Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Change of Character


At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements ;)

I'm rewriting my novel. Again.

I've gotten some excellent feedback, so I'm making some needed changes. It's coming along nicely. But I just got hit with something that I don't like very much. And I realized that it makes an excellent what if...

What if you discovered that one of your "good guy" characters (a good friend of the main character) is actually working for the villain? (Yes, sometimes that's how you intend things, but imagine that you hadn't intended for this character to be bad at all.)

10 comments:

  1. It could make an interesting twist to the plot I do believe!! How fun you are working on a novel!

    betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Several novels, actually. I go from one to the other, letting one sit when and then going on to another.

      Delete
  2. Then you run with it and make it a plot twist!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well then it would be a great twist that the reader would not know either. You can have that character go in so many different ways. It will be interesting to find out how you will develop this character

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think it would be great! I love characters and stories that have layers to them. Maybe it's not good versus evil, just two differing viewpoints, and the people on both sides are worth liking.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It makes for a much more complex character and complex characters make books much more interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Whatever is unexpected usually thrills me in a novel. Who wants to read a book where everything plays out as you expect. Good luck with it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But I prefer to know these things in advance!

      Delete
  7. Good luck with your novel. No one is wholly good and no one wholly bad so writing well-rounded characters is difficult.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am officially old and out of touch. I have no idea what the majority of those abbreviations mean. I so rarely text anyone other than my neighbor (I am home. Hopefully Angie's over there and didn't disappear into thin air.) and my husband (Can you please pick up_________ on your way home?) And I use full sentences and punctuation!

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.