Fearless [Arc II] Day 50 (Julian is Trouble)

I probably introduced one of the newer characters - Julian Tufts - a few weeks ago, but he's been some amount of trouble. Not the character, himself, but the way that he interacts with the others, especially Ross, who's already in an unfamiliar and unsettling position with Amber. Add to that Julian's presence, and his interactions with Amber, and writing what is supposed to be a genuinely good guy who really does have the best intentions becomes tricky. Still, he's a neat character to have.

He fills Neville's shoes, in some ways, being something of the local superstar. But since Ross doesn't know him all that well, Julian still stays somewhat aloof. Which is good in some ways, but then difficult for storytelling purposes in others.

I'm also finding that Venus is stepping up, too. That's a development I really didn't foresee when I pulled her character together. But the fact that she's a woman who is close to Ross without being an intimate of his (unlike some other female characters) gives her a very interesting perspective on him. And it doesn't hurt that she's a nurse, so she can be both friend and confidante as well as adviser. Which is kind of important, at this point in the story.

Ah, but I love this one! I really want to share it with other people, and I can't wait to do so. But first, the story has to be complete. :)

Fearless [Arc II] Day 34

It's a brand new year...and I'm still working on Arc II. Still no name for either arc (not like the last big story), but that's okay. Not everything has to be named to be important.

I got my first reader feedback for this story the other day (from a family member, but, hey - I'll take what I can get). Said feedback wasn't overwhelming (there wasn't a lot of detail), but it also was not negative, so I'm considering it at least moderately successful.

What I'm really enjoying at this part of the story is how Amber and Ross are almost exchanging perspectives, back and forth, multiple times. It's a really interesting dynamic that I haven't been able to play with, before. And it's doubly interesting because I don't have fandom fans telling me how I should or should not write my own story. (Not every reader of my fan fiction work does that, of course...but the ones who do are really opinionated about it, often obnoxiously so.)

Another part of writing this story which I really enjoy is that these characters are mine. Sure, they have their inspirations and their jumping-off points, but those inspirations were one-liners, only rough facets of the full gem beneath. I feel like I've grown to know Ross, Amber, Neville, and the rest as closely as - if not more than - I've done any other characters. Perhaps because their conflicts and issues are so much more real to me than any other story's. Perhaps because they have real flaws and fears that I've experienced in my own life. Or perhaps simply because they're not shooting zombies or jumping into television worlds; I don't know.

All I really know is that I'm so glad I took this chance on them. NaNoWriMo may have ended several weeks ago, now, but I feel like I've only just begun to find this novel.

40503 / 50000 words. 81% done!

(This wordcount meter, by the way, doesn't mean anything at all. I had hoped to reach the end of Arc II after a second 50,000 words, but I don't think that's going to happen. I think there's too much drama in this second arc to cram it all into just another 10K or so.)

[Fearless Arc II] Day 28/29

Chapter 12 had not been working for me. There were too many issues being brought up, and there was no cohesive thematic element to tie everything together. I'm a firm believer in unifying events of a chapter around a theme...so about two days' worth of hemmed and hawed text had to go.

As these things tend to do, though, it's already working better, even though I'm only on the second page of the chapter, whereas I had been around the seventh. Such is life (and writing), though, and I think these changes are making the story flow much better, now.

32907 / 50000 words. 66% done!

[Fearless Arc II] Day 25 - Christmas Day

It's been difficult making these latest chapters (and wordcount!) work. There's so much detail to review, and a gamut of emotions to cover. Still, it's coming together. Perhaps not so quickly or smoothly as I may have hoped, but solidly. And I think that's more important than either speed or ease.

It's Christmas here, today...and it's also Christmas for Ross and Amber, though their Christmas is decidedly less homey and relaxing than the one I get to enjoy.

It's always an interesting development when the world for which I'm writing is in the same time of year as the one currently around me. Often, I'm writing summer for winter or vice versa. Nothing all that surprising, given that the written world is one which the writer controls, while the world in which we live happens day to day, but when the synchronicity of season occurs, it's still rather neat.

31548 / 50000 words. 63% done!

I write like...

I write like
Vladimir Nabokov

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

Yeah, I'll take that. :)

[Fearless Arc II] Day 13

This is absolutely the most difficult chapter I've had to write, so far.

Because it just hurts me to hurt these characters, so.

16063 / 50000 words. 32% done!

[Fearless Arc II] Day 9

One thing I enjoy about writing relationship (romance) fiction, is that I get to incorporate actual conversations I've had, that tickle me to this day.

The time came when the swells started to shift with the onshore winds, making them pack up their boards and gear and head in for the evening. Amber went back to the house on Albion Street for a spell of a few hours, but she returned near closing time, with some tasty takeaway and her rucksack of fresh clothes slung over one shoulder, greeting Ross again at the door with her perky smile and soft kiss.

Neville joined them upstairs in the flat for curry and the Danish crime drama that had captured their attentions over the last several weeks, during which Amber curled herself close under Ross's arm, sucking thoughtfully on the last of the pulpy mangoes they had for dessert, while the guys sat quietly engrossed in the subtitles.

“Those two are totally going to do it,” Ross interjected during the closing scene of the episode, nodding toward the screen.

Beside him, Amber broke into light giggling. “I know!” she said, tumbling gleefully against his chest; without the onscreen drama and tension, she turned lively and lighthearted once more. “I was going to say the same thing.”

Sitting on the floor in front of the sofa, Neville craned his head around to look at Ross. “Why does everything with you have to be about sex?” he drawled with a snicker.

“It doesn't,” Ross told him. Then he gestured toward the screen again. “But they've got chemistry! I mean, look at them. You can see that she wants him.”

Amber poked him in the chest. “He wants her, you mean!” she said. “He can't trust his old lover anymore, not after she planted that evidence. But he can trust this woman. And you can tell that he really wants to trust her; you know, he wants someone he can believe in, someone he knows is honest and worthwhile.” She bobbed her head knowingly. “That is prime romance material, right there.”

Indeed, it is, Amber love. Indeed, it is.

10304 / 50000 words. 21% done!