So a few weeks ago, I was truly hating this book I’m working on now, and wondering if I ought to just give up and work on something else. I did give up and work on something else–several something elses–and along the way got the opening of at least one future project just far enough along that I can now let it simmer in the subconscious for a while. But I’m back to my original new project this week, and today, I found myself writing this bit of dialogue:
“The universe is larger and more wondrous than we know, yadda yadda yadda.”
“You used to take this story more seriously,” I told her.
“Yeah, well, my personality is shifting,” she said. “We’re all still figuring out who we are. This is the first draft, after all. Anyway, where was I?”
And that is so utterly like what I would expect from the exploratory rough first draft of any of my books that, well, I’m beginning to think that this story–which I’m no longer hating at all–just might be exactly where it’s supposed to be at this stage of the process.
Dear Formerly Tertiary Character I Haven’t Seen in Fifty Pages or More,
I always thought you were more interesting than your minor role in the story had room for. I just didn’t know how interesting. Until now.
You’ll be getting a retroactive upgrade to Secondary Character, effective immediately.
Just don’t tell the other Tertiaries. They’re totally going to be giving up speaking lines to make room for you.
Welcome to the story,
Me