This month, I'm writing a novel. All my progress can be found on my private blog. The commentary for each day's work can be found below.
Maybe it was just the stressful day at work yesterday, but the first part of chapter 9 which I wrote after work felt like bullets being removed from my shoulder. (I'm guessing; never been shot.) Every word hurt as I typed it, because I knew it sucked but couldn't make it not suck.
Here's something a little frightening--so far, there are only four major characters that I've introduced that I really developed in advance: Gessica, Elma, Yancy, and Merona. (Well, Bryony doesn't count, since she's the narrator.) I feel that Yancy wasn't introduced well at all, and I'm not happy with what I've done so far to introduce the next new major character, Devan.
Most of the other characters have developed organically, but that's not always a luxury I can afford, when the plot demands someone else. Yancy and Devan are both vitally important to the story, especially Devan. Perhaps that's why I'm putting more expectations on his introduction.
Regardless, I keep having to tell myself that it's okay to write sucky prose, that sometimes you have to suck for a while before you can write something good. But it doesn't feel good, and I found it hard to motivate myself to get started this morning, something that hasn't happened since I started.
I'm going to make the assumption that if I get past the part of the story that I'm dissatisfied with, I'll get to a part I like better, and maybe the bad part will improve in rewrites. But enough of this... I need to actually start writing, don't I?
So far I'm half done with today's section, and I have to say that I'm more pleased with it than I expected to be. I think one of my strengths as a writer is bringing characters to life through dialogue, and rereading yesterday's entry, there was relatively little dialogue. I particularly enjoyed writing the exchange between Devan and his questioner. Given the crowd, the dialogue was the only information Bryony had about those people, and it allowed me to focus on those words in a way that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise.
And, I like the way I introduced Sili and Zeoly. I think it illustrated their characters very well, and I think the group feels natural. Two that are talkative, two that are quiet. I look forward to developing the dynamic more later.
I end the day's writing much more hopeful than I began it. I haven't decided yet whether there is more of Chapter 9, or if I'll start onto 10.
Either way, more tomorrow.
Today's Total: 2,066 / 1,689 words (122.3%)
Progress to Date: 34,617 / 30,395 words (113.9%, 2.5 days ahead)
Total Progress: 34,617 / 52,347 words (66.1%)
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2 comments:
Yes, the population is large, and that does necessitate introducing many characters.
If showing so many people to your audience is creating difficulty, then this is a perfect opportunity to vicariously filter that difficulty directly into Bryony. She is still getting her bearings, and while she is getting to know herself and others, everyone around her seems to already know each other. I would imagine that meeting so many new people would only add to her disorientation. I can tell you I would not be able to keep all those names and faces straight!
Part of the reason I think I can get away with her remembering is because she has so little else to remember! Every memory becomes significant because it is her first experience.
People she meets in passing, though, may not stick as well. For example, she's barely met Merona, who was on the sidelines through the one scene they shared during which Bryony was conscious. She should look familiar, though. And I will try to be clever enough in my writing to remind the reader who these people are when they reoccur.
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