There’s a saying out there: “Don’t change horses in mid-stream.”
Usually it’s very good advice but in this case, I’m ignoring it. Nope, the novel plot is still the same, the twists are still the same (although I added a new one this past weekend) and the original outline pretty much remains the same. What’s different is the main character. How did this happen?
Well, this past weekend, I indulged in the luxury of a nap.
Wonderful thing, naps. Can’t understand why I don’t take more of them. The only problem is that when I woke up, I knew I had to dump my current main character because she just wasn’t the right fit. Sure, she was making the plot good but her behavior was too typical, too expected, too not-quite-hitting-the-mark. The answer was simple.
I needed a man.
Yup, to really make the plot sing better, I needed to showcase a man as my main character. Someone more down to earth, someone who doesn’t quite know the ins and outs of the stuff going on. Someone who would be forced out of his comfort zone into something completely new.
Unfortunately, it means a lot of story restructuring and brushing up on a long-rusty expertise. I had to think about that for a bit. Sure, I could leave the main female character in and end up writing a decent novel. But if I swapped in Stan, I could see the potential of going from decent to great. Yup, lots more work involved but a much more believable character.
