Character Freaky Friday

Whoa!

Okay!

Hi, YouTube.

I’m Rachel, the subtitles girl and co-host of the livestream write-ins here on Write On In.

How’s it going, everybody?

This National Novel Writing Month 2020 adventure is my first attempt at writing a book, and I hope you’re as excited as I am about hitting that 50K word mark!

If you’re struggling — whether you’re in NaNo or not — I guess it’s my turn to offer up a solution that might help get you unstuck.

Character Freaky Friday, anybody?

What if your main character was either completely different, or just reversed roles with somebody else?

How would the story look different if it was told through somebody else’s eyes?

Is this a side character that’s suddenly thrust into the spotlight, or another character who could arguably be considered a main already?

How might this channel be different if it was my beautiful self running it?

Okay, okay, that was more of a joke, but seriously.

Switch up some characters, have some fun with your plot lines, then get write on in to your daily session!

Andrew will be back tomorrow, so happy writing everybody!

Rachel's Response:

Morgan wakes up and opens her eyes. The room she's in is slightly different than the one she fell asleep in, but her sleep riddled brain can't quite work out why just yet, as it is very similar. She looks to the balcony door of Pierre's room and sees the same usual view of a morning in port, another ship on the opposite side of the pier. She turns her head to the right now and is shocked to see Captain Rico Bulgarelli asleep next to her with a small trail of drool falling out of his slightly open mouth.

Morgan jumps up, wondering what on earth could have happened last night after their dinner to find herself in bed with the captain and having no recollection of how she got there. Her sudden movement rouses Rico from his sleep and he abruptly questions her, "What is the matter with you now?" His words are harsh and biting, his tone makes the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

Morgan stammers "Uh. I... I don't... How did... What happened last night?" She finally forms a full thought.

"We had dinner. We came home to our cabin. And you denied me the most basic of wifely duties, even on my birthday. You need to get over whatever that thing with the girl was, and get back to normal already. It's over." His voice had that same biting tone, filled with venom.

"Wifely duties? I'm sorry you must be confused. I need... I need to..." Morgan trailed off as she walked into the bathroom. That's when she looked up and saw the face of Gemma staring back at her, blonde hair framing her delicate features. She let out a scream, and sure enough the Gemma reflected in the mirror screamed as well.

Andrew's Response:

If this story was told from Go’Ranashu’s perspective, none of it would have been as confusing as it is. He is the only one whose mind was not altered by anything going on. His mind is the most pure and sound out of anybody’s, so if he were to tell the story, it would be much more fluid. That being said, there would be way less drama going on, and it might not be that interesting. Just full of Go’Ranashu trying to convince everybody to see things his way.

He is, however, my favorite character in the book. Even outside of Vaeda, I think, just because he’s been exactly as I wanted him to be. Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind… oh, wait, that’s me pulling out my old Boy Scouts traits. Go’Ranashu fits into those categories regardless, and he’s the only saving grace, for me, in this book.

Without him, this story would be nothing, and even though it isn’t told through his perspective, I’m still glad he’s part of it. He might not be able to handle some of the pressure that Vaeda found in the caves as well as Vaeda himself, but not because of a lack of heart. If this story were his, he would have given every chapter, every page, and every sentence his all. Perhaps one day he will get a story of his own. There was a life of his before this, and there will surely be one after…

Fall in Love With Your Story With This #WritingPrompt

What’s up all you beautiful writers out there?

I hope this video is finding you well.

Whether you are well into National Novel Writing Month 2020 or not, maybe you need a little extra boost for your writing session today.

Maybe you’ve felt either a great connect or a disconnect with your storyline.

Let’s focus on that real quick, because we’ve let out some frustrations over the last couple of weeks, and it’s time to look on the bright side of things.

What do you love about this story your writing?

How is it changing you as a person, or as a writer?

Has it become something more than you could have ever dreamed?

Writers and creatives are often known to be their own worst critics, and sometimes it’s hard not to be.

Spend some time focusing on everything you love about your work in progress, then get write on in to your daily session.

My Response

I’ll admit, I wasn’t really feeling my story too much at first. It was kind of slow going in the beginning, and it was really forced. I tried so hard to connect with it. I thought of everything I could do, tried everything I had done in the past to make that connection, but nothing work. It really shook me, and right at that halfway mark, I seriously considered DNFing my own book. 

But then, I don’t know, something just clicked. I got into a scene I liked, and the characters started making more sense. Things got better, more exciting, and it’s almost like the moment I got over that little hump, the floodgates are just about to unleash. Now, I’m really excited about where this book is going and what’s going to happen between this point and the end.

I’m coming up into the last act, just one more chapter until then. The climax is on the way, so, even though this a short book, everything that things are building up to is about to happen. I guess so much of me wishes I could have started this from the end to the beginning like a Benjamin Button type story. That’s not a bad thing if you’re any type of writer, to write whatever section of the story you want at whatever point you want to. It’s just not as good an idea when you’re posting the whole thing daily :)