Have you noticed? I haven’t talked much about my WIP, WAVERLEY, after having to cut 33,000 plus words from it early last month.
That’s because I felt kind of numb.
I didn’t really know how to begin again.
So I did what I now do when I’m not sure what to do. I let it go. I decided to stop worrying about it (and were there ever a lot of worries – the main one being a deep fear that perhaps I would never be able to translate the story in my mind onto paper).
Thankfully, after letting it go, the answer came. Not anything full scale, no brilliant moves forward in the plot or anything like that. But enough to get my feet back on the right track.
Bad Guys and Villains, Alive, Alive, Oh!
We don’t “do” television at our place. No cable, no satellite. But one of our favorite things to do as a family is to find a series we’ll all enjoy, and then purchase each season on DVD as it comes out for family night fun.
One such series is Numb3rs. We recently finished watching Season 5 on DVD, and I noticed something interesting. About a third of the way through the season, the episodes really began to pick up. Things got a lot more exciting.
That was the first nudge from the Universe.
Then recently I had my own very lovely personal mini-readathon weekend, during which I managed to get through three books and partway through a fourth.
That was the second nudge.
I added the two nudges together, and realized what was wrong with WAVERLEY, why I was dreading going back to it.
Numb3rs really picked up because suddenly the bad guys in each episode became really bad guys, and as a result, there was so much more at stake.
And in every single one of the books I read during my mini-readathon weekend, there was (1) a make-no-mistake-about-it villain who (2) showed up early enough to let me, the reader, know that (3) there was a hell of a lot at stake.
That was my answer.
WAVERLEY is an urban fantasy that’s wrapped around a very lovely situation (if I do say so myself) – it’s one that is just brimming with possibilities and the world-building has been so much fun. And my main characters had shaped themselves up nicely in the words I’d initially written (well, all except for the late-comer). My plot seemed to be moving along okay, too. Not chugging along, but still, every time I sat down, something new and interesting flowed from my fingers.
But when I read through those 50,000 plus words of WAVERLEY last month, I wasn’t excited. I didn’t find myself tearing through the manuscript, like I had done when I picked up and read the first 30,000 words of NANTUCKET, written during NaNoWriMo 2008, and found myself wishing, when I came to the last word, that I’d written more (which was how it became my practice novel).
You see, with WAVERLEY, I don’t know who the villain is. I have some vague idea of a group of bad guys with an equally vague evil intent (to destroy the world as my protagonists knew it, of course) but other than that, the villainy and badness is as clear as mud. It’s all terribly generic, and not particularly exciting.
The thing with NANTUCKET, my practice novel, is that from the beginning, I knew who the bad guy was. Not only that, I knew why and how, too. Even though I didn’t have a clue how I was going to get from A to Z, I knew as much about my villain as I knew about my protagonists. I knew what was at stake. I knew the motivation driving my main characters to do what needed to be done.
Plus, being a murder mystery, the bad stuff is introduced right at the beginning, which is a huge help, too.
Because I had all the necessary elements I needed, getting from A to Z without a map was a fun ride which resulted in a fairly interesting manuscript.
Now I’m back on track with WAVERLEY. I still don’t know who the villain of the piece is, but my imagination’s going to work on that, and when I do know, I’ll be able to sit down and begin working on the manuscript again.
And now I know something more about the way I write. Which is very helpful indeed.
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting that in your own book, you don’t even know who the villain is. The process of writing is such a mystery to me, that you somehow let the characters speak. I guess I can’t imagine how it works because I can’t do it!
.-= rhapsodyinbooks´s last blog ..Review of “Sugar” by Bernice L. McFadden =-.
I had a similar problem with my ms. It took me awhile to figure out the bad guy, but once I did it flowed much more easily! Good luck with yours!
.-= Jemi Fraser´s last blog ..Blogging Buddy News! =-.
Isn’t it funny where we get out inspiration sometimes? I’m glad you got your mojo back!
You never know what will turn that light bulb on. And now your post has set me thinking about a problem with the villain in my mystery. I’ve been concentrating on the heroine and ignoring the villain. No wonder I keep getting stuck. Thank you.
.-= Barbara´s last blog ..I’ve Just Read an Odd Book =-.
I love those light bulb moments. When you put things on the back burner and keep them bubbling away in the back of your mind, you can usually come up with a solution. Congrats on finding your Aha moment!
.-= Janel´s last blog ..Book Review: Thinking Write =-.
I think it is a very sensible solution to leave a manuscript and do something else if you are stuck. Good to hear that the pause has been inspiring!
.-= Dorte H´s last blog ..Thy´s Day # 9 =-.
Wow, it is so exciting and nervewracking to cut so many words. I bet you’re thrilled with the product.
Congrats on a successful and adventurous edit.
I think it is neat that you didn’t know who the villain was, especially since you wrote it. Was the villain not yet introduced? Is it someone/something you need to create? Very interesting to me but then again, I’m not a writer however, sometimes I love how my brain works…..
Make your villain Darth Vader because he’s the baddest bad-ass of all time but instead, make him, like, 16th century Japanese Darth Vader…He could be a ninja but instead of a light sabre, he could use light-throwing-stars that actually return to him. Boomerang light stars! Oh, and he has to be able to turn invisible, and he needs theme music, like from Jaws! Ok, and he stinks, REAL BAD, like a dead body in a hot swamp after a week. Oh, make him a dead zombie ninja and instead of light-throwing-stars, he uses light-limbs! Oh yeah, he pulls off his left arm, it lights up and THAT’S his weapon. And he is hungry. Seriously hungry. He, like, consumes everything in his path because he is so hungry but this includes, like, trees and homes and people. Oh yeah, he is the Darth Vader, zombie-ninja, blob. Oh this is classic!
But that’s not all. No, he got a love interest, see, but the problem with that is………..
Just call me if you need any help at all!
.-= Steve´s last blog ..The Ugliest Bowl Ever Made =-.
I enjoyed reading about your a-ha moment. I love it when that happens. I get a little rush that just feels so good. I’m glad you are back on track with your story. I am hoping to read this some day.
.-= Margot´s last blog ..Book Review: Eternal on the Water =-.
I’m reading a book right now with a GREAT villian–The Prisoner of Zenda.
.-= heidenkind´s last blog ..Thoughts On Monkey =-.
I think you should go with Steve’s zombie ninja blob in your head and then turn that blob into whatever you need it to be in the end.
Sometimes I think in life we are our own villains, but at the end, with the fresh insight and support of sisters like you and good friends, we turn that around and become our own heroes.
I hope you find what you need.
.-= BananaViews´s last blog ..Behind-the-Scenes at the MTCC Wine Council =-.
Glad you’ve found your inspiration!
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..Weekend Cooking: Chocolate Raspberry Squares =-.
You have some great insights here, Belle. Thanks for describing your path to figuring out what you need to do next, it’s very helpful and inspirational.
.-= Cathryn´s last blog ..Cybercrime for the non-Techie =-.