Killed it? Resurrect it!

To go along with this month's theme of "Killing your Babies," I've decided to do a post on resurrection. It's difficult to cut scenes (or characters) from your novel, after spending weeks, months, or even years of outlining, writing and polishing your manuscript. One thing I've learned is that you've got to be true to your story, and true to your characters. This is the only way you'll know what to do with your baby.

While writing Dark Seduction, I had a few more Guardians in the mix than what made it into the final cut. Even though I love every one of those characters, I had to face facts and make some cuts. There were just too many for readers to get to know, and I didn't have to throw every single immortal warrior at them from the get-go. So I took some of them out and modified my story using the Guardians that were left. My point is that just because you kill something or someone off, it doesn't mean you can't resurrect them. I've introduced some of those characters in subsequent books, and plan to add even more later on. Did it suck to have to make those cuts? Yup. Do I think the book (and the overall series) is better off with those changes? Abso-freakin'-lutely!

No one really wants to kill off scenes and/or characters, sometimes it's a necessary evil (or blessing depending on how you look at it).

So go ahead and cut scenes or characters, and save a new draft of your manuscript. If it flows well, then you've made the right move. If you're just not sure, then get a critique partner.

If you killed it, resurrect it.

Happiness in Death

Love scenes: some of the hardest writing I do.  I don't know why I have such a hard time writing a decent romantic scene.  Maybe I'm dead inside and don't feel emotions like other people, or maybe it's because I go too far when I write them, either too cheesy, too aggressive, too pornographic...who knows?  All I know is that I struggle with them greatly.

The irony of that opening statement is that I can't stand to read a novel without some element of love.  I enjoy that giddy sensation that gives me a chance to change the emotions I'm experiencing during the rest of the novel.  It adds climax and excitement to the story.

So, while I know what I like, making my characters act that way, making my brain think that way is difficult.

With my work in progress, there is an element of romance that builds and builds.  At the height of this romantic relationship, I felt like the scene where it all came together fell flat.  Something wasn't right.  All of the actions were right, but it didn't fill me with that sense of giddiness, that excitement of something that had been developing throughout the novel coming to its climax.  It just wasn't working.  I wrote this scene a few months ago and moved on with the novel, knowing I was going to need to come back to it.  That time finally came this month.  I read it and changed a few things here and there, but it still didn't feel right.  I left it and came back the next day, and the next, and the next.  It just wasn't working.

Finally, it came to me in the dark of a sleepless night after being stuck for about two weeks: the protagonist wasn't behaving like she would.  Her emotions weren't congruent with her character.  I was writing her acting, feeling in a way contrary to any way she would ever act or feel.  When morning came, I eliminated all traces of the previous emotions I had given her and rewrote that romantic scene.  She no longer felt things she would never consider; she was focused and driven, just like she had been since the beginning of the book.  While her actions surprised us, her motive didn't.  It was the same as it had always been.  The scene came together.  The feelings I had been trying to force onto the reader came, not because I wrote them, but because our protagonist acted like herself.

Killing that scene, which I would have loved if I didn't know my protagonist like I do, brought the emotions it had been deprived of.  While it sounds hard, and it is, it is always worth the change.  I won't ever regret erasing that scene and changing it like I did.  I love it now and it brought the energy to the novel, to that plot element that I had been missing.  Have the courage and kill them.

Everything else I thought to put here sounded too morbid...

Well, this months theme, is "killing your babies". Up until this last weekend, I knew exactly what I was going to write about. What inspired the change? Well, lets just say, I finally realized that in a sense, I had to kill my first born. I am going to have to start from the beginning and rewrite my whole novel.

 I started my novel probably 6-8 years ago. Obviously, I was never really consistent with it through those years, only pulling it out when I felt some new bit of inspiration, day dreaming about the kind of story I wanted to tell. It has only been in the last 3 years I have been serious, and even then, I haven't been committed to it fully. Life happens.

Over the years as I would write little scenes here and there, I knew what story I wanted to tell, but I didn't put much thought into characterization over the whole novel. Later on when I wanted to bridge the gap and make the little scenes piece together, I found I was constantly making changes to what the characters would say and do, because they didn't fit.

A couple months ago, I decided to change a huge plot point in the book. My heroine originally suffered the loss of her mother, which devastated her. In that loss, I wanted to write a book where she could grow and regain herself through her friends and the people around her. I was constantly struggling with, "Would she really care about that?" or "Why does this even matter to her?" Those questions were constantly circling the inevitable drain. SO, I changed her struggle from a loss of a parent to a devastating break up. Maybe a little more mainstream, but I feel for the story I want to tell, it really opens up a lot of avenues. I found my character's responses started to make sense, I felt an urgency to get on with the story to find resolution for them.

