Weekly Progress Update

Weekly Progress Update

Currently, I am already deep into Book Two of the Orcblood Legacy series (Title pending) – probably around 40%. I started the moment I completed Honor in order to maintain momentum and not disrupt my writing schedule. So far, this has worked very well, as I’m making good progress on the second title before the first is even available.

That’s just the starting point. I plan to hold myself accountable with a Weekly Progress Update, as well as give some tips, details, or any challenges I encountered each week. This is the first!

As mentioned in a previous Blog about staying motivated, I only write on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. And that’s it. I have time to write more, but I write for a specific slot of time on specific days in order to keep a ritual. Once I start disturbing my ritual, my writing will suffer.

This week, I added another two Chapters to Book Two that have been really interesting. I won’t spoil any details, but there is one key thing I want to bring up regarding writing that I encountered in this week’s progress.

Introducing New Characters: 
Many writers plan on introducing new characters – ALL of them – ahead of time. This is a good thing. It truly is. However, it can also be limiting. I plan events loosely in the beginning, but let the story go where it needs to as I write. Other than a loose outline, it’s all written on the spot. This is especially true for certain characters getting added.

In this week’s writing, I actually introduced two characters that were never planned. There was no thought that went into them ahead of time and the original storyline had no intention of them, or their events, being implemented at all. This is a risk.

Needless to say, there is a reason why writers flesh out characters prior to adding them to a story. I do the same, sometimes. However, despite the risk, I truly enjoy the implementation of characters that were not planned. I’ll explain why.

One of the things I have noticed, is that some writers will flesh out their characters first, then build the events around the characters. This can work, but it feels clunky to me. The world was not created with humans being the reason it is shaped in its way, rather the opposite. Humans evolved due to the way the world works. Writing should be the same. 

When you design a character prior to implementation, you inevitably will force that character to be introduced – often in a setting that either may not make sense or in a way that did not fit into the original plan of the story. For example, let’s say your novel is about delivering a magic ring to a volcano (I think this may have been done before . . . but bear with me!). You’ve got the idea in mind for a character that you designed weeks ago sitting on the sidelines screaming, “Put me in, Coach!” 

Now, this character may be the coolest, most lethal assassin that can shapeshift into a wolf on a whim and wields a whip with a pistol attached. You’ve taken this character into your Dungeons & Dragons campaign and had a blast. He NEEDS to make a debut in your story, because you are so attached to that character. But how? Well, don’t worry! Despite the fact your party is already at the edge of the volcano, about to complete their quest, we have found a way! 

Your characters were at the final threshold, just about to complete their quest with everything going smoothly. But, we NEED to implement Wolf-Whip-Pistol-Man, so instead, the party stops because the slightly pudgy one needs to snack on some bread. This gives the enemy time catch up and attack. But wait! We are saved, because one of the enemies happens to be a secret Wolf-Whip-Pistol-Man in disguise, who traveled far and wide just to aid in our quest! We are saved! 

Now, obviously the above is such an outrageous implementation, correct? I agree, 100%. The problem? I actually see writers do this! This is the byproduct of developing a character prior to the world (annnnnnnd a bit of the writer not understanding that you can’t just throw in what you think is cool without careful planning in advance). Instead, if your world is built, the decision to add a character in that exact same outlandish scenario above actually can occur. However, instead of your pre-made character, it can be an orc, or a goblin, or whatever your enemy is. Now, it seems more likely. Give him a backstory and a reason for his treason and you’ve got an interesting character.

This all goes to say that the above is obviously quite an extreme situation, but tries to show the importance of understanding the limitations of building a character beforehand and feeling like you must implement them, even at the detriment of the story. 

So, that was quite a long way to say that implementing a character on the spot can have its own advantages, while fleshing out your entire cast before their time can actually damage your story. It’s important to make sure the flow is not disrupted and that everything makes sense. Your characters, their implementation, and the setting in which they are introduced. 

Keep an eye out for next week’s Weekly Progress Update!