LIT REVIEW
Considering the title of my project: ‘Scabbard’- an exploration of writing a fiction novel using first person narrative, concentrating on developing the character of the protagonist, it was clear to me that there should be two different areas of research sources; one designed to develop the writing style of the story, and another set aimed at exploring in detail the cause for my protagonist’s personality.
Firstly, in order to improve the confidence in my writing I read books that I believed were similar in writing style or had some element that I wanted to take inspiration from when writing my story. These were Of Mice and men, Filth, to a lesser extent Trainspotting.
Of Mice and Men
As already mentioned in my appraisal of writing
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I chose this book because it is one I happened to have studied in great detail for English Language at GCSE, but more than that it is a book that has resonated with me since the day I read it. However, it is a source only relevant to my own story by way of poetic, evocative descriptions of settings. Before I began writing my story I knew it would be very different for several reasons. Firstly from the start I knew I wanted my story to be a novel, thus made up of at least 40,000 words. The reason for this is due to the various dramatic elements in the plot that I believe, in order not to come across as being over the top, should be staggered within the length of a novel. This isn’t to say I would deliberately pad the book out with irrelevant sections; I would have space and length to build up detailed and multifaceted personalities that the reader can appreciate, thus fulfilling the major aim of my proposal. By comparison, at 29,160 words, Of Mice and Men fits squarely into the bracket of a Novella. This is reflected in the characters; they are not deeply developed but instead are presented as metaphors for the types of people trapped in the American Dream - the main focus of the novel. Secondly Of