Getting back into the swing
I can honestly say that I felt I'd be further along in my rewrite than I am by this point. Though what I didn't see in my goals was the closing of schools and quarantine, as well as my job being deemed essential.
So, I've made progress. I have finished the rewrite of chapter 12 and am almost finished with 13. I have introduced the main male character's little sister and can feel the situation gaining traction. From here on, the plot will begin moving much faster. Writing wise at least. With the plot mapped and written out, the only real change is the depth that the characters are adding to their narratives.
Thus far I am continuing the trend of cutting chunks from the chapters but still find myself adding more to the chapter in the character's thoughts and viewpoints.
The amazing thing is how much these characters have to say on the subject of their experience. I know other authors who have mentioned that their characters would likely hate them for the pain they'd been put through by the author. I've yet to feel that. I have found myself more as an observer than a dictator.
To begin with, Extermination of an Empire began as a dream. I watched as characters cowered beneath floorboards to escape the carnage above. I also watched as Elaura ran headlong into Tourelle on the outskirts of the palace ruins.
I wondered how this romance might work between characters with just Tourelle's morality getting in his way. I wondered what greater conflict might there be for the characters beyond just the reining king standing between them and happily ever after.
Then Persephone and Lunette entered the scene. Two characters that, at the time, seemed to have such small roles that they might a well fade away quickly became integral to the plot. So much so that Lunette is asking for her own volume as a companion novel to the series.
What has surprised me the most has been the things some of these characters have been through. Lunette is a survivor. She's come through a pretty traumatic assault in her past. As I realized it, I tried to minimize how bad the situation. She informed me to write down the events as they happened and stop trying to sugar coat her pain. It is a secret to a great many people, and she works to keep it that way. And while she may not publish what happened to her, she owns it. She sees and recognizes it for what it was. A defining moment in her life, and to make it less than it was is to make small the growth that has come from it.
Anyone who says I am evil for putting my characters through what I have, ought to have a chat with some of these characters. They don't feel the same way about it.
So, I've made progress. I have finished the rewrite of chapter 12 and am almost finished with 13. I have introduced the main male character's little sister and can feel the situation gaining traction. From here on, the plot will begin moving much faster. Writing wise at least. With the plot mapped and written out, the only real change is the depth that the characters are adding to their narratives.
Thus far I am continuing the trend of cutting chunks from the chapters but still find myself adding more to the chapter in the character's thoughts and viewpoints.
The amazing thing is how much these characters have to say on the subject of their experience. I know other authors who have mentioned that their characters would likely hate them for the pain they'd been put through by the author. I've yet to feel that. I have found myself more as an observer than a dictator.
To begin with, Extermination of an Empire began as a dream. I watched as characters cowered beneath floorboards to escape the carnage above. I also watched as Elaura ran headlong into Tourelle on the outskirts of the palace ruins.
I wondered how this romance might work between characters with just Tourelle's morality getting in his way. I wondered what greater conflict might there be for the characters beyond just the reining king standing between them and happily ever after.
Then Persephone and Lunette entered the scene. Two characters that, at the time, seemed to have such small roles that they might a well fade away quickly became integral to the plot. So much so that Lunette is asking for her own volume as a companion novel to the series.
What has surprised me the most has been the things some of these characters have been through. Lunette is a survivor. She's come through a pretty traumatic assault in her past. As I realized it, I tried to minimize how bad the situation. She informed me to write down the events as they happened and stop trying to sugar coat her pain. It is a secret to a great many people, and she works to keep it that way. And while she may not publish what happened to her, she owns it. She sees and recognizes it for what it was. A defining moment in her life, and to make it less than it was is to make small the growth that has come from it.
Anyone who says I am evil for putting my characters through what I have, ought to have a chat with some of these characters. They don't feel the same way about it.
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