Season 2, Episode 20: Revision – Figuring Out What You Meant In the First Place
IN THIS EPISODE
This week, Mel nails her revision of Chapter 7, making some important decisions about her character’s motivations early on (and even before) the story starts, and she and Kemlo brainstorm on background and drive as it relates to their story.
It’s important to keep in mind what’s driving each of your characters throughout the story-and that’s subject to change and matures, but remember – to each character you’re writing, they’re the star of their own story.
Sometimes, the best way to work yourself out of a corner you’ve painted yourself into is to ask, “What’s your character afraid of? What’s the absolute worst that could happen?” What’s the fear that’s unique to them or their story?
In regard to character arcs: If your character changes their mind or their drive, they have to have a really good reason for doing so. People are generally stubborn in real life, too, and it takes a lot for us to change course when we feel really strongly about something. Make decisions hard for your characters, because they’re hard for us! We don’t want to read a story where things are easy for everyone and characters are pulled along by the plot. We want to live through these characters – to wonder what we’d do in a situation, to watch them struggle and agonize along with them.
“You don’t want to feel like you’re ending the chapter in the middle of a scene, but like anything, it’s a judgment call. There are plenty of books that do that, but it’s more satisfying when there’s a little bit of resolution with a sense of suspense to come.”
Dialogue tags: When you’re the person writing, you know who’s talking. It really helps when someone else can read it for you and point out where you’re either adding in too many or leaving out important information. For most readers, they won’t notice the tags are there until you veer into overuse. Try to show who’s speaking without using dialogue tags, but make sure your cues are revealing something else about the characters as well. It can be an effective way to show nonverbal subtext in a glance, a raised eyebrow, etc.
