Friday, December 6, 2013

Lost in the Story

Surprisingly enough, though I haven't been diligent on writing this blog, I have been writing. Mostly technical stuff for the website development that I do on the side, but I have started working on the second Bimini book again.
In that though, I've been faced with a few issues. I'm kinda torn on how I want the story to go now. My thoughts and feelings from the original story line have changed a little bit and suddenly, I'm reading what I've written from a different perspective.
I want to keep the overall romantic involvement the same, but add a few different dynamics to our leading character's relationship with her leading male.
It's true that we write what we know, but in my case, that might be a little false. While I definitely have the Paganism and Craft experience necessary to keep the content of the book fairly accurate on a loosely based fictitious scale, I don't really have the in depth knowledge about the romance aspect of it. For that, I draw from an imagination that has made my parents cringe as well as proud at different times since my birth and a sense of empathy that I've gained watching various friends struggle with their love lives before finally meeting and coming together with the perfect person. I've witnessed first hand, the electrical spark between two people the second they laid eyes on each other and the grieving, heartbroken tears when one or both of them ran from the emotional vortex that high chemistry creates.
It's terrifying, it's beautiful and there are times I alternate between being grateful and envious that I never had to experience that high or low. My romantic life has always been pretty cut and dry and I'm okay with that but it would make for a pretty boring book. Besides that, I have enough love stories to draw from within my close circle of friends, without adding anything about my own life, which I'm a stickler for keeping private.
Anyway, back to the story...
While reading over the initial start of the relationship between the second Bimini's main characters, I was struck by how easy the communication in the relationship flowed. Too easily. They're from different worlds. She's a successful well known actress; he's a paramedic living on a tiny, obscure island that most people have no idea even exists. He also has a past that paints him as a little bit of a bad boy, while she's got a rebellious nature of her own with an independent streak a mile wide. He's overprotective; she's determined not to be protected. Even in the face of their differences, dialogue between the two flowed effortlessly and maybe that should have been a red flag that there needed to be more friction there. More spark, more chemistry and maybe
even a little venom.
Changing the ease of their relationship means a rewrite is going to be necessary and though this is not the five year project that the first Bimini was; it's still taken longer than I intended and the idea of backtracking is kinda frightening.
So, I admit, I'm a little lost in the direction I want to take because rewriting the relationship could lead to rewriting the entire story; which might not be such a bad idea either. I'm decisively indecisive about this so I've just been painting and sculpting instead. When in doubt... avoid. But it's getting to the point where my avoidance is getting on my own nerves so I'm going to have clamp down and just get to it.... maybe.

We'll see.



3 comments:

  1. What the relationship needs, is a complication. A unforeseen 'other' added to the romance. An old flame, or the emergence of a new one in either case, it builds tension between characters.

    Another angle is an event that puts the dynamic of the relationship to the test. When the Romance flows too easily, the readers don't buy it. Even if you've personally experienced calm bliss, many relationships were forged in a taboo.

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    1. And this is why I think your brain is a glorious, wonderful thing. I've missed you and I think you're dead on. Especially with the first paragraph and it's given me an idea. Thank you so much!

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    2. I took your advice... and fell more in love with the secondary male character, almost to the point where I wanted to kill off my lead. As always, though we don't talk these days, you're still a voice in my head. I really miss you.

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