as she can, to give him a chance to gather allies. Free from all past restrictions, Lan is his own man for the first time since New Spring, twenty years earlier. His quest parallels Rand’s, and there is a good chance that events surrounding Lan in A Memory of Light will be written to show what doesn’t work, to raise tension, to give examples foreshadowing Rand’s potential fate.

Verin’s letter sets a precedent for Lan’s departure. The rationale that she can serve Rand better elsewhere could easily have come from Lan, and saves a lengthier explanation on his part. The idea that followers can pick up and leave has been established, so it is natural that any other followers who can serve better elsewhere will also go, and readers will immediately understand why without having to explain it all over again. Placing these two departures in the same chapter highlights the utility of this technique.

Rand has seriously started talking about the Last Battle, making last-ditch attempts to reach terms with the Seanchan so he can focus on his ultimate task. The hundred-thousand strong hordes of Trollocs he fought at Algarin’s manor heralds the Last Battle. Aside from a handful of Saldaean soldiers, Rand’s meager forces took no losses in a battle greater than any seen in centuries. They were dispatched as though a mere nuisance. The scale of conflict has been magnified, yet it was treated as a minor skirmish, like the regular Shadowspawn attacks that used to peck at Rand in the Aiel Waste. Treating an epic event in a decidedly un-epic fashion leaves plenty of room to ramp up the emotion for the real Last Battle.

Rand saw obstreperous drunks being thrown out of inns and taverns in the early morning, in Tear. Obstreperous means noisy, boisterous and unruly. The word itself feels unruly, reflecting its meaning. Authors must feel happy to use a word so poetically.

Rand’s ta’veren aura ends the rebellion in Tear within an hour of his arrival. The various rebellions in the kingdoms he rules have served the purpose of showing that people always try to wriggle out of complete obedience, even though Rand attempts to have it from his followers. Guards who protect an empty room because Rand wasn’t precise that it was Callandor they were guarding, not the room itself, demonstrate the flaws in Rand’s ideal servants. Weiramon once again shows that if Rand tries to do everything himself, he won’t get anything done for want of continually having to place everyone back where he wants them.  Those examples are done now, the focus is moving to Arad Doman, a chaotic place where no law exists, where Rand will try to stamp out lawlessness with an enormous influx of manpower. The battle with Lews Therin over Rand’s mind and body, the willful attitudes Rand is displaying, the chaos in Arad Doman, and the imminent Last Battle all mirror and represent each other to some extent. As in the early books, Robert Jordan is back to having the locale serve the character’s story.

Writing Lessons:

Treat events with the emotional intensity you want the story to have at that point, not because they happen to be pivotal or grandiose.

Knife of Dreams - Chapters 17-19

In this section, Rand and Elayne lose control of something.

Birgitte confirms that Elayne didn’t get lost; it was the Palace that changed. Since she can’t do anything about the danger or problems that come with locales changing suddenly, instead, she stoically goes on with the things she can do something about. The mutable geography is not necessarily the same as bubbles of evil, which have a more sinister and violent effect, but they are just as random.

Young Perival correctly deduces that a third of the High Seats of Andor are keeping their distance because of the nearby Borderlander army. Elayne’s earlier meeting with the Borderlanders in Winter’s Heart is still bearing fruit, yet it also gives the impression that not much has changed since then. That will come to an abrupt end with Arymilla’s apparent bribery of the mercenary companies guarding Caemlyn. Arymilla expects to have the city within a week. As with the Perrin storyline, establishing a firm countdown to disaster ramps up the tension and dispels any sense of drudgery or lack of progress. One way or the other, with Arymilla’s scheme unfolding, the plotline will be resolved.

A discussion of House Mantear, the House that Rand is descended from, added to Elayne’s unswerving confidence her babies will be born safely, linked a few ideas in my mind. Elaida’s Foretelling was that the Royal Line of Andor is the key to winning the Last Battle. She thinks it means Elayne, but readers know it probably means Rand, and there is a slight possibility it means Morgase, or Luc, or some other secondary character. However, I’m surely not the first to see that Rand and Elayne’s children are descended from the two most recent Royal Families of Andor. Could all of Moridin’s schemes be aimed at Rand’s children, to prod him in ways he couldn’t be prodded before? Could Rand’s children or his attitude towards them be the key to winning the Last Battle? To fit the themes in the story so far, the Last Battle will have to be about Rand affirming his identity for once and for all. In what ways could his children factor into that? Will they represent the humanity he is trying to save, or will they represent a sacrifice on his part?

