Tag: characters

The Work in Progress

Yesterday I started writing around 7:30 a.m. Two of my main characters were in a tough spot. One was dealing with something her daughter had just confessed while the other was attempting to reassure her without offering platitudes.

I worked on their conversation for about an hour and still wasn’t happy with it. So, instead of continuing to pound my head against my keyboard, I went back and read the whole thing from the beginning in an effort to crawl inside their heads in a different way.

The effort paid off and I think I’ve handled the conversation in a thoughtful way. At least it doesn’t sound like I’ve strung a bunch of cliches together. In the end, I managed to write 1,023 words on Wednesday, and I fully expect to finish my book within the next seven days. Eek!

I’ll have a party on that day. Jump up and down, cry, turn cartwheels, drink a glass of wine, and probably write a post about the event. Okay, Studly says no cartwheels, but everything else is good to go.

Peace, people.

An Unexpected Character

Last evening I was working on my novel, typing furiously, closing in on my thousand word target for the day, when out of the blue a sinister character showed up. Now, this has been the part of writing a novel that simultaneously makes me want to scream and laugh. Who the heck did this character think he was to appear out of thin air at this moment in time?

Throughout the night I’d wake up and think either, “This guy has got to go,” or “Damn, this guy is just the thing to bring closure.”

When I started writing this morning I decided to let him stay for awhile and just see where the story went. Friends, I think he’s a keeper. His appearance is the catalyst I needed to resolve an issue and help two of my characters work together after a devastating secret threatened to pull them apart. My subconscious knew something that I did not.

Isn’t that the beauty of using a word processor? If, after a few hundred words, someone or something isn’t working they can go away with just a click, either jettisoned into the trash bin or saved in a new file for another day or another tale.

And, I hit my thousand word goal before 11 a.m.

Peace, people!