So I took a break from writing more on the beta draft of The Uncrucified so I could have some time away from the words for awhile.
Time away turned into a hectic holiday season, vacation, and months since I last posted any chapters! Sorry about that, but it was very hard to steal away any time to appease my writing muse after some very late work nights.
It's 2018 now and that means I want to re-dedicate myself to writing more! This story has been a great way to stretch my legs and dust of those skills I haven't used since college when I was writing edgy poetry and Milton analysis for my English degree.
As for where we're going from here? So far, the few folks who have made it through the new beta stuff have reacted positively to the new scenes and my writing style. But as a writer, I have to admit I feel something is missing from this story. Perhaps its urgency? The way her story is structured is very linear and chronological right now.
This happens, then this, then this. Unlike Kalara's original memoir that is written in the framework of her future badass self reflecting on her former self, this story reads like a calendar.
After thinking long and hard about this, I realized the problem might be that so much of what's awesome about Kalara happens later on in her life. She's a gunslinging badass king of thieves with superpowers! But we're just not there yet.
Kalara's early years interest me because there's poetry in the fact she isn't this amazing badass yet, that everything she ever chose to do in her life led up to this moment where she was given the power to unlock that potential lurking within herself to punch gods in the face and well and truly change the world the way she had always striven to do.
Surely there's a way to combine the two? The longer I've thought about this, the longer I realize it would be amazing to bring that original framework back in to have Kalara's future self reflecting on moments from her past relevant to what adventures she might be having as a fledgling Solar struggling with her newfound powers and establishing her new Guild. Non-linearity would allow for such wonderful potential with deeper suspense and the ability to bring more layers of meaning to the various moments of importance in her life.
lol so I guess this means I'm due for YET ANOTHER rewrite! What would you even call that? A Charlie draft?
For now, however, I'm just going to keep writing this draft chronologically and exploring in long form all the little emotions and events that led up to Kalara's current self. I can always cut bits of it into a rewrite later. Writing what I have now has been a great exercise and valuable exploration of her character! Plus, I wouldn't have discovered some of the fun spontaneous gems like Djali if I hadn't gone back and expanded.
So here's to more writing in 2018! Let's keep this thing going!
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