Barbara Eberhard's Blog - Posts Tagged "differences"
Making Differences
Each of the three main characters in the Dichotomy trilogy has a role to play in fulfilling the prophecy.
But more importantly, each has his or her own quest. And I wanted those quests to be quite different.
So, Kymri runs away from home, finds her mentor in magic, and ends up fighting those who oppose magic in a war across the country of Seic, so she can get to where magic will be restored. Along the way, she finds the peace in her soul she never found at home, even as she's battling evil.
Hallas leaves home, as well, a misfit for having music in his soul among the engineering-based Resani (sea people). But then he is kidnapped by yet other bad guys who also don't want to see magic restored. They try to convince him that the naga who told him he was to be a mage is wrong. They almost convince him until the naga finds him again.
Tyagi is already a mage at the beginning of her book, though she doesn't know it yet. She is half Resani and half Canian (land people), with characteristics of both - as all mages do. She also runs away, but is almost immediately found by her parents and one of her mentors, a naga. Tyagi becomes an ambassador for mages, traveling the world trying to convince Canian and Resani that the prophecy must be fulfilled, that magic must be restored. She has her own challenges with disbelief and distrust.
The three must come together at a time and place to restore magic. Of course, they have no idea how...until they do.
But more importantly, each has his or her own quest. And I wanted those quests to be quite different.
So, Kymri runs away from home, finds her mentor in magic, and ends up fighting those who oppose magic in a war across the country of Seic, so she can get to where magic will be restored. Along the way, she finds the peace in her soul she never found at home, even as she's battling evil.
Hallas leaves home, as well, a misfit for having music in his soul among the engineering-based Resani (sea people). But then he is kidnapped by yet other bad guys who also don't want to see magic restored. They try to convince him that the naga who told him he was to be a mage is wrong. They almost convince him until the naga finds him again.
Tyagi is already a mage at the beginning of her book, though she doesn't know it yet. She is half Resani and half Canian (land people), with characteristics of both - as all mages do. She also runs away, but is almost immediately found by her parents and one of her mentors, a naga. Tyagi becomes an ambassador for mages, traveling the world trying to convince Canian and Resani that the prophecy must be fulfilled, that magic must be restored. She has her own challenges with disbelief and distrust.
The three must come together at a time and place to restore magic. Of course, they have no idea how...until they do.
Breadcrumbs and Plot Points
Usually, I write most weekends, several hours on both Saturday and Sunday. It's how I've managed to write and publish 15 books in 14 years (two nonfiction, seven fantasy, and six women's fiction). A question many people ask me is how I have written so many books, since I'm also still working full time. The answer is I write from 10-4 Saturday and Sunday, with very few breaks. My husband can attest to this.
Because I write most weekends, if I'm writing a single book, I generally remember most of what I've written recently. I have 3x5 cards with the overall plot points outlined. I usually have another card for each of the main characters and perhaps some characteristics of each - hair color, eye color, tall, short, etc. I use these cards as I write to ensure continuity among the characters' physical attributes, and to move the plot along.
With the current trilogy, I've not only written 3x5 cards of each book's major plot points, but I've also put them into the book, with tentative chapter titles, as well. Think of it as a meta-outline. Because my overall process includes flexibility in the plot details, this meta-outline serves as guardrails, within which I can play. They also help me know where I am relative to where I want to be, both in place and time.
Because the other thing I have is an overall timeline file - where each character should be and when. This is critical because each character - each book - happens in in parallel. But certain things that happen in one book are mentioned in the others or affect the plot of the others. As I've written before, I generally don't have a lot of description in my books about place and time. I like this flexibility too. I don't really know, for example, how long it takes to get from one of my fictional towns to another. It's a fictional world after all. So, all I've done in my timelines file is try to be similar in all the books about how long it takes the characters to get from one place to another, when the two places are about the same distance apart on the map of the world included at the front of each book. I don't know that anyone will ever take the books apart to such a level. But if they do, I'd like the distances and times to be reasonably aligned.
Anyway, all this to say that while the meta-outline means I know where I'm going eventually, the books also have breadcrumbs - hints of things to come. Sometimes these breadcrumbs relate to the main plot points, and therefore to the meta-outline. Sometimes these breadcrumbs are characteristics of the characters - decisions I've made about how characters will behave or stories of their lives before the time of the book.
