Sunday, June 28, 2015

SCL Project: That Thing? Found It.

Yes, I knew it would come to me. Last post I was taking it a bit slow to find that missing element. Today, it came to me, the plot element that ties together the point-of-view change, why this new character is needed, and how this will work in the end of the book. It was one of those moments where you have to sit there, you know you want this next turn to come, but you want to make it abundantly clear why this is happening.

You may not tell your readers that now, but by the end, they will get it.

It matters because you want to have the 'secret understanding' as you go forward and write what you write. Because if you keep the plot twist in mind before it happens, you can write for it a lot better. It may be less like a formal 'plot twist' but it is more of a 'why this is happening' sort of thing. If readers figure it out ahead of time, great, if not, they will have a fun surprise waiting.

It is also one of those 'sea change' moments that happen in books. I like it when a story turns and you are in a whole new world, it gives us a break and sets things on a different course. This is important with the new character and the PoV change, and having this 'shadow reason' of why this character needs to be involved will help me write everything that comes after the switch. This is my 'hidden roadmap' and I expect to be having a lot of fun writing for it in the chapters that are coming up.

I am up to 14,000 words, so I have made some good progress over this slowdown, but now that I have my motivation and the plot twist planned out, I expect my speed will pick up and I will be writing at an increased rate. I can feel it, and I will be thrilled if things pick up and I have those super-productive days again.

These lulls happen, and you have to power through them. The worst that happens is you stall and quit, and that is always a risk. To avoid that, you open up the story each day, and make small edits and changes - visiting with your story each day is crucial to avoid stalling and abandonment. You need to keep the words and characters in your mind, and you need to be checking in with them every day until you finish and go into editing.

You do make a commitment when you start a project, and part of commitment is giving your story the time it needs, and a little bit of each day to care for it and help it grow. Like plants, children, or anything else that needs care, a story runs into tough parts and stumbles from time to time, and this is where patience and especially sticking with it pays off in the long run.

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