Been trying, ever-so-slowly, to work on and edit my novels. I've been hitting a significant block around the protagonist of the first book
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I was sort of having a thought about essentially swapping his role with Citra's, but still having him get taken out at the end. (Cuz I gots more immediate plans for Citra.)
Editing is really quite painful on the first book, and I think Rico might be the source of the pain. It's not that he's entirely without merit, just that he's not the kind of guy I enjoy anymore.
The addition of an ensemble sounds like the better option. Obviously not everyone will like every character, but a more diverse range of them can be a way to put in someone for everyone.
Between the time I posted and the time of this comment, I went and looked over the first chapter of book two, and I had so much more fun than when I last tried to work on book one.
I can't figure out if Rico is a legitimate problem of interest, or if it's just my problem. The former would definitely require some re-writing. Do you remember if Rico was interesting at all?
I remember finding him interesting; he was the protagonist, after all, and if I didn't find him interesting, the entire reading experience would have been significantly less pleasant. As it was, it definitely needs some work, but I enjoyed the story.
well, I've never attempted to write a book before, but I've watched my mother-in-law write several (and, thus, have seen Matt edit several) and, from what I can tell, authors generally write their book, in its entirity, about four or five times. First draft. Second draft. Sent to editors for comments. Third revision/draft. Sent to editors. Four revision. Sent to editors. Tweaked for final thoughts. Sent out to be published
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That's cool. Not a lot of people do have that kind of time. At least you were considerate enough to let me know that.
And it does sort of expand from Rico out to other characters in the second half of the book, but the first half has become such a bore for me to read and especially to edit.
Is Jack Shephard supposed to be likable though? As in, is liking him the point?
Maybe the question shouldn't be "Do you like the protagonist?" but rather "Do you understand your protagonist?" If you define him by his flaws rather than his strengths, then there's no need to like him to be interested in him.
I don't know if that helps at all, but that's the approach I'd take!
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I was sort of having a thought about essentially swapping his role with Citra's, but still having him get taken out at the end. (Cuz I gots more immediate plans for Citra.)
Editing is really quite painful on the first book, and I think Rico might be the source of the pain. It's not that he's entirely without merit, just that he's not the kind of guy I enjoy anymore.
The addition of an ensemble sounds like the better option. Obviously not everyone will like every character, but a more diverse range of them can be a way to put in someone for everyone.
Between the time I posted and the time of this comment, I went and looked over the first chapter of book two, and I had so much more fun than when I last tried to work on book one.
I can't figure out if Rico is a legitimate problem of interest, or if it's just my problem. The former would definitely require some re-writing. Do you remember if Rico was interesting at all?
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As it was, it definitely needs some work, but I enjoyed the story.
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That's cool. Not a lot of people do have that kind of time. At least you were considerate enough to let me know that.
And it does sort of expand from Rico out to other characters in the second half of the book, but the first half has become such a bore for me to read and especially to edit.
Reply
Is Jack Shephard supposed to be likable though? As in, is liking him the point?
Maybe the question shouldn't be "Do you like the protagonist?" but rather "Do you understand your protagonist?" If you define him by his flaws rather than his strengths, then there's no need to like him to be interested in him.
I don't know if that helps at all, but that's the approach I'd take!
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You've definitely provided some food for thought though.
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