Now I have tried to go back and implement this large plot change through out all the work I have done. I kept hitting walls. Even though I was on board with the plot changes, nothing felt congruent. With all of this, I have decided to rewrite the whole novel. Some scenes will be the same, but I feel that if I leave it open as a blank canvas, it will open up a lot of room for discoveries that I couldn't quite reach before.

It could also send me into depression. I feel as though all the hours and work I spent on the previous 97,000 words mean nothing. I know that isn't true, because with out that, I wouldn't know what direction I wanted to go.

I realize this has ended up being a eulogy for my dead "baby", but don't worry, I am working on a new one, and by darn it. Its going to freaking rock.

Killing Your Babies

Don't let the title fool you, we're not talking about killing real babies. Our theme for this month is about making your characters do something or change something that you didn't want to do or change, or killing off a character in order to make the story better. A sacrifice you've had to make for the greater good. While I haven't had to kill off any of my characters (yet) I have definitely had to make some hard cuts in order to improve the flow of the story. One particularly difficult cut was a scene where my main protagonist is spying on the main antagonist and overhears a conversation between him his mom. The reason this scene was hard for me to take out is because I think it really shows the motivation and core of my antagonist and reveals a more luring side to him. But alas, as my story developed I realized that this scene not only gave away too much too soon, it also didn't quite fit in with my new revisions of the story and had to go. I still very much plan on adding it as a deleted scene after I publish my book. Want a sneak peak? You got it! Okay, it's not really a peak, it's the whole thing, but I couldn't decide where to stop it. Enjoy.

I crept a little closer so I could hear what they were saying. Mrs. Thomas’s voice cut through the air and it was obvious she was not happy.

“Why her? Darling, you could have so many other girls and they would all be a much better choice than her.”

“No, mother. I want her and I will have her,” Lucas replied confidently.

“But why? She’s nothing special; she’s not even that pretty. I don’t understand why we can’t just get rid of her.” I felt my heart beating faster. I could only imagine what get rid of her would mean for me. Like I was some dog that bit her hand and now had to be put down. That’s how she saw me. I noticed a sliver of light spilling out by the door and leaned toward it to try and see inside. The only thing I could make out was the form of Mrs. Thomas, sitting in a large chair by the fire. From the way she kept moving her head she was watching Lucas pace the room.

“I’ve already told you, I want her,” Lucas said again. When Mrs. Thomas didn’t reply he said impatiently, “You don’t see the way people look at her as she walks by. Or how she lights up whenever she talks about something she’s passionate about. People are drawn to that light and they listen to her.” I felt myself frowning in the dark where no one could see me. He thought people were drawn to me?

“She can be a very powerful asset if she chooses to be on our side,” he finished.

“Or a very powerful enemy if she chooses not to be,” Mrs. Thomas countered.

There was a moment of silence while they both contemplated this. Mrs. Thomas was the one to break the silence. “And she doesn’t even like you.” At that Lucas sighed. I thought he’d lost the battle, but he wasn’t ready to give up yet.

“Just give me time, mother. She’ll come around and you’ll be glad you decided to let her stay. She can live here so you can keep a close eye on her and I’ll be with her at school. If she steps out of line even once, you can send her back,” Lucas said.

“Sounds like you’ve got this all worked out. You realize how much of a liability she is?” Mrs. Thomas asked.

“I do, but I’m willing to take that chance,” Lucas replied. I was taken back at the utter confidence he had in me of all people. I found myself a little flattered that he was willing to risk so much for me, but I felt bad for him. He was a fool to think I’d cooperate. A fool to think I could just sit by and pretend like everything was real. He would risk a lot and he would lose it. Mrs. Thomas seemed to think the same thing.

“I hope you’re right about her darling. I would hate to see you heartbroken over such an unworthy girl, but I love you too much to not give you what you want. Especially when you’re willing to risk so much for it. She can stay,” Mrs. Thomas said as she got up and walked toward the door leading back to her wing. She paused in the doorway.

“For now,” she added. I couldn’t see Lucas through the crack of the door, but I heard the exhalation of breath. He was relieved. I could have hid when I heard him coming, but I didn’t. He came out the door and stopped short when he saw me standing there. He didn’t look embarrassed or angry like I thought he would be. He simply smiled and bowed slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. Then without a word he continued on his way as if he’d never been interrupted. As if he hadn’t caught me listening in on his conversation. He wasn’t disappointed that I heard.
*Copyright Jayne L. Bowden*

Difficult character? Try all of them!

For the last few weeks Jayne, Hannah, and Leesa have posted on difficult characters and/or how to deal with them. I'll admit, I've thought of what to post since I learned what the theme o' the month was, but nothing has really struck me as "the post."

