Well-rounded characters are your friends
Got a good amount of writing in today on Madam Cloom's Garden. I think working at the coffee shop is a good part of why I got so far today. That always helps get the creativity flowing!
Project: Madam Cloom's Garden
Current Word Count: 5,584
New Words Written: 1,328
Progress: Some urban exploration, a nearly collapsed floor, some unspoken feelings, and a lot of teen angst made this a complex bit to write. Don't know if I'll hit my goal of 20k by the 30th (Argh, is that Wednesday??), but I've given this piece quite a bit of much needed love over the past couple of weeks!
Commentary: I had to rework the role of a side character in the story. Kaeja is Shaleigh's best friend, and the mousy, quiet personality just didn't match up with Shaleigh. Not that I don't think Shaleigh would be friends with someone like that, but I felt that a more adventurous attitude was needed for dangerous excursions inside of derelict buildings. She needed someone who would help her out if something happened, not jump away screaming. Reworking Kaeja took up quite a bit of my time earlier today, but really added a layer to her which I hope can be seen in the piece itself. When I stepped back and looked at her with my reader-glasses, and thinking of the plot as a whole, it made sense how she needed to be changed.
It certainly isn't easy writing this piece so slowly, especially during Camp NaNo, but I feel like the storyline is getting weaved together a bit more carefully than it would otherwise. If I wrote Kaeja how she was originally, I would probably need to re-write much of this later on. As it is, I've added a new dynamic which will give a healthy subplot to Kaeja and give her two solid feet to stand on. As Shaleigh's best friend, and therefore one of the characters who will bear a lot of her emotional burden, Kaeja needed a more steady foundation.
A mama writer always likes to see her babies characters turn out well-rounded!
Project: Madam Cloom's Garden
Current Word Count: 5,584
New Words Written: 1,328
Progress: Some urban exploration, a nearly collapsed floor, some unspoken feelings, and a lot of teen angst made this a complex bit to write. Don't know if I'll hit my goal of 20k by the 30th (Argh, is that Wednesday??), but I've given this piece quite a bit of much needed love over the past couple of weeks!
Commentary: I had to rework the role of a side character in the story. Kaeja is Shaleigh's best friend, and the mousy, quiet personality just didn't match up with Shaleigh. Not that I don't think Shaleigh would be friends with someone like that, but I felt that a more adventurous attitude was needed for dangerous excursions inside of derelict buildings. She needed someone who would help her out if something happened, not jump away screaming. Reworking Kaeja took up quite a bit of my time earlier today, but really added a layer to her which I hope can be seen in the piece itself. When I stepped back and looked at her with my reader-glasses, and thinking of the plot as a whole, it made sense how she needed to be changed.
It certainly isn't easy writing this piece so slowly, especially during Camp NaNo, but I feel like the storyline is getting weaved together a bit more carefully than it would otherwise. If I wrote Kaeja how she was originally, I would probably need to re-write much of this later on. As it is, I've added a new dynamic which will give a healthy subplot to Kaeja and give her two solid feet to stand on. As Shaleigh's best friend, and therefore one of the characters who will bear a lot of her emotional burden, Kaeja needed a more steady foundation.
A mama writer always likes to see her babies characters turn out well-rounded!