So, I'm almost done with this novel, but I need to fill in what I'm missing between sections. When I wrote a lot of it, I did it in bits and now I need to bridge the gaps. I also think I'm missing some of the gaps to bridge. I know the winding road that is my book, but now and then I see some side paths that I need to either talk myself out of or really take a hard look at. I always feel like there are a million different routes that I can take. A million twists and turns I could add. A million little substories I could build in, but its too much. I know that too many plot twists will not make the story better, but worse. If you add too many punch lines to a joke, does that make it more funny? No. What about if you made every suspect in a mystery the true killer? Confusing.
I want people to follow the path that I clearly set out for them. I want them to wonder what is next or guess a little bit. I don't want them to guess right all the time. I don't want them to get distracted from the story. I want the same things any author wants so here I am... This is slow. There is much to be done but I'm just not altogether sure where to start or stop. Any suggestions are welcome if anyone who reads this (does anyone read this? lol) has had this problem before. I know I'll make it through. I have to. This is a time I will not give up.
Of course I read this! It's like I always told you... don't lead your characters, follow them. When you get to this point, when you start to wonder where exactly you're being led, you're close to the finish line. Try wrapping things up, see if it satisfies you, and go from there. If you're not happy with how it turns out you can always "nudge" your character/s toward something a little more to your liking. Just don't let them take you so far into a story that there's no room for a followup novel :P
ReplyDelete