I'm 40,000 words into my next book, Archers Immortal (a title I will probably change), and I've decided to start over. Completely.
Not because those 40,000 words suck, but because I feel like I now know my characters, and I think I can do better. This is how I do pretty much all creative things in my life.
When I paint, I always start with a picture that morphs into something else entirely by the time I'm finished. So I'm not surprised to find my writing following suit. The creative process is--at least in my case--like an unruly vine that stretches across my mind, growing into places I didn't know existed. I feel blessed by this (the unpredictable nature of that which I create) and so I shall embrace it.
So I'm starting over.
It's tricky; the business of telling a story from the beginning. Because it requires that I know everything upfront. And honestly, I don't. I have an outline so I won't get lost along the way; sketches so I can visualize facial expressions and locations; and an ending.
But I can't promise you that somewhere amidst my story, their won't be a character who goes rogue and completely redirects the entire plot. Because who knows? Maybe the villain chick will turn out to be likable and everyone will want to have her over for cookies and quilting lessons. Or maybe the hot male protagonist will decide to become a career game show contestant and, therefore, lose all sex appeal. I dunno.
But that's how I roll: total surrender to creativity.
So I'm starting over today. And I might start over again. But I will eventually tell my story. And it will rock.
Not because those 40,000 words suck, but because I feel like I now know my characters, and I think I can do better. This is how I do pretty much all creative things in my life.
When I paint, I always start with a picture that morphs into something else entirely by the time I'm finished. So I'm not surprised to find my writing following suit. The creative process is--at least in my case--like an unruly vine that stretches across my mind, growing into places I didn't know existed. I feel blessed by this (the unpredictable nature of that which I create) and so I shall embrace it.
So I'm starting over.
It's tricky; the business of telling a story from the beginning. Because it requires that I know everything upfront. And honestly, I don't. I have an outline so I won't get lost along the way; sketches so I can visualize facial expressions and locations; and an ending.
But I can't promise you that somewhere amidst my story, their won't be a character who goes rogue and completely redirects the entire plot. Because who knows? Maybe the villain chick will turn out to be likable and everyone will want to have her over for cookies and quilting lessons. Or maybe the hot male protagonist will decide to become a career game show contestant and, therefore, lose all sex appeal. I dunno.
But that's how I roll: total surrender to creativity.
So I'm starting over today. And I might start over again. But I will eventually tell my story. And it will rock.
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I've always wondered how writers write when it comes to developing characters. I could never figure out if "they" just evolved as the story came along, or if there was like an outline of character details that could be referenced later and stuck in the story as needed. I often think "how" about a lot of things. I guess I'm a dork like that. :)