Season 2, Episode 42: Fear of Going Too Big
IN THIS EPISODE
This week, Mel turned in her chapter, and Kemlo had two major suggestions: work on the overall flow and do some genre work (aka "credibility issues"). The chapter was pulling her (as a reader) in many different directions.
Mel needs to do some work on what happens to her character in this scene, and what it means to her moving forward. Kemlo's still pressing Mel as to why these things happen to her character - what sort of purpose does this plot point serve? Mel's protagonist needs to have her mortality shoved in her face while coming to terms with the fact that her brother doesn't have that problem anymore.
Kemlo rightly points out that having her character shot by a bullet rather than injured by a glass shard points more toward the new adult genre, rather than the young adult genre Kemlo suspected this chapter had been leaning towards. Later in the chapter, the burgeoning relationship between Mel's two main characters doesn't go far enough. If she were writing YA that'd be fine, but she's not. Mel needs to figure out why those characters would consider each other based on their backstories and what it would have meant for them to have each other in their lives sooner. What's propelling Mel's protagonist forward now that her brother is seemingly out of danger?
Kemlo suggested Mel redo the chapter and include Inside Outlines for the three main characters in this chapter to tighten up the flow and cement their directions for this chapter and the next. Mel agrees this is a good way to move forward.
“Whenever you don’t go far enough, it’s because you’re afraid of something - you’re afraid of going too big, doing too much, taking it too far.”