When I'm writing a single book, I generally remember all those things from weekend to weekend. I remember the meta-outline. I remember the timeline - mostly. I often have that file open as I write. I remember - mostly - the characteristics of the major characters, to be repeated again and again for the readers. And I remember most of the breadcrumbs I've laid along the way.
One of the things I do when I edit a book is make a 3x5 card of breadcrumbs, which I then cross off as they are resolved along the way. In that way, I know I've left no breadcrumb without a resolution. And of course, my meta-outline and timeline files means there's continuity in those aspects as well.
All of these things are SO MUCH HARDER when writing three books at once. I find myself having to spend half of my Saturday writing time - when I'm returning to a different book than the previous weekend - just "catching up" on what I've already written. While this is good in that it also means I'm editing along the way, it means I'm less productive on Saturday than I would normally be.
On a normal Saturday - when I'm not writing three books at once - I would write at least one chapter, possibly two. Same for Sunday. Three or four chapters of writing in a weekend makes a whole book come together pretty quickly.
Keeping track of the breadcrumbs and plot points in each book, across all three books, is not something I'm capable of storing in my brain week to week. So, I have to review. And remember.
Thus, the writing is definitely slower.
Today, I wrote again in Kymri. And only wrote a small chapter. Because mostly, I read her story again. And noted the breadcrumbs and plot points. For tomorrow's writing.
Because I write most weekends, if I'm writing a single book, I generally remember most of what I've written recently. I have 3x5 cards with the overall plot points outlined. I usually have another card for each of the main characters and perhaps some characteristics of each - hair color, eye color, tall, short, etc. I use these cards as I write to ensure continuity among the characters' physical attributes, and to move the plot along.
With the current trilogy, I've not only written 3x5 cards of each book's major plot points, but I've also put them into the book, with tentative chapter titles, as well. Think of it as a meta-outline. Because my overall process includes flexibility in the plot details, this meta-outline serves as guardrails, within which I can play. They also help me know where I am relative to where I want to be, both in place and time.
Because the other thing I have is an overall timeline file - where each character should be and when. This is critical because each character - each book - happens in in parallel. But certain things that happen in one book are mentioned in the others or affect the plot of the others. As I've written before, I generally don't have a lot of description in my books about place and time. I like this flexibility too. I don't really know, for example, how long it takes to get from one of my fictional towns to another. It's a fictional world after all. So, all I've done in my timelines file is try to be similar in all the books about how long it takes the characters to get from one place to another, when the two places are about the same distance apart on the map of the world included at the front of each book. I don't know that anyone will ever take the books apart to such a level. But if they do, I'd like the distances and times to be reasonably aligned.
Anyway, all this to say that while the meta-outline means I know where I'm going eventually, the books also have breadcrumbs - hints of things to come. Sometimes these breadcrumbs relate to the main plot points, and therefore to the meta-outline. Sometimes these breadcrumbs are characteristics of the characters - decisions I've made about how characters will behave or stories of their lives before the time of the book.
When I'm writing a single book, I generally remember all those things from weekend to weekend. I remember the meta-outline. I remember the timeline - mostly. I often have that file open as I write. I remember - mostly - the characteristics of the major characters, to be repeated again and again for the readers. And I remember most of the breadcrumbs I've laid along the way.
One of the things I do when I edit a book is make a 3x5 card of breadcrumbs, which I then cross off as they are resolved along the way. In that way, I know I've left no breadcrumb without a resolution. And of course, my meta-outline and timeline files means there's continuity in those aspects as well.
All of these things are SO MUCH HARDER when writing three books at once. I find myself having to spend half of my Saturday writing time - when I'm returning to a different book than the previous weekend - just "catching up" on what I've already written. While this is good in that it also means I'm editing along the way, it means I'm less productive on Saturday than I would normally be.
On a normal Saturday - when I'm not writing three books at once - I would write at least one chapter, possibly two. Same for Sunday. Three or four chapters of writing in a weekend makes a whole book come together pretty quickly.
Keeping track of the breadcrumbs and plot points in each book, across all three books, is not something I'm capable of storing in my brain week to week. So, I have to review. And remember.
Thus, the writing is definitely slower.
Today, I wrote again in Kymri. And only wrote a small chapter. Because mostly, I read her story again. And noted the breadcrumbs and plot points. For tomorrow's writing.
The Question of Money
Every author, particularly those writing fantasy and science fiction, has to deal with questions of money.
Most fantasy novels involve a quest of some kind. And some band of people and creatures trying to fulfill it.
And doing so involves travel - horses, inns, etc. So the question is - how do the questors pay for their travels? And other incidental costs that might arise.