Reanne’s death and the discovery of a doll that should have been taken by a fleeing Kinswoman rule out Merilille as the Black Ajah. Sadly, it means Elayne can add a number of probable murders to the bill, since it implies that most of the vanished Kinswomen were killed, and did not run away.

Loial interviews Rand for his book, and is told almost nothing really useful, something Theorylanders are familiar with from RAFO-filled author interviews. The boys from Manetheren have rubbed off on Loial, for he is ready to address the Stump with his views that the Ogier should stand against the Dark One rather than flee to another Dimension using their Book of Translation. Loial acquiesces to his Mother’s demand for a wedding, which takes place minutes after her arrival, the only hasty thing Ogier ever do. For all of his fear that his life would be dominated by a wife, she asks him what he would do, and then supports him in that decision.

I once asked Robert Jordan why Rand had never thought again about the mysterious stranger who saved his life in Shadar Logoth. At last, Rand does so now, recognizing his face as the one that has been appearing in his head shortly after he thinks of Mat and Perrin. It’s likely this was the point of the story in which this information was bound to appear, and not the direct result of a fan’s question. Rand also concludes that the stranger used the Forsaken’s so-called True Power. He stops short of realizing that the stranger may be a reincarnated Forsaken, failing to recognize that the Lord of the Grave is more than a name, it describes one of his abilities. The ability to parse out information slowly is often difficult, as authors are eager to show off the wonderful world they have created. The trick is in supplying just enough new information to keep the reader happy without going beyond the minimum that the reader needs. The Wheel of Time’s length, multiple plotlines, numerous characters and publication schedule have demonstrated that it is possible to dole out clues very slowly, over two decades, and still maintain an air of mystery and wonder with each revelation.

Rand’s madness isn’t getting worse, but he is at the point where he and Lews Therin seem evenly balanced, as represented by Lews Therin’s several comments that he doesn’t understand why he has voice in his head. Establishing how even they are, mirror images of each other,  is key to the surprise when Lews Therin grasps the One Power from Rand during a monumental Trolloc attack. Lews Therin wails that he can’t move his hands, as though it is his body and Rand has grasped physical control of the body from him. A Trolloc attack, even in numbers of hundreds of thousands, is no longer enough to threaten the heroes. Unless a monkey wrench is thrown into the works. As has often been the case, this obstacle is not a physical one but one of identity. Who is Rand? Is he really Lews Therin? Rand’s immediate need is to strike some agreement with the madman in his head or he will die. When the metaphysical argument has physical consequences that can put Rand and his allies in harm’s way, the stakes are raised far more effectively than if the attack had simply been overwhelming numbers of Shadowspawn.

 Writing Lessons:

Time pressure not only increases tension, but can dispel any concerns that the plot isn’t moving.

Lord of Chaos - Chapters 5-7

In this section, more deceit is underway.

Mat knows that his role is to be the decoy, the feint that keeps Sammael focussed on the massive force of Aiel, Cairhienin and Tairens marching towards Illian. Sammael sees the direct threat, and in both Rand’s hopes and in Graendal’s estimation, he will not see the subtle trap they are laying for him. Rand has a sneak attack in mind while Sammael is distracted; Graendal wants Sammael to engage Rand directly, and assumes that Sammael will have the edge in that contest, despite Rand’s victories against other Forsaken.

Graendal has been to the Pit of Doom, and been all but promised to be made Nae’blis. Her part is to sow chaos. Secretly she hopes her manipulation of Sammael will remove Rand. Whatever she thinks, she is undoubtedly part of the Dark One’s master plan if he gave her orders, as is Semirhage. Semirhage has been secretly torturing an Aes Sedai at Shaidar Haran’s orders. Shaidar Haran is to be obeyed as if he were the Dark One.

Information about the current plots of Demandred, Mesaana and Semirhage is scarce. Graendal learned about Mesaana’s presence in the White Tower because she was angry at Semirhage and in her rage commented on the threat of binding with the Oath Rod that first drove Semirhage to the Dark. Whatever dribbles of insight are given to the reader are revealed slowly, to maintain the sense of being kept in the dark, not knowing what plots are secretly unfolding. The reader is privy to some details, and is effectively walled off from others.

