Number Four in the Trilogy

I am struggling--struggling, I say!--with the fourth installment of my Chronicles of Huttle trilogy, Huttle on Fire. Yes, I know that when it's done I could call the collection a quartet, but that sounds like it ought to have a standup bass and a snare drum in it, so it will remain a trilogy.

This is humor, people.

Anyway, my struggle is this: I don't know how to define or describe the central conflict of the book! In The Spy Who Loathed Me, FBI Agent Terrence Tillberry is in love with KGB Agent Petra Tarasova. There's lots of intrinsic conflict there, and when you throw in the fact that Petra couldn't care less about him, and that everything he does to get her attention only makes him look like more of a jerk, well, there's plenty of space for humor.

Sometimes, the central drive of the story is apparent from the beginning. Arguably, that's an easier course to take. However, I enjoyed no such luxury with the first two books, In Huttle We Trust, and Huttle to the Rescue. I started with a character, Tom Huttle, who had a quest. In the book In Huttle We Trust, he wanted to complete his first book, titled Garbage.  In Huttle to the Rescue, Tom wanted--and believed he was poised to receive--a prestigious writing award. In both cases, severe and myriad complications arises as Tom sought his goal.

So far, Huttle on Fire has not revealed to me a concrete goal for Tom to seek. I've written fifteen chapters, and Tom done a number of things, and been tested to some degree or another in each chapter... yet the core; the thing that is driving him--remains elusive.

However, without revealing the plot in any way, I have been circling around some tantalizing themes, which I will expand upon at the end of this post. You see, humor is not just pies in the face and slipping on banana peels--though that is a good and worthy brand of it. Humor is also the human condition; sharp truths revealed with wit, so they cut deeper. Ultimately, the humor of a piece has to inform not only the plot, but the theme of the book. So, below are some of the areas I'm touching on. As the character develops and learns, the themes emerge. In the end, if I've done my job correctly, both the character and the reader have a little more knowledge about themselves, and about life.

Here's what I'm playing with.

THREADS & THEMES:

1) TOM BELIEVES HE MUST ENDURE PAIN TO BE A MAN OF VIRTUE. (He learns that sometimes, pain of some type is a consequence of remaining true to yourself and to your aspirations, but that pain itself does not impart virtue.

2) TOM BELIEVES HE IS UNIMPORTANT AND WILL BE IGNORED, EVEN WHEN HE HAS A SOLID CONTRIBUTION TO MAKE. (He learns that he must have faith in his own qualities and step bravely forward day-by-day and hour-by-hour. He will be heard how he’s heard—not exactly as he might like in any given instance—and he must calibrate his actions accordingly, or not. What others think of him is none of his business)

3) TOM BELIEVES THAT THE WORLD IS ONE OF THREAT AND STRUGGLE. (He learns that the world is neutral. There are good people and bad ones; fewer bad than good. Everyone is struggling in some realm or other.)

4) TOM BELIEVES THAT THE ONLY TYPE OF PERSON WHO CAN OVERCOME THE NATURE OF THE WORLD IS REALLY NOT HUMAN AT ALL. (He learns that to be human—experiencing the full range of sorrow and elation available only to people, in the moment and in all its dimensions—makes the world a place to treasure and be grateful for.)