Authors have taken different approaches to this. One series I've read has the main sorcerer find a gold mine early in his life. He's been using that money for a long time. Another series involves dragons' gold - gold the dragons make when they are born by burning their shells. Then there's Star Trek, where the Federation has eliminated the need for money. Except other cultures still use it.
In my world, in this trilogy, the nagas have been saving for the chosen ones, knowing they would need to move around in the world. How the nagas get the money in the first place? I leave that unexplained.
Most fantasy novels involve a quest of some kind. And some band of people and creatures trying to fulfill it.
And doing so involves travel - horses, inns, etc. So the question is - how do the questors pay for their travels? And other incidental costs that might arise.
Authors have taken different approaches to this. One series I've read has the main sorcerer find a gold mine early in his life. He's been using that money for a long time. Another series involves dragons' gold - gold the dragons make when they are born by burning their shells. Then there's Star Trek, where the Federation has eliminated the need for money. Except other cultures still use it.
In my world, in this trilogy, the nagas have been saving for the chosen ones, knowing they would need to move around in the world. How the nagas get the money in the first place? I leave that unexplained.
Late-Night Revelations
Most nights, as I'm falling asleep, I review where I am in my books to distract myself from whatever work things might have happened. Work things tend to give me insomnia. Book ideas do not.
But what thinking about my writing does do, often, is prompt thoughts of things that need changing or updating. And so, as I'm falling asleep, I sometimes wake up enough to send myself an email to remind myself of the revelations I had.
For example, last evening, I realized that I had described how the nagas had learned of the prophecy in Kymri Knows Her Peace. While I don't want to repeat exactly the same text in the other two books of the trilogy, the same information should appear in both Hallas Finds His Voice and Tyagi Uncovers Her Light. This morning, I copied the text as a comment into the other two books, to be used in some fashion later.
Naming conventions are another staple of fantasy novels. For example, I've created the Kels and the Res - those are the countries of this world of Dichotomies. And the once-paired cities have names that are parallel, such as Lincan and Linres. "Can" is the Canian - or land people - name for city. Res is the Resani - or sea people - name for city.
Part of last night's decisions was that female nagas will have names that end in "i'. Most of them already did, but I needed to change a few others to match that convention. The male nagas all have short names - and will continue to do so.
Updates made this morning. This evening might bring new revelations.
But what thinking about my writing does do, often, is prompt thoughts of things that need changing or updating. And so, as I'm falling asleep, I sometimes wake up enough to send myself an email to remind myself of the revelations I had.
For example, last evening, I realized that I had described how the nagas had learned of the prophecy in Kymri Knows Her Peace. While I don't want to repeat exactly the same text in the other two books of the trilogy, the same information should appear in both Hallas Finds His Voice and Tyagi Uncovers Her Light. This morning, I copied the text as a comment into the other two books, to be used in some fashion later.
Naming conventions are another staple of fantasy novels. For example, I've created the Kels and the Res - those are the countries of this world of Dichotomies. And the once-paired cities have names that are parallel, such as Lincan and Linres. "Can" is the Canian - or land people - name for city. Res is the Resani - or sea people - name for city.
Part of last night's decisions was that female nagas will have names that end in "i'. Most of them already did, but I needed to change a few others to match that convention. The male nagas all have short names - and will continue to do so.
Updates made this morning. This evening might bring new revelations.
I've Written a Book!
Well, I've now written the equivalent of one book across the three books of my new trilogy Dichotomies. A total of almost 300 pages.
Tyagi Uncovers Her Light is the furthest along, at 130 pages. Because her book happens first in the timeline, it became necessary to write it first. It's meant to the last of the trilogy though. Maybe that will change as I write. But that was the original plan.
Kymri Knows Her Peace is the next most complete at 100 pages. This is intended to be the first book in the series, and it's the one I started first. I'll probably work on it tomorrow, after the two chapters in Tyagi today.
Hallas Finds His Voice is only 77 pages. It's had the hardest scene to write so far. Not because it was hard to know what to write, but because there is violence - and I'm not good at having violence in my books. Bad things happen, of course. But not usually involving a death.
As I've written before, I probably won't publish any of this trilogy until all three books are finished. There's too much overlap since the stories are happening in parallel, each with its own main character and each with its own quest.
So, only 600 more pages to go!
Tyagi Uncovers Her Light is the furthest along, at 130 pages. Because her book happens first in the timeline, it became necessary to write it first. It's meant to the last of the trilogy though. Maybe that will change as I write. But that was the original plan.
