A Book that Went Askew

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. It's back to the grind today, but no worries! This post is lighthearted and fun. I'm gonna talk about some characters that pushed me around and took my story in a different direction than I'd planned. Ready? Grab your coffee or tea, and let's get going!

I spent the weekend revising the first half of Utterances (you can read an excerpt here). I'm at 30k words now, and I have about 30k more to write. I like to take a pause at this point in a novel and re-read to make sure everything is flowing as it should, details aren't regurgitated, and my timeline works. Also, I check to make sure my loose outline is moving forward as it should.

Needless to say, I found a few holes.

Once I'd gotten them filled in, I took a minute to build a timeline I'll be able to send to my editor so she can double check me. Everything was flowing smoothly, and then I whipped out my suggested chapter outline that I wrote at the beginning of May.

It was off by nearly six chapters! Several of the things I'd planned never happened, and many more have yet to happen. My characters dictated where the story was going, and they took it over, making it their own.

Why?

Because there are things I can't outline--like how a character will show who they are and what their core values (those things they refuse to bend on) are. Sometimes, a character needs a moment to overreact to something, and I hadn't planned it in advance. That's when my books take on a life of their own.

So, I threw my original plan out and jotted down a new one. Still the same ending, I'm just taking a different path to get there.

Right now, I'm figuring I'll introduce you to my MC and her supporting cast. SURPRISE! Check it out! Images are how I picture them in my head.

Name: Simone Alice Bookhart
Age: 18
Height: 5' 7"
Career: Cashier at grocery store
Great quote: “I know, and I love you for trying. But I had to be my own grownup around here, and I’ve changed in ways I can’t explain.”

Name: Tristan Joseph Cardre

Age: 22

Height: 5' 11"

Career: Runs one of the family restaurants & college student studying business management

Great quote: “I didn’t do anything! I just asked her if she wanted to order, and she went all cavewoman on me.”

These two have a lot of hurdles to leap over, but I think y'all are gonna like Tristan. He's as much of a hot mess as Simone is. Together, I think they're incredible.

What do you think? Looking forward to getting to know them?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo