William Faulkner's famous quote, "In writing, you must kill your darlings," is widely interpreted to mean an author has to be willing to cut out the brilliant, wise or lushly descriptive passages that aren't working for the paragraph (or manuscript) in which they appear. But last week, this interpretation broadened for me.
Anyone who remembers visiting my blog during Jen Daiker's Guess That Character Blogfest may remember the girl in the above photo. It's Julie Knotts, the original main character and protagonist of my current WiP. One of my darlings.
I had to let her go. She just wasn't coming to life. As a character-driven author, I've been increasingly frustrated by the disconnect between Julie's character arc and the plot. I couldn't bridge the two together. And after months and months of failed re-starts, I've come to the conclusion that Julie is the problem.
Since I fired her, I've been brainstorming replacement characters. I think I've found one. Her name is Samantha Stiles. She's vibrant, strong, beautiful, successful, and INTERESTING. I like her.
Of course, the entire plot is changing to accommodate this new cast member. But there's new energy in my writing with the project metamorphosis. It almost feels like a new book, which is a good thing. When too much time goes by between when the story idea comes to you and when you finish the draft, you risk losing precious energy-driven momentum. The story becomes lackluster. Getting back that energy is difficult and sometimes impossible.
When I get to know Samantha a little better, I'll post a picture of her. Until then, happy writing and best of luck to you and all your darlings!
31 comments:
Can't wait to read her Nicole!!! :o) I don't see this one being blonde. The name makes me think jet black, shoulder length, layered and wispy pixie cut. Am I close?
Maybe so, Jessica! I can't see her yet -- but I'm outlining her opening chapters now. She's educated and works with animals. Feisty and ambitious. :D
Oooh, I know exactly how this feels! I'm sure it'll give you the energy you need to sail through the finish, and I've very excited for you. I actually changed my character for this Nano novel right before I started (been planning on A for a month, and suddenly went with B) and it's been wonderful. I've achieved more depth of narration than I would have before, I think.
Anyway, happy writing. :)
Maybe Julie needs time to grow up and in a few years will have a story of her own worth telling. Stick her in a drawer and see if she knocks to be let out at some point. :-)
As I work on the sequel to my book, I haven't let go of any characters, but several have pushed forward and taken a more prominent position in the story.
@Summer ~ I want to read your novel when you finish. It sounds like you're pleased so far with the results. Yay for NaNo!!
@Laurel ~ I agree! And I love the image of her literally knocking inside the drawer one day, to get my attention!
@Alex ~ How cool! Best of luck with the sequel to CassaStar!
hi miss nicole! im sorry you had to fire miss julie. sometimes when your a boss you just gotta let a worker go and get a better one. for me i just know im gonna like miss samantha cause she works with animals and you know i looooove animals so for me shes already a keeper. :)
...hugs from lenny
that seems so crazy to me, and ridiculously fascinating - i wouldn't even know how to begin to start with a new character.
LOL Sarah! The thing is, the protag and antag narrate their own chapters and don't appear together until they "meet" later in the book. So, writing Julie out and Samantha in is less painful than it sounds.
I've had to let go of characters too. It's hard, but sometimes it has to happen. =)
That's exciting and sad all at once! But at least now you aren't blocked and can work work work toward finishing.
and here I thought you were going to say you killed her off! Now that would be interesting...
Glad you've found a happy alternate~ :o) sounds great~
New energy... that's what I also strive to find when I'm reworking or revising a story. Each change makes it better, and I'm sure that firing Julie will be the best thing that ever happened to your story. Good luck!
Tough. But true. Thanks for sharing about them both Nicole!
Happy writing! Can't wait to meet Samantha.
Kudos to you for doing the tough thing and moving on with your story. I'm thrilled to hear you have a renewed passion and energy for your WIP!!
So....has Julie filed for unemployment benefits yet? And has Samantha pee'd in a cup? Sorry, just some of my old HR background creeping up :)
It's fun to see you excited about your writing!!
Oh my gosh I'm gone for a few days and you bring your background to one new gorgeous state! I love it!!!
RIP Julie (sniffle sniffle) and helllllllloooo Samantha!
I'm wondering if that was part of my problem with the book I shelved? Maybe I needed to kill my darling? Hmmm.
I've killed off a few characters too. Can't tell you where I hid the bodies...
I think it was Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch who originally said "kill your darlings." It's been attributed to everyone and their mother, though, so who knows?
Glad to hear you've found a way through your character issues, good lady! And you're absolutely right about the momentum thing. Gotta write while it's fresh!
(Most times. Sometimes you can re-fresh an idea, right?)
Occasionally we just have to kill our darlings. I'm glad that your mc's sacrifice wasn't in vain and that you have a new energy to your work.
Jai
Wonder if there's an "Island of Misfit Characters" out there someplace... lol
So sorry you had to let Julie go, but it sounds like you're moving on to bigger and better things. Good luck!
I read the Thomas Covenant Chronicles in high school (about a hundred years ago) and when the author killed off my fave character (I won't say who in case you ever read it) I cried. I mourned for two weeks and slept with the book.
If an author isn't willing to get rid of someone, before, during, or after the creating of the story, they're cowards and they're cheating the readers.
Bravo for you!
Aw, I've had to do the same thing. It's kind of sad. But most of the time the new character ends up even better, smarter, cooler, funnier and it's like WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE???? Happy writing!
That's happened to me too. Your new character sounds great though. Happy writing!
I never did mention how happy I was that I was mentioned in this blog, you're too sweet!
I hope you are well!
I'm excited to meet her! Good luck with all of the changes.
I do this too, or give my characters makeovers or personality changes or let their inner beast come out.
How brave of you to let go of a character that wasn't working. I did that once, and it was really depressing, but the story was better for it.
Happy to be following your blog!
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