Semirhage was told to send Trollocs to the Stone of Tear to counter those sent by Sammael. Rand knows the Forsaken are using the Ways to move Shadowspawn, but that type of movement requires days of advance planning. So Sammael mobilized enough Trollocs to try taking the Stone by sending them through the Ways, which should have taken days, and right behind them, Semirhage is moving her own force of Trollocs and Myrddraal? The Dark One knew enough to give Semirhage her task that far ahead? The only reason we know they move through the Ways is because at some later point we will learn that Shadowspawn cannot use Gateways. Convenient, yet Sammael’s ability to throw not only this attack at Rand, but two more in remote parts of the Aiel Waste would be better explained if he had some other means of transporting them. Skimming? That would limit the number of Trollocs in a given attack force yet still allow some ability to plan an attack on short notice without the need for days of orchestrating movements through the Ways.

Elayne has been crafting dream ter’angreal that sometimes turn out as intended. That is the only thing she and Nynaeve have come up with that is their own, all the rest is extracted grudgingly from Moghedien. Moghedien’s captivity must be kept from the Salidar Aes Sedai. Siuan and Leane aren’t really fighting, another secret to be kept from the Aes Sedai. The Aes Sedai aren’t telling anyone what their plan is. Salidar is a nest of secrets upon secrets, keeping in line with the theme.

The nightmare in Tel’aran’rhiod provides an exciting example of how battles in Tel’aran’rhiod can be conducted. Force of will and belief can change the reality around the dreamer. I note strong similarities between nightmares in Tel’aran’rhiod and bubbles of evil in the waking world, in terms of the randomness of their occurrence and the strange ways in which the unimaginable suddenly becomes real. Some readers point out the impossible things which our heroes somehow achieve in the story. An impossible thing defined here yet again is that the waking world cannot be affected by what is done in Tel’aran’rhiod.  

The Elayne section could have been started in Tel’aran’rhiod, in the Amyrlin’s study. Why have so many uneventful things take place before we get to that scene? It is to establish certain behaviours and facts directly instead of through flashbacks or other less interesting ways. (Yes, there are less interesting ways) Let’s analyze!

To establish that the Aes Sedai have more than just the original dream ter’angreal and the two recovered from the Black Ajah, it must be established how they acquired more. So, right away, the text describes Elayne’s attempts to make more. This is also a good starting point because it brings something new and interesting to the reader’s attention. One hundred strokes of the hairbrush and attempts to heal songbirds establish Elayne’s character: methodical, and experimenting. These are characteristics of a researcher. The danger of stilling herself if she makes an error reinforces the finality of stilling, setting up Nynaeve’s storyline. A brief discussion of Egwene touches on Lan, Nynaeve’s other major ongoing plotline. The descriptive paragraphs serve to establish Elayne’s relationship to the Aes Sedai: she is Accepted, given certain freedoms, but not indulged. Knowing this before the Aes Sedai walk into the dream helps readers understand the context while keeping the pace when they meet.

Entering Tel’aran’rhiod allows for some descriptive text about its look, feel and properties. Having the small council finish the tail end of a conversation allows the reader to learn something about their plans which could not easily be done in a scene taking place in the waking world short of having a point of view from one of the six, or having Elayne or Nynaeve eavesdrop. Camouflaged in with all the Aes Sedai comments, Myrelle drops enough clues in her treatment of Nynaeve to remind us that she is carrying Lan’s bond. Finally, there is an opportunity to make an info-dump as Nynaeve reminds the Aes Sedai of certain dangers which they will unfortunately run afoul of anyway.

It took eight pages, but all that info would have been clunky if forced into the Amyrlin’s study passages.

Writing Lessons:

Even if you are trying to jump to the action, choose a starting point for your scenes that allows logical and natural exposition.

The Eye of the World - Chapters 44-47

This section is a time for revelations, and a slight pause before the final battle!

Moiraine finally learns and reveals how all those Trollocs were moving through the Southlands via the Ways. She also reveals what she has learned about Ba’alzamon from a bizarrely changed Padan Fain. Ba’alzamon’s abilities are increasing, first bringing Fain to Shadar Logoth and transforming him into a hound of Darkness, then to appear in Darkfriend dreams, then in anyone’s dreams, and finally send a flickering image of himself to his troops in the field. With this information, Moiraine’s bizarre hunch to travel to Shienar seems to have paid off. Just how badly are the seals on the Dark One’s prison failing? How much time is left? We’ll know soon.

Padan Fain is discovered to be a Darkfriend of the highest order, and of the foulest behavior. He claims to want to come back to the Light, but can he? We see few enough examples of repentant Darkfriends. Will this be a theme in A Memory of Light? I could see a few possible candidates to play such a role.

