A Shift of Perspectives
Ah, the Muse. Sometimes she comes to us in the craziest of circumstances. Other times,we wonder if she'll ever make herself known at all. But one thing is certain – life with a Muse is always an adventure.
WIP #1 (for lack of a better title since I haven't thought of one yet)is one of the pieces to come out of my NaNo'09 short story collection project. At the time, I was a dutiful little NaNo soldier. I put my pen to paper, kept my head down and wrote.
The good news? Now I have the luxury of stepping back to take a look at the bigger picture. The bad news? I've looked at the bigger picture and it needs some tweaking.
'Tweaking' is putting it mildly, to tell you the truth. I think I need to do the grand-daddy of all revamps and switch POV characters.
Yeah…you heard me right. I said it. I'm going to axe my leading lady and make her a man.
Know how I know it's the right move? I feel nauseous. I'm nervous about it. I'm afraid of falling flat on my face. I'm afraid of doing all that work only to realize I was right the first time around.
You might think I'm a masochist but I enjoy the fear. Because it shows that I'm willing to take a chance. The fear excites me. Bring it on.
See, the Muse knows how to tempt us writers. She knows which buttons to push, and when to push them. And right now, she's got me wrapped around her little finger.
I'll let you know how it goes.
As for you – what do you do when you find yourself in this situation? Do you hold back or face your fears? What little tricks does your Muse do to torment – and titillate – you? And how do you one-up her?
[NWC]
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Mary, I think you’re brave, and bravery is one of a writers most powerful tools. I’m facing the same sort of issue right now with the novel I’m writing and taking that risk takes a lot of bravery because I’m afraid taking too much of a risk will divert the original vision too much. Good luck!
.-= Jennifer Hudock´s last blog ..Today was hard… =-.
Brave or stubborn? 🙂 Either way, thanks for the vote of confidence! I think I’ve got it easier in switching POVs in my short. Reworking a novel is much more difficult. I hope you find the solution without too much hair-pulling 🙂
Yeah, I know just what you mean, and I’m all for it. I’ve had to switch PoVs and it’s really scary, I agree. I had this novella all planned out, a bunch of scenes written, and the MC was meant to be a woman… then I realized it didn’t work and made it a man. Made so much more sense.
My muse mostly just shouts at me, though. He’s not very subtle– which probably explains a lot about my writing.
.-= Katey´s last blog ..WIP Wednesday Isn’t Groundbreaking =-.
I’d prefer it if I knew this ahead of time (which POV character to use) but, whether this makes me a freak or not, I’m excited by the challenge to rework it. That’s the thing about writing – it isn’t just about the end product. It’s the process that we get hooked on.
And your Muse is male, huh? Interesting 🙂
My muse is very much into beautiful men. I’d hate to inhibit that ; )
Aren’t we all, Nat? Aren’t we all? 🙂