So, after much deliberation about a transition, requiring me to find an old outline and read it over, I decided to spend the day working through what I already had, seeing if it worked with the solid themes I wanted to keep from the outline. I also added dynamic worldbuilding details as I went (my initial sprints were really bare bones, which I thought would be okay until I reflexively started adding clumsy bits of expository worldbuilding as I went; better to avoid that and add key details where they make sense).
Anyway, for the most part, the answer is yes, what little there is of the story so far supports the original themes I had in mind for it . . . for the most part. Sydney Tempest still needs a tonal overhaul to her introduction, which I’m fixing with the addition of a new, short scene instead of drastically rewriting what’s already there (i.e. adding in her chronic exhaustion and frustration next to her original humorous intro, tweaking the laughs so they’re not too intense or campy for her portion [because having humor in Modis’ intro and then no humor whatsoever in her intro would feel a little jarring to me]).
But, also, hey, welcome to what I do with my stories sometimes. The few times I’ve edited other people’s work, I’ve always had to warn that I emphasize flow. Flow is the heart of my style–I always want things to read well with minimal distractions. Emotions always have to feel natural, and plot points have to roll into each other.
So, that means these moments will happen; I feel something doesn’t work, and finding a solution doesn’t just mean removing Element A and dropping in Element B–it means removing Element A, backpedaling, and seeding Element B so it feels natural. I can’t just make the improv world building better, I have to scrap it and find natural spots to add worldbuilding, delivering only as much as feels natural for the moment.
Doing things this way eats up time (my words look no different today than they did yesterday), but eh, it’s just how I do it.
Words for the Day: N/A (I just spent my writing time editing)
NaNoWriMo Total: 1732 (I ultimately lost words, but progress is progress)
House of Error 