  Fantasy
This week: A Life of Their Own Edited by: Prosperous Snow celebrating  
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What do you do when a character or characters take control of a chapter or the plot?
Do you continue the way the characters are directing or do you attempt to get them back under your control? |
| ASIN: 0910355479 |
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Amazon's Price: $ 13.99
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You are sitting at the computer typing away on chapter two, three, four, or later, when the one of the main characters or a minor character suddenly does something unexpected. You stop typing and reread the last few paragraphs. You ask yourself, "What happened?" or "Where did that come from?" How do you deal with the character's expression of free will? Do you go back to the beginning of the chapter and attempt to regain control of the plot events? Do you continue writing to see where this new twist takes the plot?
The choice you make depends on numerous variables, such as whether or not you are working on your National Novel Writing Month novel. I experienced a sudden turn of events while working on The Typewriter, my 2012 NaNoWriMo novel. In this case, a minor character had spent the past three days cleaning the office and refiling folders that his predecessor had left in unprofessional disarray when he disappeared off the face of the planet.
The minor character had returned to the office after a good nights sleep in a real bed for the first time since arriving to take over his predecessor's duties. He pulled out the office chair and there laying on the seat was his predecessor's diary. This threw an entirely new twist to the plot because the diary implied that the predecessor was having an affair with the main character, which was not in the original plot. I now have a choice, I can leave this twist in the plot or I can start the chapter all over again. Since it was NaNoWriMo I left the twist and continued the novel from there.
What do you do in cases like this? Do you continue incorporating the new twist? Do you start the novel over again following the new? Do you attempt to force the characters and plot back into the original course? |
Stories and Poems
Excerpt: Why write a journal, you might ask? I am, after all, the only living person left. Sure, there are other things around here that are ‘aware’, but none of them would care about my writings. They certainly wouldn’t understand them. If they did, they sure as hell wouldn’t have a need for me. I suppose I’m casting them in a negative light. That isn’t the way of things at all. If anything, my ‘caretakers’ are quite sympathetic.
Excerpt: “Why, Elanor, my wuv,” Sam remarked mildly, “What are you still doing up?”
Excerpt: “You cannot do this to me Fran,” Nolan hissed. “I inherited the right! I am the oldest of us all!”
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1906492 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Martin Greenstaff was a wizard in training. He had short hair, blue eyes and a small nose. His mouth was large and commonly got him into trouble in the long run. Today was to be the end of his apprenticeship. He would be tested in the magical arts by his master, Daken Lightstaff, and after that, he would be a full wizard, with all the privileges that could give him...
Submitted to the Newsletter
Excerpt: “Here we are in a rare interview with Zena, the legendary leader of the Wild Beasts.”
Contests and Review Forums
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| ASIN: B083RZJVJ8 |
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BIG BAD WOLF is Howling  writes: You forgot to mention "Use what you know."
theresajanie writes: Even when not creating a fantasy world these suggestions may help. I have been writing a novel for sometime now. Once I wrote the first few chapters, I realized I kept getting lost. So I stopped writing and began drawing. I now have a little notebook that has pictures of the town, the house and the grounds it stands upon. That has helped me so much. I just don't want my readers to become lost.
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| ASIN: B004PICKDS |
Product Type: Toys & Games
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Fantasy: December 04, 2012 Issue [#5395]
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