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Writing Ramblings
Nov. 29th, 2011 10:52 amSo, work continues on The Night Watch, sequel to Pirates of Mars. I should note parenthetically is that one of the easiest pieces of writing advice to give and the hardest to implement is "write every day." Or to shorter myself - do as I say, not as I do.
Erm, anyway, writing has resumed. I had decided, in a previous fit of writing-program-related-activity, that I needed two additional POV characters in Part II of the new book. So, I introduced one of the two characters this weekend. Except, I had no idea what that character's goals were. He had existed as a spear-carrier in the previous draft, and spear-carriers don't need goals. Or rather, their goal is obvious - they carry a spear.
Point-of-view characters need a goal. So I had to find one. Eventually, TVTropes came to the rescue, specifically Formerly Fat. Now, I didn't use the "Formerly Fat" trope literally. But what I did use was the idea that the character had left Mars with a goal, failed at that goal, and was now back on Mars. His goal is now proving that he's not a failure.
Writers get ideas from everywhere.
Erm, anyway, writing has resumed. I had decided, in a previous fit of writing-program-related-activity, that I needed two additional POV characters in Part II of the new book. So, I introduced one of the two characters this weekend. Except, I had no idea what that character's goals were. He had existed as a spear-carrier in the previous draft, and spear-carriers don't need goals. Or rather, their goal is obvious - they carry a spear.
Point-of-view characters need a goal. So I had to find one. Eventually, TVTropes came to the rescue, specifically Formerly Fat. Now, I didn't use the "Formerly Fat" trope literally. But what I did use was the idea that the character had left Mars with a goal, failed at that goal, and was now back on Mars. His goal is now proving that he's not a failure.
Writers get ideas from everywhere.
