Being a Better Writer: The Gandalf Problem · 7:06pm March 25th
Alternate title: When You Realize One Character Can Solve Most of the Plot. Welcome back writers! It’s time for another Being a Better Writer post, and we’ve got a fun one for you!
Now, today’s post isn’t a reader request, though we’ve got plenty more of these coming. Today’s topic was actually inspired by discussion from the editing of the Axtara sequel—which should leave Alpha today, I’ll add. There’s your news tidbit. But yes, this came up while editing on that title. A minor spoiler, but one of the plot points of the second Axtara book is Axtara’s brother coming for a visit. Who happens to be a wizard.
However, his visit is announced in the beginning of the book, but as a letter noting that it will be some time before he arrives. The book happens, and then Axtara’s older sibling appears for the final chapter, making good on his promise and helping to wrap everything up from the story.
Now, this works, but a few readers did express a little disappointment that Axtara’s brother hadn’t been there from the start, since they’d wanted to see more of him. Which is fair. Ryax is quite a fun character, and many have wanted to see more of him since his (at this time) Patreon-Exclusive appearance.
The thing is, they weren’t alone in that. I too wanted to see Ryax get some more time to shine, which was one reason why he’d been included in the Axtara sequel in the first place. But … as I sat down and began to work through the plot, assembling the framework that would be Axtara’s second outing, I saw an immediate problem with Ryax’s inclusion.
He was a wizard, and solved more than 50% of the book’s primary conflict simply by being present, his skill set much better suited to overcoming the challenges faced by Axtara.
Now, I could have changed the conflict. Given the story something that Ryax couldn’t immediately or easily overcome. But when I started to explore that route additional problems were created, giving the plot multiple issues. Adjusting the plot to give Ryax more struggle took away from Axtara having conflict, making the story more about her brother than her, the titular protagonist. Worse, it shifted the genre, away from Cozy Fantasy more towards just regular fantasy starring a dragon.
Ryax, it became clear, was a detriment, not an improvement. I had unfortunately encountered a problem.
Now ultimately I fixed it, or the discussion never would have started in the first place. But when talk of this reached the site Discord, one member immediately noted ‘Oh, you had the Gandalf problem.’
And he was right. I had.
A relevant problem in almost any fantasy or sci-if fiction that has characters and means not possible in our world. And especially true for any adventure story in the world of FiM – Discord being an ally is the obvious example, but even Celestia/Luna brush up against this, as does Twilight once she gets her wings. Assuming none of them are the focus of the story.
And given it’s an established world, unless it’s an AU we can’t change their skillset or invent a lazy kryptonite. Which didn’t stop them with that changeling throne in “To Where and Back Again•, but I digress.
There's always one solution on hand: the Deus Exit Machina.