Okay, so according to that progress thingee over there I’ve written nearly 30,000 words on my latest wip, which works out at about 25%. Yippee, you may think? Nice going, Julie, you may feel tempted to say?
The problem is that on Tuesday, I was hit by a brainstorm and decided that actually, I’ve been writing two books at once this whole time. My conflict was far too complicated, and if I kept on going as I was, the story was going to become far too huge to deal with. Also, I was going to end up throwing away what was a really good idea, by merely using it as the catalyst that heads the heroine toward the real story.
What I really needed to do was separate off 20K words and funnel them towards another book about a different character, and then restart this story from scratch, giving the heroine a new career and a slightly different outlook on life.
I felt pretty good about this decision. In fact, it made me feel quite light. I could get rid of all the sneaking suspicions I had that I was doing the wrong thing, and concentrate on the premise/hook that I’d wanted this book to be about in the first place. Also, I’d have a big chunk of my next book already written. I sat down and wrote 2000 words of a new beginning.
But today, I’m wondering about it. Although the story was too complex and quite frankly pretty unbelievable, it fitted together really well. And now I have to think up two heroines, motivations, conflicts, etc, and make them different enough to be worth two books.
So now I’m in limbo. I’m really not sure what to do. A writer friend is coming round for dinner tonight and I’m going to force her to listen to the whole thing and tell me what she thinks. But I wish, how I wish, it could be an easy decision…
Oh, blimey! Have you asked Agent what she thinks, selling-potential-wise?
Whatever you decide – it’s got to be right for YOU.
Hugs in the meantime.
Yes, Agent is the next step, because she’ll know what to do. But it helps to talk it through before I talk with her, so I have it straight in my own head.
And to moan on my blog, of course.
Woman, my brain hurts just reading that post.
Good luck.
D
Good luck, Julie.
And with a lemonade twist… if a decision is hard, it means you think about it more and you appreciate it more.
Is there any way you could make it a two-parter mini-series?
Blimey, and I thought I always gave myself a headache!
Well, I went through exactly your thought predictions: “Yayy Julie. Well done, you!” *smilie*. Then,”ouch!” immediately followed by, “That’s cool, you’ve got not one but *two* books mapped out! Congrats!” Then, I got to the last bit and thought, “Double OUCHIES!”
So, my ‘real’ and final comment? Just as useless: Enjoy your evening with your writer friend, but don’t give her dessert until she sorts everything out! Headache sorted! And, follow all this with a definite call/email to your agent methinks…
Sending you the best of luck, and hoping you have a great evening with no indigestion.
Lots of love,
Sue xx
Split it into two books. One will simmer while the other one stews. Better for you to have to do more thinking now and then later, than to mish-mash it all together into some weird fruitcakey-like thing too discombobulated to make sense.
Sorry to make your brain hurt, Donna. You could do without that after your mad writing binge.
Kate, the lemonade twist definitely works for me.
Jessica, now trying to plot a series WOULD make my brain hurt. A lot of my books are connected, but that sort of happens by mistake and I keep on running into stupid continuity issues, which drive me mad!
LOL, Sue, I love your thought processes! And that’s exactly what I did: I made my friend solve my plot problems and then gave her chocolate cake. She’s a true pal.
Yup, Ehle, that is exactly what I’m doing. Trying to avoid the fruitcake.