Stitching Up Your Story
To be more precise, stitching up my story. Well, I did know there were areas that needed expansion, a few scenes were missing, but now I think it more resembles a body with gaping, bleeding holes. Sigh.
This all started because I was looking for a more satisfactory resolution to the story’s conflict, a conflict that stretches back over a thousand years. My characters wanted to find a way to break the cycle and genocide isn’t in their vocabulary. Something else would be required, but what? Well, I came up with the what, now I just have to make it work. That’s where the gaping holes come into play. It isn’t necessary to go back and add elements in the previous books, for which I’m thankful. I do have to go back and fit the parts in what I’ve already written for the final book. A previously minor character will now be doing something that will (hopefully) change the course of the future.
To accomplish this believably, I have to lay a stronger foundation for the character early in the book. I have to get in his head and his POV so the reader can get to know him too. Rewriting those small scenes bigger and from his perspective will be challenging.
Especially when I’m well over half way finished.
It’s more that just adding or expanding scenes. It’s the dynamic of the story arc, a sort of synergy that major changes will sometimes make stronger and sometimes breakup like a tornado hitting a cliff. (Yeah, they do that,)
Like stitching a badly torn wound, you have to get the ragged pieces to fit together. Scenes will be taking place in parts of my universe I have never really explored and those scene shifts must fit precisely for the story to flow and the dynamic to build. I also need to do this without adding much in the way of additional named characters. I already have what feels like a cast of thousands.
This is going to affect everything from dialogue between other characters to chapter breaks.
I did even more rewriting on the first book, but had not anticipated blindsiding myself like this again. If I hadn’t already published the first two, I might think about throwing the whole thing in a closet somewhere for a while.
This is all to let you know that roadblocks and course changes happen to all of us. It’s usually for the better once you get over having to do it at all. We don’t give up. We will not throw the manuscript in a closet (this time). We are writers and we will overcome all manner of trials to finish our stories.
It helps if you keep reminding yourself of that.
