Third Book: It’s Alive!

I mentioned this last time, but the more I write of my next book, the further from the outline I stray. Actually, I suppose that’s not true. I’m not so much straying, I guess, as I’m simply filling in all of the gaps with information unknown to me until the very moment it’s written.

It may seem odd, but, for instance, I certainly didn’t plan for the first main character to have the voice I’m now developing and evolving on an almost daily basis. I really can’t stress how different it is. When I started, I had meant for the character’s section to be somewhat matter-of-fact, almost a simple overview that would lead in to the others. But as a mined the bullets and fleshed out the succinct events of the outline, the character’s voice took on a life of its own and, now, has added a few subplots I hadn’t even considered previously.

Let me give you some specifics, something to better exemplify where I’m coming from. Whereas I had wanted the character’s section to be relatively free of judgment and reaction, now I have a plethora of both adding to the overall tension and characterization. Character interactions and meetings are developing freely and, in at least two cases, at times other than I had originally intended. I’ve even found an interesting narrative device for the character when I hadn’t even considered using one.

All of this is to say, I’m rather enjoying my work on this book, even if it’s not necessarily going according to plan. While there’s still tons and tons of work to do, and plenty of specifics left to share with you, it does feel good to say that my newest creation is already starting to look just as great as, if not better than, what’s already out there.

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