Hello everyone, I hope your day is going well so far. I apologize for the late post, but I wanted to give my back as much rest as possible. That's a better excuse than I just wanted to be lazy, right? Anyway today will be when I hopefully complete Phase 3 of 'The Light Rises' overhaul. Then it will be sent off to Harper Voyager and also to Smashwords for everyone to enjoy.
All this editing though is seriously making my head spin. I know, and I have stated before, this is the step in the writing process that takes the longest, no matter how hard you try to make it not. If it wasn't for the fact I have a deadline to meet I would like likely be taking it slow, but since that isn't an option I think my head is going to actually explode. It doesn't help that I have decided that working on transferring from notebook to digital is going to be too slow of a process for NANOWRIMO as well, so my brain is going to melt, I think I just need to accept this.
With NANOWRIMO so close (in that there is now less than a month before it starts) I have been trying to mentally work out any kinks that will slow down the creative process with the story I will likely be working on for that month. I'm kind of nervous because I feel like I am going in at half-strength, and I really don't want to risk not getting to the 60,000 word goal. This is the point where solidifying plot becomes vitally important, which is what I wanted to talk about today.
So let's say you have your main character, awesome! They are dynamic, strong, have their own faults, and are basically a person. The question then becomes what are they going to do? Do they have goals, dreams, aspirations, and how do they work with the plot? These things need to fit together, since if you have someone who's dream is to become a steamboat captain and your story is about a post-apocalyptic wasteland of death where there is no water (kind of like the opposite of Waterworld, I guess), there's going to be some clashing. The point is that the people need to feel like they fit in the world you're making, and that's the only way the plot is going to feel organic.
This also goes back to what I mentioned previously about making your antagonist. They also need to fit into the world in a similar fashion, but it's alright is they go against the grain a little. If they didn't, they wouldn't really have a reason to be evil, right? There's something about the world they are against, and they are going to do everything in their power to make it go with them, and that's one way you can make your plot work. While the protagonist works to gain allies, fight the bad guys, and save the day, it's the antagonist that is helping drive the plot and create the problems the hero has to fight against. If you can make these two people fit together you will strike gold.
You also need to decide what kind of plot you're going to make. Is it going to be an overarching epic of fantastical journeys and magic? Or a coming of age story where someone needs to learn what it really means to find their place in the world? Both? It can be both, nothing says it can't, but if you do make sure it doesn't feel forced.
I hope this helps, it actually helped me remember things about my villain and such for the third story in 'The Light Rises' trilogy, so that's a step in the right direction. I appreciate everyone stopping by, it's really a big motivator for me. I also see we're almost to 4000 views, which is simply a staggering number. I hope we can get there by Friday, that would be super awesome! I will be back on Friday with my normal review, so I'll see everyone then! Have a Good rest of your week!
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