A Writer's Woes

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Another scene came to me around midnight last night. I replayed that scene all night long, as I lay awake, and as I slept. It is an interesting scene, although a bit melodramatic. It may or may not end up in the final script. It will depend upon if I can work up to it sufficiently and make it believable enough that it won’t fall on the reader like an author stretching for drama for its own sake. Or worse, that it won’t make my character look too weak or pathetic.

The last he knew her, she was but a child. A lot of things have happened to her since then, not many of them nice or good. When they meet again, she is a woman, and a woman badly bruised. All of the things he loved about her––her wild streak, her abhorrence of social rules and requirements, her outlandish dreams––have been overshadowed by an unforgiving fate. The woman before him is reserved, afraid, and entirely too accommodating for his own tastes.

So today I will rework my outline to incorporate my plot changes from yesterday and my new scenes from today. In general, an idea for a book comes to me and I summarize it, lest I forget any key details. Later, I go back and loosely outline it, adding scenes here and there, bits of dialogue I’m afraid I might lose if I don't record them, etc. Then I write. And update my outline. And rework my plot as needed (although this is not optimal; updating your plot later can mean lots of rewriting).

Tonight, imagine you are on a ship to a new, mostly undiscovered land. You are leaving your home, probably forever, to embark on a life unknown. More importantly, you have little choice in the matter. As you stare out over the endless expanse between here and there, you are left to consider the choices you’ve made that landed you in this untenable position. Looking back, what would you have done differently? And what resolutions will you take with you to this place that awaits you?

posted by chrmisha @ 10:05 AM