Kymri Knows Her Peace is the next most complete at 100 pages. This is intended to be the first book in the series, and it's the one I started first. I'll probably work on it tomorrow, after the two chapters in Tyagi today.
Hallas Finds His Voice is only 77 pages. It's had the hardest scene to write so far. Not because it was hard to know what to write, but because there is violence - and I'm not good at having violence in my books. Bad things happen, of course. But not usually involving a death.
As I've written before, I probably won't publish any of this trilogy until all three books are finished. There's too much overlap since the stories are happening in parallel, each with its own main character and each with its own quest.
So, only 600 more pages to go!
Timelines and Travel
When the world you're writing in is one you also created, knowing how far it is from Point A to Point B is challenging. You can't just look it up on a map someone else created; the map is yours. Likewise, knowing how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B is difficult for many of the same reasons.
What I've tried to do is just to be consistent. I look at the distance between two places, and I think that's about the same distance as two points in the real world - some amount of miles (because I'm American, so I think in miles). And so I think it will take X amount of time to get to the second place. This not knowing is compounded by mode of transportation. In this world of fantasy, people generally get around by foot or by horse. Sometimes I have to look up how long it takes to travel a certain distance by walking or on horseback.
In my current trilogy, half the world is on the water. So to add to the fun, I have to know how long it takes to sail (the Resani are sailors, not rowers) from one place to another. Or take an educated guess.
Again, my working theory is that, as long as I'm consistent in approximate measurements and approximate timelines, then that as good as I can do.
Just for fun, there's also magic. And using spells, the mages can "bend" distance. It doesn't make travel instantaneous - that feel like cheating - but it does make the distances faster to travel.
At the beginning of the process of writing the Dichotomies trilogy, I made a timelines document. Each main character, where they would go on their journey - which I crafted using the map of the world - and then approximately how long it took to get from place to place. And how long each would be in each place.
Because Kymri, Tyagi, and Hallas have to come together at the end of each book to fulfill the prophecy and bring magic back to humans, those timelines had to end up in the same place at the same time.
Fun!
What I've tried to do is just to be consistent. I look at the distance between two places, and I think that's about the same distance as two points in the real world - some amount of miles (because I'm American, so I think in miles). And so I think it will take X amount of time to get to the second place. This not knowing is compounded by mode of transportation. In this world of fantasy, people generally get around by foot or by horse. Sometimes I have to look up how long it takes to travel a certain distance by walking or on horseback.
In my current trilogy, half the world is on the water. So to add to the fun, I have to know how long it takes to sail (the Resani are sailors, not rowers) from one place to another. Or take an educated guess.
Again, my working theory is that, as long as I'm consistent in approximate measurements and approximate timelines, then that as good as I can do.
Just for fun, there's also magic. And using spells, the mages can "bend" distance. It doesn't make travel instantaneous - that feel like cheating - but it does make the distances faster to travel.
At the beginning of the process of writing the Dichotomies trilogy, I made a timelines document. Each main character, where they would go on their journey - which I crafted using the map of the world - and then approximately how long it took to get from place to place. And how long each would be in each place.
Because Kymri, Tyagi, and Hallas have to come together at the end of each book to fulfill the prophecy and bring magic back to humans, those timelines had to end up in the same place at the same time.
Fun!
Music Finds a Way
In Hallas Finds His Voice, Hallas' musical ability is taken away by the nagas, as part of the consequences for what his wild magic wrought. The nagas are trying to prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy, in which Hallas is the singer who find his voice. They take his music and his memory, rather than his life.
But Hallas is a musician at his core. It's part of what has set him at odds with the rest of the Resani, who don't value the arts. They are engineers and fishermen. They find no virtue in painting, dance, or music.
So, when the nagas decide to take away Hallas' gift of music, he's almost not sorry. After all, he did do bad things when his wild magic created chaos on the Moc. And he's always been an outsider, with songs in his mind. Maybe he'll fit into Resani society better without his singing.
But in my experience, as a sometime singer myself, you can't really get away from music if it's part of who you are. I can't imagine a day without song.
And so, despite the magic that took his gift away, eventually Hallas' music returns. And with it, the rest of who he is.
But even having his voice back is not enough to fulfill the prophecy. The prophecy demands more. And Hallas isn't sure he can deliver.
But Hallas is a musician at his core. It's part of what has set him at odds with the rest of the Resani, who don't value the arts. They are engineers and fishermen. They find no virtue in painting, dance, or music.
