Right story, wrong chararacter and vice versa

BrightSera · Jul 9, 2014

(advanced warning: Like this post, my process is messy and wildly inefficient. But it's all I got right now. lol.)

I have 2 partially finished drafts of the same story (sort of.) Why 2? I got 2/3rds of the first story and realized I still didn't have a voice for the point of view character at all. Worse, he's so freaking passive. Things happened to him, he reacted. Bleh. I didn't even like him, and if I didn't like writing him, no one is going to want to read about him, either. However, the actual plot is strong and makes sense.

To see if I could spark something about my character, I wrote a random scene where he was completely powerless to do anything. And holy freaking fudgesicles. It worked. A voice came out and he started making small defiant acts to assert some autonomy, even though every one he did made his situation worse. I kept going because the scenario was fun to write and now have a wildly random story that takes place three years later than the original one (it follows the events in the first story--but now it's all backstory.)

It's highly convoluted and full of moon crater sized plot holes. The storyline is weak and there's not enough context for the backstory for it to mean anything without exposition in an already meandering tale. I pretty much ignored any sense of a timeline like Doctor Who after too many Redbulls. The amount of work to make it less of a tentacled monster of squishy storytelling brings salty frustrated tears to my eyes.

And there is no clear way to end it without copping out a la, "And then it was all a dream." Or kill people off. Quite possibly all of them. That'd end all the unfinished story lines for good!

But what it comes back to is this: the character is interesting. I like this character.

Problem is I don't know how to get the interesting character into the story that works. The events that shaped him haven't happened yet in the first story.

In conclusion:TLDR: What's better? Right story, wrong character? Or Right character, wrong story?

ETA: If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Osulagh · Jul 9, 2014

Right story, right character... and if neither want to fit together, change them to make them fit.

quicklime · Jul 9, 2014

seconding getting both right--getting pubbed is hard, doing so with flaws in plot and character you, as the biased writer, still plainly see is going to be much harder than just getting things right.

then again I come from a pretty strong "if something's wring, FIX it" mindset; others may suggest you move on, try this in case you're being too hard on yourself, etc...

BrightSera · Jul 9, 2014

quicklime said:
seconding getting both right--getting pubbed is hard, doing so with flaws in plot and character you, as the biased writer, still plainly see is going to be much harder than just getting things right.

That's very true. But right now the only expectations I have are to meet my own by finishing an interesting (and coherent!) story with an interesting character.

quicklime said:
then again I come from a pretty strong "if something's wring, FIX it" mindset; others may suggest you move on, try this in case you're being too hard on yourself, etc...

I LOVE fixing things. It's my favorite part. And I'm unlikely to move on because the process of fixing things are a huge part of how I learn, and I'd hate to lose out on an opportunity to develop my skills. I think I'm more frustrated that the way to fix this isn't making itself clear to me, and none of the craft books I have include sections on, "How to fix ridiculously lengthy and convoluted situations you've written yourself into."

Persei · Jul 9, 2014

In my opinion, you should definitely try and fix it. I should warn you that sometimes fixing it means scratching everything and starting fresh. It sucks to waste words like that (especially with 2/3rds of a draft) but sometimes it is what is necessary. I'd also suggest you to take a break for a couple of days and try to think about it with a clear head. Maybe you are just so stuck that you can't see things clearly and this is why you can't figure out an answer.

Alternatively, you could find yourself a writing buddy to discuss the problem in detail.

Anna Spargo-Ryan · Jul 9, 2014

Definitely shoot for right story, right character.

I had an experience like this when I was writing the book I'm now editing. I had almost finished it (about 60,000 words written) when I realised that although I loved my characters, they didn't belong in my story at all. They were catastrophically wrong for it. Unfortunately, they were also in most of it.

I pulled out their major scenes and saved them in a new file. I rewrote the book without them. Later, I will write a new book about them, with a different story.

Now that you know who your character really is, you can write him into something else, something that's a better fit for him. That might mean fixing what you've already got, or it might mean writing something new.

If you like fixing, as you say, I think writing the right character into the wrong story is a brilliant way to study character. You learn all kinds of things about them that you wouldn't know from the right story, and I think that makes the right story stronger. It's like an extended character profile. Take what you know, and write about what this character would do, now that you know who they are.

RightHoJeeves · Jul 9, 2014

Persei said:
It sucks to waste words like that (especially with 2/3rds of a draft) but sometimes it is what is necessary.

Just want to say that it's only wasting words if you look at like that. Even though the OP is unhappy with what he has now, and might have to start fresh, that writing journey has probably brought up a stack of great ideas that he wouldn't have ever thought of otherwise. By writing a poor version of the story, you're closer to knowing what the great version of the story is.

It may inefficient, but it's not necessarily a waste of words.

BrightSera · Jul 10, 2014

Thanks, guys.

Hashing the issues back and forth with my critique partner is how identified the feeling of "wrongness." But my CP is just as unsure to fix this.

And I've accepted I may have to re-start over.

In the mean time, I'm taking a week break and working on another project and taking on beta reads to give me a little breathing room.

Debbie V · Jul 15, 2014

Take the character and reverse engineer him to the point where the story starts. Take him backward through time. Now you know how his journey ends. Who was he that he could take that journey?

Or, take him as is and stick him in the plot of your original story. Let him drive what happens while you make up anew back story. The story will change, but that's good.

It was that touch of defiance that got him going. Give him that in the very beginning of the original story. Suddenly he won't be passive.

Put a different character in the original. Write a new story for this character.

Look at the POV you wrote the first one in and change that. Change the verb tense too. It could be you were writing in the wrong voice in a way that had nothing to do with the character.

So many options. The only way to find out which will work is to try them. Good luck.

Reziac · Jul 16, 2014

You fixed the character by frustrating him into acting.

Maybe you can fix the story by the same technique. Frex, break something vital in this world, and make the story work around it.

Ride the Pen · Jul 19, 2014

Ha ha, you have some style of posting, it is fun to read and almost reads like prose!

I prefer "right character, wrong story" any day of the week, cause this could still be interesting. If you are interested in the character, well, you might want to read on. If you are interested in the story, but the story fits in with the character like strawberry pudding with beefsteak, then you will lose interest. However, this is probably all theoretical talk and to be answered on a case-by-case basis.

Finally, I would probably not start to write either story, because both has to fit.

Put this nice character into another situation... into one that plays with his weaknesses... add a little bit of extern plot, like sugar and spice... see what comes out... it worked once, it can work again...!

Some tasty food metaphors/comparisons in my post here... maybe it's because I'm hungry. Bon appetit!

Right story, wrong chararacter and vice versa

BrightSera

Neurotic Supernova

Osulagh

Independent fluffy puppy.

quicklime

all out of fucks to give

BrightSera

Neurotic Supernova

Persei

Let it go

Anna Spargo-Ryan

Just pokin' about

RightHoJeeves

BrightSera

Neurotic Supernova

Debbie V

Mentoring Myself and Others

Reziac

Resident Alien

Ride the Pen