So. Hurricane Irene.
*glares*
You see, I live in Puerto Rico. And dear ol' Irene was not very kind to my country (for some reason, I am typing this while speaking like Borat. I assure you, Puerto Ricans do not speak like Borat. Just me). Anyway, Irene hit us this past weekend. She stayed with us for about three-ish days. On Sunday, while I was watching this:
...the power went out.
The water said goodbye the next day. On Wednesday, it returned.
The power, on the other hand, came back on Thursday.
But without cable or an Internet connection.
I spent the majority of the week looking like this:
Things Amparo Was Plotting:
1) Irene's slow and painful death
2) Her WIP
When it comes to #2, I sort of had an epiphany... because of #1. You see, when it comes to character development, the toughest things for me to nail are the external triggers that allow said development to unfold. I know how my MC will change throughout the manuscript, but not always what causes that change.
Which leads me to Irene and my Week In Cyber Suckage: if you take something away from your MC, giving it back in half pushes them to seek the missing piece. Also, if your MC gets everything he/she wants in one fell swoop, take something else away that means more than what they gained. This could be material or not. Totally up to you, and your story's needs. I think books are all about The Lack, and exploiting what your MC's lacking makes for awesome storytelling.
So yeah. I guess Irene was good for something.
Now tell me: how did you spend time with Irene? Did she help you with your WIP? Have you used these tips in your writing?
6 comments:
This is such, such, SUCH great advice. I'm always looking for ways to make things suck for my characters but I think I love them so much it's hard for me. Totally employing these tips today.
Hope you all are okay in the aftermath of Irene! <3
My parents just moved to PR and, yeah, my dad wanted to chase it. Thank heavens my sister was there. LOL. I should buy him a book.
It didn't really affect us here. I spent my weekend watching sports and reading.
I'm so sorry you've suffered at the hands of Irene. I spent the weekend worrying about friends in her path.
I appreciate the excellent advice you've given. Since I'm now returning to my WIP, I'll try to implement it.
So sorry you had to go through that. I live in south Florida, and we thought we were getting a direct hit for awhile there but didn't end up with much of anything besides rain.
Becca @ The Bookshelf Muse
Thanks so much, everyone! Aside from the Cyber Suckage, Irene didn't treat me so badly. Some towns had to be evacuated due to flooding, though. But luckily, my loved ones are unscathed *fist pump*
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