But I'm working through it. What's funny is that everytime this happens to me, I inevitably go back to what I already have written to try to figure it out. And there I find clues that my subconscious knew the answer the whole time. That's looking like the case right now.
My problem, not that it will make any sense without reading the book, is backstory. I never work out backstory--at least not all of it--until I need it. Mainly this is because as I get into the story, I learn things that I never could have known in advance. I know the people in the story pretty well, but when it comes to the detail of how person A got into situation B twenty-five years ago...well, I tend to let it ride because who knows if that's going to be important?
I should know by now...It's ALWAYS important. Dangit. I don't know if I subconsciously latch onto the undeveloped part or if it just happens that way by accident, but dude. Seriously. This is exactly what happened with The Silver Spoon. I knew Zara was in danger. I knew Nevan wanted her dead, and it was for personal reasons. But it took me all of Book I (original draft) and most of Book II (original draft) to figure out why it would be a big deal for Zara. Sheesh. Other than wanting to not be dead, obviously.
One of the things I do when writing is assume that every person in the story has a secret. Usually, it's not just any old secret ("I used to love WHAM!") but a secret that has bearing on the story going on or the person's ability to change or grow. Unfortunately, they do not often share these secrets with me ahead of time. Honestly, that's half the fun of the process. Trundling along and someone suddenly saying something like, "By the way, Stacey, you might be interested to know that I once worked for the Secret Service in 1981." Or something. It's cool because normally it's a piece that's been missing all along, I just didn't know it.
Sometimes, though, I only get part of the story. They tell me their secrets but only in a way that benefits them or that glosses over the worst of it. Just as people are prone to do. That makes it harder.
But you know what, even with being stuck (which is frustrating) and even with all the difficulties (one book out, soon to be no publisher), I love this. I feel really lucky to be able to play in this world. It's awesome! : )
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2 comments:
"I used to love WHAM!
I'd categorize that as a dark secret. :)
Have you tried actually writing out some of the back story as...a story? Besides helping me get past the "why" and "how," in a couple of occasions, it netted a publication. (Somebody actually paid me for back story. Heh. What a concept.)
It's kind of fun. And from then on, the event, whatever it may be, becomes more real and is easier to work with in the current context.
Funny that you should mention that. I just thought of that yesterday afternoon. In fact, I was a little worried, thinking, "This backstory has a lot of drama to it. Is it too much for a backstory?" But now you have convinced me that that is a silly worry to have. Backstory should be interesting and dramatic!
I'm going to work on writing that out, a prequel of sorts (or a summary of one), I guess. : )
Thank you for the help!
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