Rand, Mat, and Perrin are finally accepted as men, not boys. Once Moiraine reveals the role they are to play at the Eye of the World, even Agelmar concedes that his soldiers are but a diversion to protect them as they fight the true battle. They were young at the beginning, hardly fit to be let off mother’s apron strings, but I was still a bit surprised when Moiraine passes the torch of responsibility from herself to them. Rand catches on that although she is saying she needs them because they are ta’veren, the battle will involve the One Power, which implies one of the men might use it.

The journey through the Ways is surprisingly metaphorical. The heroes, still boys, passed from the land of their childhood through a timeless land of darkness and confusion, and emerge as men in a land of duty and war, ready to carry responsibility for others on their shoulders, ready to go into battle and oppose the Dark One.

In the Ways, Rand and Egwene have their flirtations with others revealed. For perhaps the only time ever, Egwene loses an exchange. Dancing with Aram was like flying with a bird.

The pledge made in Lan’s name in the cradle is strongly reminiscent of the Aiel scream of defiance that Loial told Rand about. Again, we are told that opposing the Dark One is not a matter of Power, but of will.  

Moiraine wonders who is controlling the weave of the Pattern, is it the Creator or the Dark One? This is particularly interesting when applied to servants of the Shadow. The Pattern could use its corrective ability to stop anyone from ever joining the Dark One. So either it doesn’t mind, or knowledge of the Dark One’s mere existence allows people to voluntarily join him, and by whatever connection to the Dark One they make, the Pattern loses the ability to affect them directly. The Dark One’s influence acts as a shield of sorts, allowing his creatures to ‘snip threads’ and limit the Pattern’s ability to auto-correct. The question remains, are Darkfriends and Forsaken agents of the Pattern, of the Dark One, or both?

Apparently many Trollocs speak human tongue. They talked so Fain could understand, arguing about the best way to cook him. Narg not special.

Fain had problems because the boys were separated and he was still compelled to seek out all three of them.  Will this situation persist? The three of them will spend scant time together, which would affect Fain’s ability to track them down. The fires of Ba’alzamon burned him whenever he tried to stop, he couldn’t stop to eat, he rested only when he fell from exhaustion. Will he be able to focus on just one of them? Will his secret encounter with Mordeth affect this compulsion? It seems he manages some control over this compulsion in the future books.

As an example of how an action sequence is built up, I’ve analyzed the journey through the Ways. With use of tabs, maybe we can visually see the increase in tension as the ideas are presented and the scene plays out. Tension increases as entries are pushed to the right by the bright orange boxes, see the link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AofJmajj1aXydDljYnBsQWc0ZnBQZzIwMjhJQTlkaGc

Writing lessons:

Action sequences have rhythms, notching tension up and down is part of building up the feeling of action and danger.

The Eye of the World - Chapters 29-32

Eye of the World 29-32

In this section, the Heroes evade capture or death by keeping a low profile.

The menace in these sections is quite a bit less supernatural, as the worst to contend with are ravens, soldiers and the local toughs. This is partly done to keep the opponents at a level the Heroes can defeat or escape on their own, now that they’re separated from their most powerful allies. In-story, the rationale is that Trollocs are better suited for wilderness missions than for searching the numerous villages. The river also provides a barrier preventing these powerful foes from continuing their pursuit. Those Trollocs must have been under tight control to just let various characters go when they were identified as not-the-boys instead of just killing them. A consequence of being linked to the Myrddraal? They become more versatile, but less capable of deviating from their instructions?

Killer flocks of ravens are nothing to treat lightly however. Elyas notes that something big is underway for this type of Dark activity so far south. Once the ravens fail to find anyone of interest wandering the hinterlands, Perrin and Egwene should be safe from further peril. Except for the Whitecloaks.

Perrin is the first of the boys to start thinking about taking responsibility for more than just his own fate, and considers his options if his worst fears come true. Bit by bit, we’ll see all the main characters thrown into this type of situation, where the lives of others are in their hands. The whole world will be directly in Rand’s hands eventually, and he’ll be wrestling with the same issues Perrin is facing in the race to the stedding.  Elyas’ statement about when to throw the axe away is about Perrin’s worthiness to make such decisions, and whether the people he makes decisions on behalf of would accept them.

We get some mild confirmation that Ba’alzamon wasn’t necessarily lying about his influence on Artur Hawkwing, as it relates to his aggressive stance against Aes Sedai, even on his death bed.

