I Don't Know
Yes, I got "parfaits" and used all my letters for 71 points.
Moving on . . . I have an Angel of Death in my wip. He is particularly fixated on Aleks, the doctor who survived Chernobyl. I met with my beta on Friday. It's funny, but since he is a religious man (a minister), he himself is very interested in my Angel of Death. What are his special powers? Can he influence the characters? Can he change anything about the real world? How does he feel about the fact that he has lost his own humanity? Does he know God?
My answer? I don't know.
It's funny, but I know my beginning, middle, and end. I know the back story and details of my novel. I know what's going to happen next. I know some of the answers to some of those questions. Which is not to say the answer can't CHANGE. But some aspects of writing a novel I don't know. I wait for characters to tell me, or I see if something works or doesn't. In short, it's a bit like real life where you think you know what is going to happen next, but then you might get a curveball.
I think that's okay. I know it can feel unsettling for a writer to not know. But then maybe take a cue from my "brother," Alan, and just "plow through." (His advice in writing novels, btw, if you missed his interview.)
How about you? How unsettled do you feel by not knowing?
18 comments:
Woah! This is SO weird. I swear this is true, but in the middle of the night on Saturday, I was drifting in between sleep and awake and thinking about writing, and I had this sudden clear thought, "Give him powers." I was thinking about the death character in your book, and then I thought he should have the power to manipulate time ... make it slow down, speed up, whatever (not time travel). I actually wrote a note to myself to mention this to you, and then I read this blog post today. Crazy.
But anyway, I agree.
Lurker:
I like it!!!! :-) We can discuss tomorrow.
E
P.S. So when we start dreaming about each other's books, is this a sign we've gone completely nuts. ;-)
Erica and Monkey sitting in a tree...
writing each other's novels to be...
Okay so I'm not a school yard poet but that song came to mind when I read your comments.
Just recently I figured out how to push through to a certain extent, then I just go blank. So I started pulling from earlier versions and discovered there is a hint of theme I didn't see unlike the one I thought I was creating.
Richmond:
I often think the answers are there, subconsciously, in our work.
I'm pretty used to this. And what can be odd is, since I'm writing a series character...
well, I was talking to Jon Land last week and he asked about my books and I mentioned Derek Stillwater and he says, "Hey, great name, is he Native American?"
And I went, "Mmmm, nnnnooooo... wellllll, maybe I'll have to ask him."
And Jon said, "Yeah, really, with a name like that, you'd think there was some Native American background."
And you know, maybe there is. I'll have to ask Derek.
Mark:
Hmm . . . I hadn't thought of that for him, but really? Maybe there is! Interesting.
I've always liked surprising myself, which I can only experience through writing. It's good to have a plan, but more fun to accept the unexpected.
I'm thinking about adopting Alexandra Sokoloff's method and structuring my next book like a screenplay. Still room for plenty of surprises, I think.
I don't know a lot of lore, but I've always thought of the Angel of Death (or reapers) as being outside humanity. There might be something on him in Monsterpedia.
Jude, I storyboard like she does, and I use 4 acts so I can concentrate on the turnaround at the middle. I have two storyboards in my office right now, in fact, one about complete for SCAR and one with a mass of stickies for a new project I'm mulling over. Gives me a place to put ideas and muck with them. I really really like it.
Kath:
My attitude, too!
Jude:
It's cool to try new techniques.
Starbucks:
Mine has a specific back story involving a deal struck with Death.
Oh Steve! I'm starting to feel pity for you!
To answer your question, it drives me mad, LOL! I don't know. After having written a few series and lived with the consequences of the world I've built, I'm much more nervous about making those decisions in this book. I need to use the plow-through method and fix later.
It's funny. In life, not knowing doesn't really bug me. When writing fiction, it bugs me a lot more. Right now, I'm halfway thru my WIP and I don't have it outlined/nailed down as much as I'd like, and I'm having a little trouble getting the words down. And I don't like it one bit!
BTW "Sis," now I remember why I never played Scrabble with you growing up. You're too good!
Nice word! Although now I am totally craving parfaits...
Natasha:
I always love posting somewhat process-oriented questions because everyone is so different.
Alan:
But you DID learn craps and poker, right? ;-)
Nadine:
My Grandma and PopPop used to take me for them at a Greek diner. The best part was the long parfait spoon! I wonder if that has a name? New vocab word!
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