by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
While I’m reasonably content with where things stand with this second draft of the novel, there is one thing that I really need to work harder on: character. I need to mull on ways to flesh out each of the major characters so they’re not just moods that change as necessary to further the plot.
The plot should flow around character, not cause fundimental elements of characters be created out of whole cloth as necessary to keep things going. So, I’m continuing to try to push myself outside of my comfort zone by doing as much reading as possible to flesh out characters.
But, like I said, I am pretty pleased with how things are going. It’s a huge amount of work, however. It’s just sometimes difficult to focus on doing much of anything. Sometimes, I just want to stare out into space and just think. But I have to — have to — stop doing that if I hope to ever finish this first novel in a planned six novel project.
I’m really pleased with the macro arc of this six novel project. It’s all very, very ambitious. To the point that should I do my job right, people will grow really attached to the heroine of the first three novels and want more of her in the second set of three novels when the focus of the story shifts to someone else.
Anyway. Absolutely no one cares about anything I do right now. I could pretty much just walk off the edge of the earth and it would be a few weeks before anyone would notice. But I hope to change that. I want, as they say in the movies, to be “bonafide.”
