Hi there.
I had a bunch of things I wanted to write about today, and, in choosing one, I wound up shooting wa-a-a-a-ay over the typical release deadline. Apologies for that.
But I didn’t want to publish another life update. And I didn’t want to vent about my presence on social media either (which I’m displeased with not from a popularity standpoint, but from an “I hate what I do on there” standpoint [more on that in the Afterword]).
What I did want to do: actually talk about writing again, which I feel I haven’t done for a while.
The topic? The weird way a story requires you to prioritize certain character arcs. In a roundabout way. Let me explain.
I’m Honing One of My Protagonist’s Motivations
(& I Was Having a Harder Time with It Than I Wanted)
The situation: one of the protagonists in my current WIP is named Kole Buchanon. As that WIP is a rewrite of a book I wrote years ago, Kole’s personality has drastically changed.
In the original, he was insecure from a lifetime of being mistreated. Lacking in confidence, he was often unwilling to face challenges and his arc centered on defying that–putting himself in harm’s way to help other people. The hang up of being mistreated is something I still want to use in a future book somewhere, because I think that has merit, but the arc was as typical as they come.
New Kole is a capable, fledgling rebel. A person who’s challenged the setting’s corrupt Emperor by engaging in (admittedly low-impact) criminal activity. His hang up is experiencing, in the Prologue, the futility of challenging the Emperor when he tries a slightly higher-impact heist and it goes horribly wrong. His arc is . . . still up in the air actually, but that doesn’t matter for this post! Ha ha!
What matters is, in my outline for the rewrite, I kept referring to Original Kole’s arc.
I’m not sure how that happened. I knew he was a different character in the rewrite, but somehow, I focused so heavily on my other protagonist, Memory, that I just didn’t realize the adjustment to his personality was as intense as it was. Or maybe I was just so hellbent on getting the outline done that I didn’t realize I needed to slow down for Kole’s sake?
Either way, all of this came to a head when I got to the last chapters, and finally looked at the notes my writing group gave me about Kole’s motivations: that they weren’t clear. And, after I revisited those motivations and his arc as a whole, I finally realized the mix up.
Now, why am I writing about this at all?
Because, on one hand, after the last session of my writing group, I realized not only that Kole needed a totally new background story, but that the arc he needs for this first novel . . . isn’t going to be his best arc?
Like, I came up with a really awesome arc for him when I was brainstorming what his best character arc could be, but it just doesn’t fit in the first book? He needs to react to the situation in front of him, and that awesome potential arc works way better for a potential sequel?
I definitely explain, but first . . .
The Character Wall
When I realized I needed to rewrite Kole’s past, I realized that there were certain aspects of him that I wanted to focus on.
And, if you’re here exclusively for the “Process in Progress” part, then this is it.
I realized that, with Kole and all of my characters going forward, I want to know:
- The Hang Ups – Probably the most important thing for me is going to be the emotional problems that a character has. It’s “hang ups” plural because there are going to be a bunch of these. “Regrets abandoning his family.” “Experienced a lot of horrible things in the war.” Not all of these will heavily impact the plot, but in my mind, they’re as prevalent as “Favorite Color” and way more important.
- The Arcs – Specifically the arcs the character is going to go through and how those arcs are split up among the different entries in the series (if it’s a series). I can’t predict this right off the bat–I’ll have to work on each installment of the story before I know what arcs fit where.
But I’m here mentioning all of this now because . . .
A Character’s Arc in a Story Needs to Fit the Story
Okay. Seriously, forgive me for sounding dense.
But what I meant with that heading is . . . a character’s arc can’t just be what you want it to be for a novel.
You can’t just design a setting, establish a plot, and then just force the character’s best arc to happen in that setting and plot if it doesn’t fit.
Kole Buchanon is going to learn some hard truths about his past. It’s going to happen.
But as absolutely bizarre as it is to say, he’s not going to learn any of those truths in the first book.
Because it just doesn’t fit what’s happening and what he’s feeling in the setting and plot I’ve created for the first novel.
Kole can’t reconcile his bad experiences with his family because that just doesn’t work with the theme and plot of the first novel. Even if I tried to wedge it in, with would be rushed, rigid, and would not land like it would in book 2.
So I can’t do it in book one. And, as a person who’s never written a sequel, that blows my goddamn mind.
The Memory Roadmap–which is a things I have now?–is set for Kole to have his big arc in book 2 and Memory to have hers in book 3.
And, aside from that being weird and surprising, it also brings me a lot of hope.
Because, for the first time in my life, a sequel is coming together in my mind.
And just yes.
Please.
I am so goddamn pumped to write an amazing sequel.
This is a weird milestone that I have to imagine other writers hurdled right over.
But whatever. I’m not them, and I’m massively grateful to be experiencing this progress.
Book 2? I’m coming for you.
~Afterword~
Thanks for reading.
Yeah, about social media–I hate it. LOL I just don’t do it well. Like, when I hop on Twitter, it’s just to look at cute cat videos or get massively angry about political stuff. Or, at the worst of times, I scroll through fandom hashtags and get inspired to talk shit about things I don’t like.
And–I’ve said it so many times on here–I just don’t want to do that anymore. Dissecting multi-million dollar blockbuster films is one thing, but talking shit about something people love–on Twitter–is another thing entirely. Like . . . why? Why shit on someone for being excited about Justice League, or for liking the DCEU in general? I unironically loved Aquaman. It was a stupid, fun spectacle and I’m super excited for it’s sequel.
I’d just rather dole out that love than fling hate.
So, yeah, I’m deleting my Twitter. I would keep it and say positive things, but I’d feel trapped not being able to speak my mind, and speaking my mind has the chance to spark an argument, yadda yadda yadda.
So, on the chance you’re following me there, expect me to just disappear.
And, hey, just follow me here instead.
Where, ya know, we can chat about dumb stuff in more than 280 goddamn characters.
If you enjoyed this post, I do this every Sunday (unless it’s a day like today where I got to posting after 12am). You can always stop by next week for something else that could be anything. Between now and then, I could go to space and write about how that felt. Probably not gonna happen, but maybe.
Anyway, until next time, stay safe, and take care of yourself. Really though–make sure you’re drinking enough water and don’t push it all the time, even if you want to. You are the only person capable of pampering yourself the way you deserve to be pampered. Basic human rights, like water, are a good start.
Bye!
House of Error 