So, when the nagas decide to take away Hallas' gift of music, he's almost not sorry. After all, he did do bad things when his wild magic created chaos on the Moc. And he's always been an outsider, with songs in his mind. Maybe he'll fit into Resani society better without his singing.
But in my experience, as a sometime singer myself, you can't really get away from music if it's part of who you are. I can't imagine a day without song.
And so, despite the magic that took his gift away, eventually Hallas' music returns. And with it, the rest of who he is.
But even having his voice back is not enough to fulfill the prophecy. The prophecy demands more. And Hallas isn't sure he can deliver.
Finding Community
There's nothing worse than feeling like you don't belong, like you are so different from everyone around you that there must be something wrong with you.
This is a feeling Hallas has had his whole life. He's musical, living among engineers and fishermen. The Resani, his people, are not interested in anything artistic. They believe in being practical, and the arts have no place in their society.
But Hallas has music in his bones. He can't help but hum and sing, even among those who tell him to shush. There are songs in his head; words and music he can't help but express.
When he lived among his family, he was ostracized for wanting to be who he was. For wanting to have his music accepted.
Now, he's being punished for his use of wild magic and has been stripped of his magic and of knowing who he really is. In fleeing from his crimes, Hallas left home and traveled from res to res, trying to hide who he was, but also trying to find forgiveness. But the nagas weren't satisfied with Hallas' self-flagellation. Some wanted to kill him. Saner voices prevailed, and instead, they took away Hallas' knowledge that he had been a chosen one.
But even without the knowledge of who he is, even without his magic, Hallas' music will not be suppressed. It's the core of who he is. And ultimately is how he will bring magic back to humans. In another 200 pages or so.
For now, Hallas will have to be content with finding an underground of the arts among the Resani. And finding community among those who, like him, can't help but be who they are.
This is a feeling Hallas has had his whole life. He's musical, living among engineers and fishermen. The Resani, his people, are not interested in anything artistic. They believe in being practical, and the arts have no place in their society.
But Hallas has music in his bones. He can't help but hum and sing, even among those who tell him to shush. There are songs in his head; words and music he can't help but express.
When he lived among his family, he was ostracized for wanting to be who he was. For wanting to have his music accepted.
Now, he's being punished for his use of wild magic and has been stripped of his magic and of knowing who he really is. In fleeing from his crimes, Hallas left home and traveled from res to res, trying to hide who he was, but also trying to find forgiveness. But the nagas weren't satisfied with Hallas' self-flagellation. Some wanted to kill him. Saner voices prevailed, and instead, they took away Hallas' knowledge that he had been a chosen one.
But even without the knowledge of who he is, even without his magic, Hallas' music will not be suppressed. It's the core of who he is. And ultimately is how he will bring magic back to humans. In another 200 pages or so.
For now, Hallas will have to be content with finding an underground of the arts among the Resani. And finding community among those who, like him, can't help but be who they are.
The Storytelling of Fantasy
The trope of fantasy is that one person or group of people have to save the world. Or themselves. And the trope continues that they will have a prophecy to follow and that, at the beginning, no one will believe them. And then someone will - or the prophecy make people believe - and then good things start to happen. The heroes rise, and they save the day.
But the other part of fantasy - another trope - is fantasy as allegory. As a form of truth telling when the truth is hard for people to listen to. Or as a form of social commentary wrapped in knights and magic. In Narnia, Aslan (and Edmund) must be a willing sacrifice to be reborn of "old magic", allegory for Lewis' Christian beliefs. In Camelot, White uses the story of Arthur's world as an allegory for the rise of fascism in Europe.
My own fantasy trilogy - Dichotomies - addresses the feeling of other and the need to recognize that just because someone doesn't look like you or like the same things you do, doesn't mean they are somehow evil. There are sea people and land people, and how their divisions have created an "us vs. them" when really they are the same. Or were. And must be again, to save humanity. The message is thinly veiled, but nevertheless a truth that should be acknowledged.
But within this larger allegory are smaller truths. My last blog post spoke to Hallas' finding of community; of feeling ostracized and the power of feeling accepted. In today's writing, Kymri had to "tell truth to power". A blind warrior, she inhabits her strength and, unwittingly, creates converts through the courage of her own convictions. Tyagi's very existence shows the power of unifying the dichotomies, as she is the first mage among humans in generations precisely because she is both Canian and Resani - land person and sea person. Her role is to spread the prophecy among all people, as one who represents all people, to share the message that differences are good.