In my blog post last month, one of my suggestions was to write about the character that is motivating you the most at the time. But what if there are different characters from different books screaming at you inside your head? Well, then you'll be where I have been for the last few years. My most difficult is all of my characters.

That might sound like a joke, but I'm not kidding. It's hard to weed through the chaos going on inside my head and distinguish one voice from the others, to learn that person/demon/whatever inside and out, while keeping the other alpha's at bay.

The last few days I've been off-grid, enjoying some time surrounded by pine trees and quakies, deer, bears, and mountain lions (thank God I didn't see the latter two), and that's why I'm getting this post in so late. If my characters could speak to you without my knowing it, well for one, I'd be schizophrenic. For another, some of them would tell you that I was a big old meanie-head (not in those words of course. My big, burly demons probably wouldn't say it quite like that...). I opened two WIPs (works in progress) this weekend. The two that were the loudest. And I'm so glad I did. At first, I figured I'd be bouncing back and forth between the two books, adding in paragraphs or entire scenes as my men demanded, but what happened was that once I started typing in one book, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

So this month, my advice is nothing more simple than: Just write. You'll get farther than if you don't.

Character Sketches

The theme of the month (if it isn't apparent) is characters.  This is an interesting topic because of my story.  For the first five revisions, the sidekick to my main character, was much more likable than the main character herself.  The more I re-read my book, the less I cared about the main character.  Does that somehow seem wrong?  YES!  My main character should be the driving force of my novel.  I should want her success and safety more than I want any other character.

So what was the problem?  Inconsistency.  The main character didn't have a real personality.  Instead of being able to understand her, she was all over the place.  She was volatile and unreliable and inconsistent.  She would react one way in a certain situation and if that same situation were to arise again, she would react completely different: not because she learned from her mistakes or past reaction, but because she didn't know who she was or what drove her.

Now, I wasn't looking for a character that was so predictable to the point of boredom because, let's be honest, no real human being is like that.  What I wanted was a real character.  For example, in a given situation, I can guess more or less how my husband is going to react because I understand his personality.  It won't be a mystery to me every time that same situation arises what his reaction is going to be.  Because he is who he is, his actions will be fairly consistent.  Once we understand a person's personality or we see, through their actions, what drives them, that will either draw us to that person or repel us.  That's what I needed for my protagonist.

I did some soul searching for the both of us and what I concluded was that I needed a character sketch.  I needed to know who my main character was, what drove her, what her faults were, what her personality was like.  From this character sketch, I was able to understand what it was that led her to act the way she did.

With my character sketch in hand, I had to make the story reflect that drive, that motive.  That meant I had to rewrite the entire book.  You think I'm joking, but I'm not.  The story was just as erratic as the main character had been.  But with the personality of the main character being definite and consistent, plot elements came out that I had never seen before because now I understood her.  Heck, even the entire climax and plan of the story, when she realizes what her flaw is and just how much trouble it's gotten her into and her plan to resolve her issues, have changed completely.  The best part is that I love the changes.  The plot now is character driven rather than just action driven.  The twists and deception and manipulation that occurs are more intense because now I'm rooting for the main character.  I love her more than any other character now.  I'm invested in her because I understand her personality to a certain degree and I am drawn to it.

The character sketch has been the most useful tool I've found in my writing.  I didn't only use it with my protagonist.  When I sketched the antagonist of the story, revelations of new scenes came to me.  Now the antagonist is more complex.  It makes everything that much more gut-wrenching because of the understanding I now have of the characters.

So if you're ever in a slump or you don't know where to take a scene, ask yourself how your character would react.  If you don't know the answer, try a character sketch.

Difficult Characters

It is interesting that some characters come so easily while others take some effort to get to know. The majority of the time I think the reason I have issues with my characters is because they react to situations differently than I, so I find I get caught up in thinking about how I would respond, or what I would say, versus giving my character the opportunity to tell me. So basically, I get in the way of my characters. As I have become more self aware of that, I am trying to let go of what I want, and let the story flow. 

As for the most difficult character... It is my heroine. I don't know if I would say that she's difficult, but more so that I am still trying to figure out her emotions.  I feel as though I know who she is and what she wants, but then she responds differently when I am in the flow of the story. I am throwing a lot of trials in her path and figuring out how she will react. Again, it comes back to, I want her to react a certain way, but she wants to do something else entirely. For people who aren't writers, I sound like a crazy person. I am throwing a lot of emotional turmoil at her and its hard to gauge just how much she can take. As writers, not only do we have to be concerned about the communication between our characters, but we also need to be aware of the communication going on between us and them.