Waypoints
Samuel Johnson
Okay, now to writing - I’m nearly 19K into Standoff (paranormal suspense and the last of a series and end to a big story arc) and happy with where I’m heading. The heroine, Grace, is a doctor but she’s not mouthy and tough on the exterior like Nina or Tracy. So I have to rein in my dialog impulses and nix the snarky on the outside. She’s strong of course, she’s Cade’s mate and she’s taken a huge risk to come to him. He realizes that but she’s got some stuff to deal with. She’s a scientist so her happy place is in a lab or with data and not necessarily with a lot of other people. It’s always a challenge to write every character and make them unique, make them as real as you can without essentially copying your base character again and again.
Sometimes beginning a new book can be daunting, sometimes it’s the middle or the end that make me insane. The last two projects I worked on were hard to start but once I hit a certain point, once I know my characters and where they need to journey to, things begin to ease in my head.
I don’t necessarily mean it becomes easy to write that journey, but what I mean is I know the map and feel confident about the waypoints if not the scenic markers of the route.
I remember thinking that at some point, it would get easier after I did it a few times. In some ways, it does. I know more now about how to heighten tension with a few sentences here and there. I know how to edit better, I know things that make me a better writer in a technical sense. But at the same time, the knowing means I feel more pressure to use all those tools to the best of my ability to write a book.
Each day I learn and grow. Each day I fail and succeed. Hopefully, the success will outweigh the failure. But in the end, it’s what I do, how I do it and that I continue forward.
November 2nd, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I maybe be where you are, Lauren, as far as having written enough that I feel the process is getting easier in some ways and harder in others. I’ve reached the muddy middle of my WIP (33,000 words) and am having to re-evaluate some character goals and a few scenes waiting in the wings to be written. It’s a balance issue for me, and almost always is. Making the whole story gel in a satisfying way can be a challenge (I’m talking about myself here), but I need to just get through to the end so that I can go back and fix the questionable stuff later.
My story is an urban fantasy and my female main character didn’t turn out to be quite what I’d first envisioned, so I can relate to what you’re going through. But I’m glad my character has turned out the way she has. I think I started out the idea for the book by pigeon-holing her as being a certain way. Well, she’s not, and she let me know that right away. She’s a lot more vulnerable that I’d thought she’d be, so I’m trying to be careful in how she’s portrayed. She’s tough, but not that tough, not the kick ass take names later kind of gal. She’s a headstrong, a do-whatever-it-takes-to-reach-her-goal kind of character, but she’s also pragmatic and less prone to impulsive behavior than I thought she’d be. So these points, obviously, affect my original plan for the plot. This is part of what makes writing fiction so much fun. 8^)
November 2nd, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Karen, my characters always surprise me with who they really are. It’s a process for me every time, getting to know them.
Your book sounds fab and your main character sounds like someone I’d love to read about!
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Ain’t that the truth? I just found out my hero has a thing for funny t-shirts. He’s a thousand years old (not a vampire) and he’s nuts for 21st century pop culture.
Before I start a book, I do the character interviews and charts, etc., which I find very helpful, but I never know as much about my story people as I do once I’m well into the story.
November 3rd, 2007 at 4:20 am
I always love the way characters change and mutate during the writing process. No matter how much planning I do, it’s always the ‘whoa, I never realised that!’ moments in the actual writing that give me the greatest thrill.
November 3rd, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Portia - There are times when the work of writing a novel is simply organic and magic. Those moments when a chararacter shows an unexpected facet are my favorite times.
Karen - yes. I have my notecards with the basic outlines of who the people are, and they’ll toss a curveball at me every time. I love that!