The re-write is going well. The plan that I cobbled together seems to have been the right approach and I’ve managed to tackle the different plot areas that needed attention quite successfully.
There were three areas whereI’ve found that a solution hasn’t come very easily. They all have a similar problem in that it would be better for the hero to find out the information being revealed, rather than being told it by someone else.
For two of these, I was completely stumped on how I could achieve this, but for the third issue, I had an initial idea on how to improve it. Instead of him being told, he could be knocked over by someone fleeing the authorities. When he gathers up his belongings, he accidentally picks up a book that belongs to the fugitive, and discovers the information this way.
Feeling rather pleased with myself, I started on the new version. About two thirds of the way through, it occurred to me that he was still being told the information, by a book rather than a man. Even if I tried to make it less of a narative by the hero reading snippets as he flicke through the book, it still didn’t feel right. Was I being overly critical of the fix, or were my new concerns right? I mailed Cornerstones asking for their advice, and they came back with confirmation that my suspicions were right. Ideally, he should experience the information, and that it shouldn’t be easy. Stumped by how I could do this, I completed the re-write, thinking that it was better than before, and that an improvement was better than nothing.
As I completed it, a solution to one of the other issues jumped into my head. It’s odd the way that work arounds or new paths seem to come up when I put it to the back of my mind. And just to prove a point, while I’m writing this new solution, a better idea has come up for the original fix with the book problem. This time it wil allow the hero to discover things for himself.
This leaves me with one problem left to resolve. Who knows, maybe the fix will come for this when I least expect it.
No comments:
Post a Comment