Grr...

Those days when you slam out a thousand or two words are what give me the desire to go on with this whole writing bit... however, these past two weeks are a testament to the frustrating, tormenting, and the just plain obscene monotony that accompanies writing. I have been able to get down maybe 200 words in fifteen days. It seems (and is) that everything I write gets damned by my delete key.

The problem isn't a lack of interest or prose. In this case, I simply don't know how I want my character to evolve. I'm in an important section for character development, but how do I want him to go from A, naive, to B, knowledgeable and savvy? In effect, I have several options...

1) Growth through anger and outrage

This just seems too easy and contrived. Easy would be nice, because then I could get it down, but I really don't think it would play to his character very well.

2) Emotional trauma

I've already thrown in some emo-like thoughts and I'm not a fan of reading 100 pages of whining... let alone writing it.

3) Compassion and selflessness

This, I think, would be the prime route. However, I am having a lot of trouble making it sound... real. I think when I write I should flow, not stop and think or brainstorm about how to handle the next paragraph or how my character would react. My best writing, in my skewed view, comes from when I plop down and hammer out sentence after sentence without thinking. It all just seems natural.

A few years ago I was told by a close friend that when things are right all the doors will open. Perhaps option 3 isn't the best method...

Into it

So, I've gotten wrist... or knee.. well, some appendage joint deep in the second book. I am up to 5000 words and I now realize my original plotline may not work out exactly as intended. It is still relatively close, but I've had to go back and change quite a bit of the first chapter. Ahh, well, it could be worse. I could be mauled by a badger while being told by a doctor that I have Sudanese Sneezing Syndrome. Truth be told, I actually like going back and redoing the beginning bit. It gives me a chance to tweak the language.