Saturday?
Posted By admin on April 17, 2010
Already?
This morning, I woke to the pound of a headache and the whine of the neighbor’s four-wheeler through the back of everyone’s yards. We have such thoughtful neighbors! So–I’ve dosed myself with caffeine and acet–well–however that’s spelled. My head hurts too much to look it up, I’ve donned headphones (sound of rain on porch roof–uber-calming!) and I’m working.
Headphones to drown out ATV. After living here for several years, we’ve given up on the idea that property lines are sacrosanct. We pay attention to them. Neighbs unaware they exist. Seriously–the neighbor on the side opposite the no-nature neighbs posted our land so that only he could hunt on it. (As I’m on the side of the deer and whatever else roams through here, and he’s mostly out of town, we left up the signs!)
Speaking of which, I don’t think it’s hunting season yet, but someone’s already out shooting. And our address is not Back of Nowhere. I fear this place is the land that time forgot.
Anyway–enough with the whining–I can see this screen. I’m going back to work. I love my characters, and finally, we’re all working together. Wait–this blog is about writing, not about headaches and quirky neighbors and the vortex above our suburban abode. Let me just explain why this book is more difficult.
Usually, I start a new book with a scene. Something hits me out of nowhere (that’s where ideas come from), and there are two people and an event. The two people show up feeling something about that event, and that gives me an inroad to their characters. The event is a hint about conflict to come.
I usually do a bit of characterization–a few forms from the Plot Doctor–and then I start to write. Just a few pages. Because the characters always change for me, once they step out of that original scene (which may not open the book). After those first few pages, I go back to work on characterization and plotting.
Not this time. This time, the editor who’s graciously and brilliantly working with me, asked for characters in a room, whose conflict would exist if nothing else were happening in their world. To get at what she wanted, I literally had to put these two into a room and have them start talking. That worked. Like crazy, that worked.
However, my process is totally discombobulated. I can write these characters in any situation because I know them. Yet, no matter what situations I put them in, things were not going tickety boo. Things were in fact, boring.
I began to panic a little. It’s amazing to know the characters this well, but they can’t just swim through the book as talking/floating heads. Well, they could, cause I can write that–I know them–but they need a setting–some background to film in. The one thing I’ve never had to worry about in a book, because that setting pops into my head around the scene and I know it.
Five…five…f i v e…5…fi-y-uve…starts later, I have found a setting. So I’m actually moving forward, instead of starting over a sixth time. This will make the third day in the same file. I’m excited!
I love that writing is never the same process–and as unsettling as this has been–I’ve loved this process.
So–back to work!
Comments
Leave a Reply
Please note: Comment moderation is currently enabled so there will be a delay between when you post your comment and when it shows up. Patience is a virtue; there is no need to re-submit your comment.