When your two characters face the same menace, they stand together, and the reader feels a bond between them. But offer each of them a different fate, like Egwene being able to repent her sins while Perrin has to face the hangman, can instill tension between the characters. Will Perrin tell her to take the escape offered? Would she do so? Would she find out it was all a ruse and she’s mounting a block right next to Perrin in Amador? A similar wedge is being driven between characters with Perrin’s secret Wolfbrother abilities conflicting with Egwene’s desire to become Aes Sedai. Rand’s abilities will drive the largest wedge of all between the characters. Menace from outside is exciting, but menace from within affects the characters more deeply.

With the advantage of having read the whole series and understanding Rand’s abilities, his lightning blast escape from the Dancing Cartman seems far less bizarre. I won’t talk about Rand much, because I need to finish a perplexing few more chapters before I talk about linearity of events and what happens when you deviate from it.

On a tangent related to writing, as a writer I want some protection for my creations, but my desire for reams and reams of information to inform my writing, to use as reference material, and for the pure joy of research far outweighs that. I strongly oppose the SOPA and PIPA law projects for the destruction they would wreak on valuable human cooperative endeavours such as Wikipedia or other creative commons projects. The ideas behind these laws are still dormant in myriad other initiatives sitting on bureaucrats’ desks, waiting to be spawned. Bureaucracy is a Goat With a Thousand Heads. It won’t budge, it keeps coming back, it craps all over the place. I will stand against these Shadow-spawned law projects, and oppose any similar proposals, and I hope you will too, wherever you live.  

Writing Lessons:

Look for natural wedges or conflicting desires that can be used to drive your characters in different directions. Fight the Goat.

The Eye of the World - Chapters 5-8

In this section, the threat to the characters is revealed in the form of Trollocs. The jarring suddenness of the attack, happening as the heroes prepare a quiet domestic dinner also tells us about the enemy’s opportunistic and vicious mindset.   The attack on the farmhouse gives readers an idea of a victim’s expected treatment at the hands of the enemy. The Trollocs demonstrate a brutal desire to end human life, and wanton destruction of anything that might help humans sustain it. What they can’t break or burn, they render unusable, smearing it with their own filth if that is all they have at hand. Burning a village is still a bit of an abstraction, but Rand discovering how quickly and efficiently the Trollocs have made a ruin of the farmhouse is a more potent way to make the reader understand what the enemy does, and evoke an emotional response.  

It’s easy to lose track of this when later dealings with Forsaken give more human motivations to the Dark One. The Trollocs and Myrddraal should be more representative of the Dark One’s objective: the end of all life.

The introduction of the supposedly mythical Trollocs allows the characters to consider the idea of other mythical beings actually existing, such as Aiel, Green Man, and Ogier. Introducing a new concept can be tricky, you don’t want to bore readers with heavy exposition, but you need them to be familiar enough with it when it finally comes up later in the story. Contrasting the future idea with the current idea allows not only the opportunity to give the desired information, but to present it in a manner that is logical to the characters, and therefore more credible to the reader.

Two threats to Rand’s identity are revealed. Tam may not be his father, and the Trollocs may be seeking him out personally. Imagine what the story would feel like without either of these: just like our teenage D&D campaigns: Walk-fight-walk-fight-walk-fight.

Can you find the paragraph that is not told from Rand’s point of view? His back is turned, so it’s obviously not him seeing the expressions and gestures.

An important theme is brought front and center: Trust. The Two Rivers folk have a strong and intimate fellowship with each other, even with their least likeable neighbours, the Coplins. Strangers don’t benefit from the same trust, and none less than Moiraine, the Aes Sedai in their midst. Rand, Thom, and Bran can’t say whether she can be trusted, but Rand decides trusting in her is better than letting his father die. This may be the last time he can make such a decision without external forces trying to affect his judgment of who he can trust. Lack of communication is often pointed out as a common theme running through the books, but the reason for that lack is first and foremost a lack of trust between the characters. I expect  A Memory of Light to delve into how humanity must trust in itself, and each other, if they are to overcome the Dark One. In Haral Luhhan’s words: “the Light will take care of us all. And if the Light doesn’t, well, we’ll just take care of ourselves. Remember, we’re Two Rivers folk.” The challenge is getting the whole world to act like Two Rivers folk!

Writing Lessons:

Even when the story is epic, look for ways to make it personal to your characters, and more importantly, your readers.