There are some questions that I don't often have to ask myself.
As a writer who tends to keep her character development slow and natural, I've found myself struggling with a part of the book I'm currently writing.
A character who's stayed the same for much of the novel, and who's actively resisted every opportunity and reason for change, is suddenly thrown into a situation that completely blows his carefully-constructed self-delusions into a cloud of shrapnel. And now, he's being forced to choose between clinging to his old ways, or doing something that's all but alien to the person he's always been.
Either way, the cost will be unbearable.
As a writer who tends to keep her character development slow and natural, I've found myself struggling with a part of the book I'm currently writing.
A character who's stayed the same for much of the novel, and who's actively resisted every opportunity and reason for change, is suddenly thrown into a situation that completely blows his carefully-constructed self-delusions into a cloud of shrapnel. And now, he's being forced to choose between clinging to his old ways, or doing something that's all but alien to the person he's always been.
Either way, the cost will be unbearable.
This USED to be all his comfortable lies.
It's definitely a time for character development, and perhaps my own biases are making it feel too fast. To a lot of other writers and readers, it might seem perfectly natural. But to me, it just feels sudden.
As I've been slowly learning to do, I'm delaying judgment until the editing phase. I'll come back to these scenes with fresh eyes, and maybe add some more foreshadowing beforehand to make it seem more natural.
In any case, I'll make it work out. But for the moment, it just feels weird.
Have you ever had a scene like that, whether you were writing or reading it? One where the sudden change in a character was justified, but it felt too fast? If so, please share it in the comments, if you can do so without giving spoilers.
As I've been slowly learning to do, I'm delaying judgment until the editing phase. I'll come back to these scenes with fresh eyes, and maybe add some more foreshadowing beforehand to make it seem more natural.
In any case, I'll make it work out. But for the moment, it just feels weird.
Have you ever had a scene like that, whether you were writing or reading it? One where the sudden change in a character was justified, but it felt too fast? If so, please share it in the comments, if you can do so without giving spoilers.
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