I am trying to figure out what happens in this book. I have at least six different ways it could all go down. And they’re all good, but at this point no single one seems truer or stronger. The problem is, I don’t know my characters well enough yet. I have the voices of the two leads clearly in my head, of course, but the rest are a lot fuzzier because I haven’t really spent any time with them yet.
I can theorise all I want, listen to them burbling in my head, but characters never seem to quite crystallise properly until I’ve written them down. I need to see how they going to interact with each other, the little details of how they function together, listen to them talking.
Normally this isn’t a problem. Normally, somewhere in the first twenty thousand words of the story everyone gets the chance to wander about the stage and trip over their own feet if they so desire. But the thing with Wizards is the first half of the book takes place over a ridiculously short period of time. Like three or four hours. Which means to all intents and purposes the rest of the characters just don’t exist yet. So I’m theorising in the dark about who they are, their role in the story, their trajectory as people. And, well… six different possible answers. All of which seem like they’d be fun to write. All of which make sense if I spin the story and these characters in the appropriate direction.
I’ve tried talking it through with a couple of people but they just go from, That doesn’t sound very likely when I propose the idea to, Oh, of course it has to happen that way! after I explain it. To every version. Which is what my head is doing. So, not helpful.
I think I’m going to have to write a little of each version, walk into the dark a little way and see what’s there. And then — as this is not a choose-your-own-adventure book — I’ll slaughter the alternate versions until there is only one.
PartlyPixie
21/01/2012
Usually what I have to do is just keep writing forward, even if the plot needs to be reworked later and scenes rewritten, or which character needs to be followed. If I just keep going the characters get a chance to show me what they need. In this month’s novel (I’m doing 12 this year) I’ve recently come up with exactly the same issues, plowing forward is the only way I’ve found to feel out what story is the one that works.
Anyway, just my two cents… Happy writing! Keep it up!
Kandace Mavrick
22/01/2012
Yeah, it’s weird the way that works — you find out what you’re writing by writing it. But for me it certainly seems the best way. On the other hand, I hate when I write something I really like and then figure out it doesn’t work for the plot. (I have a friend who thinks it’s brilliant though — like dvd deleted scenes.)
Twelve novels is scary impressive. That’s like a marathon sprint. I wish you endless luck with it 🙂
PartlyPixie
23/01/2012
I keep a cemetery file on my computer for all the things I love that i can’t use. Sometimes they become reincarnated and sometimes I just like to look at them as a collection. It’s the only place in my life I’m a total hoarder.
I love the idea of deleted scenes though. Hee.
Thanks for the well-wishes. So far it’s going great, but I’ll be needing that luck soon enough I’m sure. 🙂
Kandace Mavrick
23/01/2012
Hoarding words is perfectly natural. I think if I actually had to permanently delete the things I took out of my books I’d be paralysed. But it’s just so sad when you know something you’ve written is perfect for this time, this place, this context… and you need the plot to go in a different direction, or it’s messing up the pacing or… you know, every other perfectly sensible reasons that are nonetheless difficult to pay attention to when your shiny, shiny words are sitting there smiling at you.