When writing the initial draft of Duality, I had a completely different personality and ending in mind for one of the main characters. Even his name was different from what it eventually became. It’s so funny to look back now at the initial character outline, comparing that to what he eventually transformed into, but it ended up being for the best. Once the novel was finished I loved him even more.
But, what was even more remarkable was how that change came to be. I was perhaps halfway through the initial draft of the novel when Evan featured in one of my dreams. He was very talkative; explaining how my ideas for him may not work well for the story I intended to tell. He presented suggestions and ended his proposal by saying that his name wasn’t really Evan and that I should reconsider it.
Temporarily casting aside my writer’s hat in favor of my editing glasses, I was able to see exactly what he meant. The novel was flowing well for the most part, but the sections featuring Evan needed more work. Early on, when Evan first appeared in the longhand draft of the novel, there was even a question mark after his name – which showed that I wasn’t entirely confident in my choice.
Though the rewrite took some time, I am very happy with how things turned out. Joran, as he is now called, fits beautifully in the world created for Duality. Also, once the changes were made, Joran didn’t visit me in dreams again
Now, I’ve been visited by yet another character. I thought I had everything planned with regard to which novel was going to be published next. I actually thought that I had a timeframe in mind for the next three novels that would be published because the one that I was currently working on, up until last week, is going to be a two-part novel. However, my previous blog post regarding Peter and the characters of mine that he wanted to bring to light has altered
Roughly three nights after that post, I was visited in a dream by one of the characters from the works that Peter fell in love with. She explained very calmly why the first of the novels that she is featured in should be the one next published. I have to say that her argument was very compelling. To be honest, I had no real reason not to continue working on her novel and to bring it to the forefront. I think that, ultimately, it was nothing but fear that was keeping me from doing so.
These are characters that have been such a tremendous part of my life since I was 19 years old. As previously mentioned, I want their debut to be as fantastic as I can make it. However, waiting for just that “perfect” moment would mean that these characters would never come to light. Talking about Peter and rehashing everything that went on between us only served to make me think of these characters with such fondness and with the great love that I have for them. It’s time for me to share them.
Thank you, Li. It’ll be nice to formally make your acquaintance in November.
Stay tuned.
xoxoxoxo
