Star Wars work in progress You Became to Me

[polgarawolf]

Sixteenth part of a work in progress
Title: You Became to Me (as suggested by avari_maethor)
*Pairing: Mainly Anakin/Obi-Wan with mention of Padmé
Rating: Uhm, pretty PG-13ish now but inevitably at least an R (?)
Disclaimer: I do not own the lovely boys from Star Wars, more's the pity! I just have an extremely contrary muse that refuses to shut up . . .

Comments

[frkmgnt1]

I just want to tell you how much I'm enjoying the story. I stumbled across it recently on my never ending quest for real plot based Star Wars fiction. You have managed to keep everyone very in character (never an easy task.) I'm looking forward to reading more.

[polgarawolf]

Thanks! I hope you still think they're all in character later on in the story, if you keep reading. People are evolving on me, some of them more rapidly and obviously than others. I've been making changes to some of these earlier parts in response to feedback I've gotten. By the end of the week, I'll repost links to these first parts and add some more (maybe all of 1-10?) links to other parts, so people can have a look at the changes and some of the rest of the story. More of it's on my lj than has been crossposted elsewhere.

[frkmgnt1]

Character evolution is inevitable. It's a byproduct of good storytelling. What's important is that the characters began in character and evolved through the story that you're telling. I love your story. It's obvious that you've spent a great deal of time thinking it through and developing the plot. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it.

[polgarawolf]

Thanks so much for saying so. I have been working on this for several months now, and I know my writing style is a lot more -- dense? Detail-oriented? Internal even while the action is ongoing? -- well, wordy and character-driven than Star Wars tends to be written, sometimes, even in the novelizations of the movies. But a lot of what I get out of the movies comes from what I read into what's going on between the lines, what's motivating specific actions, what characters are thinking/feeling. I get caught up in listening to the characters, sometimes, and it doesn't even occur to me until later to wonder how what they're thinking will read like, to others. Sometimes, a character will surprise me and evolve in some way that I'm just not expecting -- especially lately, with two people in particular and their outlooks on and relationships (such as they are) with Obi-Wan. I don't want to give anything away, but I honestly thought Bail had died in the crash with Padme, at first. I got so far and all of a sudden he was alive and doing things

[frkmgnt1]

It's true that your writing is dense and detail oriented. But working through a character's feelings is what allows you to show the evolution. There are parts where I think the details slow down the overall story, but in those details you're offering insight into characters and their development. This story is character driven rather than plot driven. It's a much more organic style of writing. Your characters are dictating the story rather than allowing the plot to dictate the characters. This way nothing is out of character. And as for revising prior chapters before writing new material--you shouldn't worry about it. You'll get to the new stuff when you get to it and not a second sooner. It's far better to tweak what you have now rather than having to go back and revise even MORE story. Anyway, good luck with the rewrite! I'm anxiously awaiting more.

[polgarawolf]

Thanks! I should get an update up this evening, hopefully with parts 1-10. I think I've made all the changes I'm going to now to those parts. You're right about needing to get the changes done now. Easier to do now than later. It's already not been any fun having to go back and add in new material and then try to shift entire sections into later parts and later parts and later parts until finally everything all fits in one post. I wish I knew what the word limit was on these lj posts. The cutoff point doesn't seem very consistent, to me . . . Ah, well.

I think I would get along well with Obi-Wan. I am a detail freak and he likes to keep track of everything he can. *Sighs* It's a slower read, I know, but I do hope it doesn't feel like it's loosing steam anywhere because of the flashbacks or thoughts or descriptive details. More and more now the flashbacks and thoughts are proving more important for understanding the characters than their actual words and actions are.