Writing Challenge
Day four.
After rejecting and then taking back what I have written for my novel, day four brought a lot of ideas as to how I can make the plot better. I wrote some more for the beginning and made plans to rewrite the scenes my main character is in. I haven’t written that far for her, so there isn’t going to be a ‘great dismantling’ of everything to rewrite her scenes.
After reading Susan’s comment - If you don’t like your main character, how can you expect your reader to? - I began thinking about my main character. I realized that it wasn’t that I didn’t like her, it was that I didn’t know her. She stood there as a flat, meaningless character and, out of habit, I pretty much tried to ignore her.
Having contemplated that a bit, I came up with a few ideas about how to make her shine, which I’m looking forward to writing on day five.
How are your projects going? Is anyone new participating? What genre story are you working on?
June 29th, 2007 at 4:52 am
Got in twenty minutes. Mostly reading over what I’d written of my current section and trying to figure out what needs to be written stronger or added. Plus I wrote a paragraph which I will delete in the morning when I’m not dead tired.
Once again I’m thankful for the challenge. It was another day when I normally would not have done anything with my novel.
How are you approaching developing your MC? I’m interested in that because I have a similar problem. Right now I’m going with the just write and learn about my characters as I write approach. It’s working okay - takes less brain power - but it’s tedious work.
June 29th, 2007 at 7:19 am
I’m glad taking part in the challenge is encouraging you to write every day. In the end, it’s all up to you to do so, but I like doing this writing challenge for the ability it provides you to talk with others about what you are doing as well as what they are doing.
Why will you delete the paragraph? It’s good you don’t do so when you’re tired.
With my MC, I’m avoiding doing a character sheet (which I would usually do with any other character) because I like finding out about my MC as I go.
What I’m going to do is go back and rewrite her scenes. (Fortunately I’m in the beginning of the story so this is easier.) Her first scene I’m going to write a few times so I can get more of an idea as to what feels ‘right’ for her. I’ll write her as different stereotypes, one per rewrite, and keep going until I’m satisfied with her image in my mind.
The reason I don’t like her right now is because she’s flat and can’t grow. I need to make her 3d, so to say.
If you’re quite a long way along, I’d suggest taking your MC and put him/her in a variety of different situations and see what happens. It can help give you more of an idea if you put him/her through different emotions and might even give you a few ideas for your plot.
I’d likely do what you’re doing - and I have in the past - but it was such a HUGE thing this time around that I didn’t have any sort of feelings toward her at all. It was as if I was dealing with a cardboard character right off the bat, which just wasn’t good at all.
June 29th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
JM, I have this HUGE file in Word that’s about developing a character. It’s a bit disorganized still (I don’t use these things usually), but if you’d like to take a peek and see if it helps inspire anything, drop me an e-mail.
I have been writing, but I don’t think I’ve gotten an uninterrupted twenty minutes in weeks! (who said summer vacation was wonderful??)
June 29th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
I’ll definitely drop you that email. I’m curious to see what you’ve put together.
I know how that goes. Sometimes the twenty minutes seems impossible!