Hmm. When that happens to me, I try to listen really hard. What is the character trying to say? What is the "juice" that's fueling this, what is trying to get out?
Because I don't think a person ever really writes a story, although we try. I think the best stories just come from somewhere, and it's up to the author to type as fast as she can and get the heck out of the way to let the story come through. So, what's trying to come through? It might need to be its own story. Where is the "juice" in the other story, the one that's getting crowded out? You need to find its life pulse, and get it beating happily again.
Oh, heck. This thing is all mysterious to me. I really have no idea how it happens. But I'm a big believer in, if it's not working, throw it completely away and start again. I have many old chapters that were false starts. After the story gets working again, I can sometimes see why they didn't work. But it's a mystery. I just say, well, that's not working. What would happen if... and approach it a completely different way. But everyone has their own way of working. Mine is the scrap and rewrite method. Other people have their own tricks.
Thank you for the kind words about Marigold. I really don't know where she came from. I think in her case she was a reaction to Sam. We know very well what Sam is like. In a big family, people tend to fill roles. So who would Sam have as a confidant and friend in this big family, and how would she compliment his character? So she has hobbit sense but different hobbit sense than Sam; she's practical, but in different ways than Sam. They're the younger kids offering each other support against the older sisters; they might squabble, but they're always there for each other. Hmm; it's interesting and scary to think this out consciously! Great topic.
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Because I don't think a person ever really writes a story, although we try. I think the best stories just come from somewhere, and it's up to the author to type as fast as she can and get the heck out of the way to let the story come through. So, what's trying to come through? It might need to be its own story. Where is the "juice" in the other story, the one that's getting crowded out? You need to find its life pulse, and get it beating happily again.
Oh, heck. This thing is all mysterious to me. I really have no idea how it happens. But I'm a big believer in, if it's not working, throw it completely away and start again. I have many old chapters that were false starts. After the story gets working again, I can sometimes see why they didn't work. But it's a mystery. I just say, well, that's not working. What would happen if... and approach it a completely different way. But everyone has their own way of working. Mine is the scrap and rewrite method. Other people have their own tricks.
Thank you for the kind words about Marigold. I really don't know where she came from. I think in her case she was a reaction to Sam. We know very well what Sam is like. In a big family, people tend to fill roles. So who would Sam have as a confidant and friend in this big family, and how would she compliment his character? So she has hobbit sense but different hobbit sense than Sam; she's practical, but in different ways than Sam. They're the younger kids offering each other support against the older sisters; they might squabble, but they're always there for each other. Hmm; it's interesting and scary to think this out consciously! Great topic.