I have written on the topics of worldbuilding and outlines in some of my previous posts. Now I would like to talk about something that will likely happen at one point or another during the writing process.
I would like to take a little scene from Once Upon a Time. This is the scene where Sheriff Emma is trying to solve a crime, and she seems to have hit a roadblock. Her instincts tell her something different than the conclusion to which the clues seem to point.
At this crucial point, Pinocchio, posing as the writer August Booth, gives her some advice based on … writing of all things. He essentially tells her that her perspective has changed throughout her case, and that it might be good for her to go back to look at the beginning of her investigation with this fresh perspective.
This is a situation I have come up against in several of my WIPs. In fact, I have come across this in my current (main) WIP, my epic fantasy novel series. It happened while I wrote my first draft of book one and again now that I am writing out my first draft of book two.
I had outlined the entire series a while back, but now that I have fleshed out my first draft of book one I realized, as I attempted to come up with how to transition into one of the outlined scenes, that my new knowledge of the world I created, and the inhabitants thereof, made this scene difficult to bring about. It went deeper than just my two main characters for that scene. One of the core concepts of this world seemed likely to be antagonistic to this scene. It appeared that the outline might need to be shifted because the scene no longer made sense.
I was faced with a situation. Either I had to cut the scene and come up with a new scene that fit better with my new knowledge, or I had to come up with a new way to bring the scene about.
I’m sure that some of my readers would be interested in a rule or guideline to solve this problem, especially since it is not uncommon to discover that our original plans do not quite match what our characters tell us or how our world grew along the way. However, I do not presume to make so bold. I do not believe there can be any universal rule or guideline. There might be some concept that works a fraction of the time, but no rule will work for every writer or even for one writer every time. Each writer is different, as is each of their worlds, and beyond that, each of their characters. No two stories will present this difficulty quite the same way. With this situation, there are only a few tips I can present.
Tip number one: we follow August Booth’s advice. Our understanding of our world and characters has evolved. We must now look at our story from the beginning and see where this new understanding changes our concept of our outline and the scene in particular. When we write down an outline and when we begin our worldbuilding, we tend to look at it as though it is written in stone; as though it not only can never but also must never be shifted. This is not correct. We writers who have gotten past the “we are the creators of these characters, and we can make them do what we want” phase know that we cannot force our characters to do or say something just because we want it so. Our characters will tell us who they are and how they have evolved to behave. They will also make it quite clear that if we try to make them do something that goes against either their nurture or their nature that it will ruin the story.
What did I do in my first draft of my first book when I found that things I had wanted were going to be difficult to achieve with the way the story had developed? Honestly, I looked at it from every angle. I went back and investigated what motivated each of my characters and what actions different circumstances would be likely to produce.
Yes, this gave me some headache and frustration, but it also gave me a possibility. While it was difficult to wrap my mind around at first, it eventually leads me to another route I had not even considered, which actually made sense. I know I am being vague, but I am trying to avoid spoilers. Please, bear with me.
In order to get one character into a situation or scene you want or need, you must not simply look at the motivations and personality of one character and that one character only. I have said this before and I will say it again because it is incredibly important. Your characters do not exist in a vacuum. Every other character’s actions could in some way affect the character in question. I have looked at this particular question in my blog posts, “Antagonist vs Protagonist point of view” (Part 1 and Part 2) and “Give your Villain some Love”
Now, let’s look at the concept of taking a step back. This is where your outline comes in handy. Instead of reading your entire story over again during your first draft, though reviewing in more detail is a good idea, the outline gives you an overview. Using index cards for your character motivation might also be useful at this point. If you have not been writing these along the way, review your story and do so. It will save you time and confusion in the future. You should regularly go back and address what you know now but didn’t know before. This way, if need be, you can rework your outline which should be a fluid document. In this case, outlines are, as Captain Barbossa says, “more guidelines than actual rules.”
Is this difficult? Sometimes. Is it time-consuming? Often. Yet, consider why you write. Is your writing worth your time? If it is not, then why are you writing? I know this is tough love, but sometimes we need it.
Remember, it is crucial to go backwards in order to make sure that your future writing matches your previous writing and, therefore, makes sense. This is how you make certain that your scenes are not jarringly inconsistent. You do this so that you and your readers can enjoy the wonder.
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