Character vs Nature

Rosemi Mederos: 00:01

If you have plot bunnies coming out of your plot holes, it’s time for a writing break.

Foot traffic in bookstores is on the rise, so much so that Barnes & Noble is planning to open 50 new stores this year. We’re discussing publishing news today, including what’s trending in books. We’re also talking about the fascinating literary conflict of character versus nature.

The cafe is open, so let’s grab a table and settle in for today’s Writing Break.

Sports romance and adult fantasy sales are still on the rise.

As for historical fiction, there are some ups and downs.

Historical fiction fantasy is down.

Historical fiction based in ancient times is up.

And women’s fiction, World War II, and 20th century still lead the pack in historical fiction.

If you consider yourself a creative person, you might want to refrain from using generative AI in your writing. Researchers at University College London and University of Exeter examined the causal impact of generative AI on the production of short stories. What they found was that people with low creativity had a positive benefit to the overall creativity of their stories, while highly creative people had either no benefit or a negative benefit to the overall creativity of their stories. The stories written with the aid of generative AI were also more similar to each other than those that were not written using AI. This suggests that generative AI reduces the overall diversity of creative output. But we already knew that, didn’t we?

Macmillan is launching a new imprint called 23rd Street Books. They will be publishing graphic novels for adults that “span styles and genres, from the hilarious to the serious, from the escapist to the realist, from high-octane fiction in every genre to groundbreaking fiction.”

Check the show notes for more information on this and all of today’s news stories.

Now, let’s head to the Overthinking Couch to discuss Character vs Nature.

Character vs. nature is when a character faces opposition from the natural world. The key components of a character vs nature conflict are: the character, the natural force, and the struggle. The natural force can be a specific element (like a storm, a mountain, or wild animals), or the natural force can be a general environment (like an ocean, a rainforest, or a desert).

So, we’re talking about characters stranded in a blizzard or shipwrecked on a deserted island, characters facing a hurricane or a tornado, and even characters encountering danger while exploring uncharted territories. The struggle encompasses the character's internal and external battle to survive, conquer, or adapt to the natural world.

The themes explored in character vs nature conflicts tend to be: resilience, determination, and strength in the face of adversity; questions about humanity’s relationship with the natural world; and the amazing and often destructive force of nature.

I have actively sought out character versus nature books since I first read Island of the Blue Dolphins. Books like that one, Hatchet and Call of the Wild are books where the character vs nature conflict drives the plot. But that doesn’t have to be the case. A protagonist or a group of characters can face nature for a portion of the book but not the entire book, such as in Their Eyes Were Watching God. In either case, character vs nature should not be the only literary conflict present, so be sure to layer your story with a couple of the other conflicts we’re discussing this season.

I welcome any and all character versus nature book recommendations, and I encourage you to include a character versus nature conflict in at least one scene of your current work in progress. Some of you don’t even mention the weather, much less a conflict with it.

As Ernest Hemingway told us, “Remember to get the weather in your damn book–weather is very important.”

That’s all for today. Next time we’re discussing character versus society. Until then, thank you so much for listening, and remember, you deserved this break.

If you would like us to visit your favorite independent bookstore, feature your favorite independent author (even if it’s you), or discuss something you’re overthinking about, please email me at podcast@writingbreak.com.

Thank you for making space in your mind for The Muse today.

Writing Break is hosted by America’s Editor and produced by Allon Media with technical direction by Gus Aviles. Visit us at writingbreak.com or contact us at podcast@writingbreak.com.