While the largest allegory - that people aren't really so different despite what exterior aspects might imply - is obvious from the name of the trilogy, I think it's the smaller allegories and their truths that hopefully give the stories their true power.
Hallas Finds His Voice, not only by finally accepting his singing as a gift, but also by sharing the power of music to move people and change minds. Kymri Knows Her Peace, not only by bringing peace to a troubled land, but also by coming to terms with her blindness and seeing her strength beyond her sight. Tyagi Uncovers Her Light, not only because she embraces the bioluminescence that is her birthright as a Resani, but also because she embraces who she is and lets all that she is shine.
But the other part of fantasy - another trope - is fantasy as allegory. As a form of truth telling when the truth is hard for people to listen to. Or as a form of social commentary wrapped in knights and magic. In Narnia, Aslan (and Edmund) must be a willing sacrifice to be reborn of "old magic", allegory for Lewis' Christian beliefs. In Camelot, White uses the story of Arthur's world as an allegory for the rise of fascism in Europe.
My own fantasy trilogy - Dichotomies - addresses the feeling of other and the need to recognize that just because someone doesn't look like you or like the same things you do, doesn't mean they are somehow evil. There are sea people and land people, and how their divisions have created an "us vs. them" when really they are the same. Or were. And must be again, to save humanity. The message is thinly veiled, but nevertheless a truth that should be acknowledged.
But within this larger allegory are smaller truths. My last blog post spoke to Hallas' finding of community; of feeling ostracized and the power of feeling accepted. In today's writing, Kymri had to "tell truth to power". A blind warrior, she inhabits her strength and, unwittingly, creates converts through the courage of her own convictions. Tyagi's very existence shows the power of unifying the dichotomies, as she is the first mage among humans in generations precisely because she is both Canian and Resani - land person and sea person. Her role is to spread the prophecy among all people, as one who represents all people, to share the message that differences are good.
While the largest allegory - that people aren't really so different despite what exterior aspects might imply - is obvious from the name of the trilogy, I think it's the smaller allegories and their truths that hopefully give the stories their true power.
Hallas Finds His Voice, not only by finally accepting his singing as a gift, but also by sharing the power of music to move people and change minds. Kymri Knows Her Peace, not only by bringing peace to a troubled land, but also by coming to terms with her blindness and seeing her strength beyond her sight. Tyagi Uncovers Her Light, not only because she embraces the bioluminescence that is her birthright as a Resani, but also because she embraces who she is and lets all that she is shine.
More on Breadcrumbs
In today's writing, I spent a good part of the time tracking down breadcrumbs across all three books of the trilogy.
Breadcrumbs - as I've written about before - are the details that recur from one part of a book to another. Things that you write that resonate later on.
In a normal book, breadcrumbs are key to creating continuity and consistency. You establish each character's features, for example, and then are sure to reference them time and again. This hopefully creates a vision of these people in your readers' eye, making them more real. Likewise, things that happen early in the book often set the context for what's going to happen. Breadcrumbs.
In this trilogy, the breadcrumbs not only have to be tracked across a single book, but across all three books. But because each story is from a different character's perspective, their "take" on the breadcrumb may be slightly different than the other two.
So, today, I spent a couple of hours noting breadcrumbs in each book, writing them done on 3x5 cards, and put comments in the documents, as well. In this way, when I'm finished with each book, I hope to be able to say each breadcrumb was introduced and resolved, and each breadcrumb manifests in each book, as appropriate for that story.
It's a lot to manage.
Breadcrumbs - as I've written about before - are the details that recur from one part of a book to another. Things that you write that resonate later on.
In a normal book, breadcrumbs are key to creating continuity and consistency. You establish each character's features, for example, and then are sure to reference them time and again. This hopefully creates a vision of these people in your readers' eye, making them more real. Likewise, things that happen early in the book often set the context for what's going to happen. Breadcrumbs.
In this trilogy, the breadcrumbs not only have to be tracked across a single book, but across all three books. But because each story is from a different character's perspective, their "take" on the breadcrumb may be slightly different than the other two.
So, today, I spent a couple of hours noting breadcrumbs in each book, writing them done on 3x5 cards, and put comments in the documents, as well. In this way, when I'm finished with each book, I hope to be able to say each breadcrumb was introduced and resolved, and each breadcrumb manifests in each book, as appropriate for that story.
It's a lot to manage.
