.jpg)
I’m on the third draft of my current story. In the first draft, the heroine broke her ankle and had to stay at the hero’s house, which admittedly resulted in some interesting scenes. However, by about Chapter 13 or 14 (approx. 50,000 words), I realised a broken ankle was too restricting for the heroine. She couldn’t recover from it in a couple of weeks (unlike some of the ‘miraculous’ cures we see in the soap operas), so it was time for a rethink.
Second draft – sprained ankle – less serious – but again, by the time I got to the dreaded Chapter 13, I decided the story was going nowhere. It was a ‘how we met and fell in love’ scenario, with internal conflicts for both hero and heroine i.e. why neither of them wanted to be involved in any new relationship, but no real external conflicts.
Even I was yawning at this plot!
After doing the edits for ‘Irish Inheritance’, my editor suggested the possibility of a spin-off story about Charley (the heroine’s best friend).
…Thinks…
Can I move this story to Ireland instead of the English Lake District? Can I change the heroine’s name to Charlotte (Charley)?
More to the point, can I lift this story from the ‘meeting and falling in love’ scenario into something more interesting?
Thinking about a title for this spin-off, I came up with ‘Irish Intrigue’. So that meant I had to work out the ‘intrigue’ part of it. With the help of a friend (a non-writer but a great brain-stormer!), I came up with various ideas - plus some possible red herrings to keep the reader wondering.
It all seemed to be working well – until I hit the dreaded Chapter 13 again! I know (roughly!) how the later chapters are going to pan out, but now I’m stuck with this ‘sagging middle’ syndrome where I’m trying to work out how to get my characters from where they are at the moment to where I want them to be eventually. I’ve tried writing a list of the main turning points – and then moving them around. It’s rather like one of those 'sliding tile puzzles' where you move tiles in a small square in the hope of getting them all in the right places to complete the picture.
At the moment, my story is rather like this picture – and I’m wondering if I can ever get all the ‘tiles' into the correct places!
ACK! I just wrote a long comment and it disappeared! Short version.I read that "rewriting is the trademark of a professional", which has kept me always from getting too hung-up on one idea. I think if you put a little time and space between you and this storyline, it may come to you when you least expect it...or when you go back to it and read it from the beginning after a break.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tonette. I'm hoping that my month away will help and I can come back to the story with fresh eyes (and brain!)
ReplyDeleteThere are plotting outlines that can help to spice up sagging middles. I know you don't like the idea of plotting, though.
ReplyDeleteI have it partly plotted in my mind, Ana - but can't seem to get the events in the right order somehow!
DeleteI know you hate this idea, but it might help if you skip the part you can't seem to get right and jump to what you know. You may be able to fill in later or come up with a workaround. I know, I know, you don't want to do that... :)
ReplyDeleteLOL, Jen - I knew someone would suggest doing that! I normally have to write linear, but in this case, jumping ahead to some later scenes I know I want to include might actually help. A month way from my computer should give me some 'space' as well as some thinking time!
DeletePsst, don't tell anyone, but I think Hell just froze over. ;)
DeleteTee-hee! :-D
DeleteYou've just reassured me that I'm not the only one suffering from this - and I'm nearly 50,000 words into a contemporary story that doesn't seem to want to finish (been on the go too long). Or I'm writing myself into corners with the intrigue element. Good luck, Paula!
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly where I am with this one, Rosemary! Been writing it for too long now, and struggling with the intrigue. Maybe we should start a '50K words' Club!
Delete