This project's opening image makes me want to dropkick my laptop. It’s so strange that I have plotted the entire book at least three times but am still not sold on how to begin. The smart thing would be to move on and then go back to it. The way my brain is set up, I’m going to constantly think that I need to figure it out and feel like I am creating plot holes if I skip ahead. I’m going to try, though. I have to get moving. I want to share some of the details about this but don’t feel comfortable posting the series title without having a certain about of the book written. Tomorrow marks a month since I set my deadline, and I already know I’m not going to make it.
I hate to keep mentioning this, but I miss having people to talk to about it. My mother is trying, but her mind is sort of like mine. We get hung up on one detail, and even if it doesn’t work, we get trapped in that box. The difference between us—eventually, I will have a breakthrough. It takes longer than I like. I sent her a few books and screenshots of opening images that grabbed me enough to buy the book. I think she only read one.
In her defense, she did tell me she does not have the attention span to read anymore. She’s trying for me and I truly appreciate it.
So every night, I have been sitting at my desk or on my bed with several sheets of paper, trying to figure out what it is I’m missing and why I’m overthinking this like I’m responsible for solving world hunger.
In this book, my main character—we shall call her “P”—goes through a lot of things. There are some choices to be made, which I feel is a MUST for readers to understand. The only way that happens is if all the bases are covered, and things are explained properly before she encounters these situations. Seems simple, right? So what’s the problem? The actual story begins at least two months after she makes a decision to go after what she wants, and the story is about that journey. What happens before that moment feels irrelevant to me. However, after reading Save The Cat Writes A Novel, I understand that it’s necessary for the reader to see it. If readers experience the hardships with your character, they become more invested in seeing them overcome their challenges.
Why not go with flashbacks? Personally, I hate them. I’ve read a number of books that uses them, and to be completely honest, I’ve almost always skimmed during the first read. The premise of the book is typically what hooks me. When the story ventures away from the present situation, my interest drops. Unless that character is so captivating, and I HAVE to know what made them the way that they are, the flashbacks don’t really matter to me. I don’t consider “P” a character who needs a lot of explaining to be understood. The situation isn’t multilayered, creating a complex heroine. She could honestly be any woman you pass on a daily, born into unfortunate circumstances but determined to have the life she wants despite it. There are some insecurities because I love a flawed character. Do they require an entire scene to make sense of them? Not really. Perhaps the issue. She isn’t damaged enough. Sometimes, I think making characters too broken can feel unrelatable to readers, and I try to avoid it.
I don’t know. This is one of the times I would turn to my group to either shake me or help me find a way out of this box I’m trapped in. For now, I’m going to keep adding to my opening lines doc and attempt to move on.