Monday, November 17, 2008

Help! I’ve written myself into a corner and I can’t get out…

I had this great outline for a chapter. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and where my characters were going. It was – in my mind – perfect. A month ago I started writing and before I knew it the characters hijacked my storyline and took a route that ended at a dead-end; a dead-end that has nothing to do with the rest of the story or the six chapters preceding it.

With a degree in English (writing concentration no less) and a “day-job” that involves helping others condense their ideas, plans, and/or processes down to a clearly written document, I know all the tools and techniques for overcoming writing obstacles. This problem is less about the mechanics of writing and more about the ideation process. Creativity does not necessarily follow the “science” of story-craft or academically recognized good writing standards. So what does one do when one’s muse has decided to trash one’s precisely organized plotline and character development sketches? What comes next when the hero turns out to have a really nasty side that doesn’t fit with the rest of his actions?

After a month of ruminating on this, I think the answer is to leave things as they stand and let my main hero have his baggage. Most people I know (myself included) have some baggage that they don’t reveal or emotions that are not quite in keeping with the public face. Sometimes how we deal with this baggage or why it exists in the first place can be a story on its own. The trick for me going forward will be to balance the not so savory aspects with my character’s good side in a way that will “work” for the reader. In the romance genre, most heroes are some type of “bad boy” personae – at least on the surface, but there is always a legitimate reason for this guise. What if there isn’t? What if it is simply part of who he is instead of a forum for a struggle of right overcoming wrong?

While it adds a complexity to the story that I had not previously contemplated, and will necessitate some serious edits to my original storyline, there is something to be said for seeing where this thread leads.