As I continue writing (and writing and writing) Part 2 of Second Chance, it's becoming clear to me that both halves of this novel (novella?) aren't going to match.
Oh, it's all one story; Part 1 could be labeled the main character's "origin story", I suppose; then Part 2 picks up with her new life. The problem isn't the story, per se, but the divergent writing styles.
Since I took the criticism to heart regarding scene jumps and lack of overall detail, I've begun going the opposite way. Which explains why Part 2 is going on and on. Just when I want to transition to a new scene, that little voice says, stop! Apparently a novel should never have a scene break ~ it should just be one long recounting of the MC's day. I probably should have slotted in what she had for breakfast and her shampooing ritual; lather, rinse, repeat. No, it's not really that detailed, but I'm definitely battling my instincts.
I guess I could go back into Part 1 and elongate it to death, but you know how much I hate backtracking. I'm getting ahead of myself, though. At the pace I'm writing Part 2 it will never be finished.
In hindsight I do recognize the failings of the first part of the story. The narrative is fine, but most of the characters are cardboard. I never bothered with turning them into real people, at least at first. When my MC was still with her original band, her cousin Caleb was simply "there". He backed her on guitar and acted as a steadying influence, but he had no personality to speak of. It wasn't until he and MC's mom showed up in Chance for Thanksgiving that I revealed his humor and charm. And that's true for most of Part 1's characters. MC comes to consider Luck Hotel's manager her best friend, but we don't really know anything about him. And her love interest? Well, he's a good singer, and...? I'm beginning to wonder what she ever saw in him, and I'm his creator! It is true that I create characters to serve the narrative, and that really needs to stop.
I probably will go back into Part 1 and fix it as best I can. If I don't do the work, there's no point to this.
So, what did I accomplish yesterday? I suppose a lot of emotional angst. MC doesn't realize that she's in love with her guitar player. When their mini-tour of Texas ends, the unspoken agreement is that she'll move on with her career and he'll simply move on. I'm not quite sure why, but I'm guessing he doesn't want to hold her back, and she is an idiot.
She finally confronts the A&R guy from the label about not telling her she has a hit, but it's (apparently) all a misunderstanding. Or he's just lying. Her mentor, superstar Paula, keeps warning her that the label is playing "the game" with her, but she never explains what the game is. And damned if I know. It sounded good when I wrote it.
She's also preparing to fire her manager, the one she foolishly slept with when she arrived in Nashville. He's turned out to be an inattentive jerk (business-wise), plus she subconsciously wants to scrub their indiscretion from her memory.
When I left off, MC is on the phone with Paula, who's recommending a new manager (oops, did I do a scene jump again?) Though Paula is a music legend, she's also a born and bred hillbilly. I love writing her. She can turn on the charm and sophistication in front of the cameras, but the real Paula sprinkles every conversation with curse words that merrily trip off her tongue. But here's an example of sabotaging myself: The two of them are in the midst of a conversation about management, when Paula starts waxing poetic about bass fishing and invites MC to come along. I don't know why. (One never knows what Paula will say next.) So now I'm stuck writing a scene with the two of them in a boat. Because I can't just skip it, you know.
So, the two-to-three plot points I managed to write:
a) MC is too stupid to know she's in love;
b) Her record label might be playing a "game" with her;
c) I guess I only wrote two actual plot points.
Don't get me wrong. I like the "color". It beats cold and sterile (see Part 1), but this thing is turning into a full-length novel, and that was never my intent. Too, it's true that every scene should count, and some of these don't exactly advance the story. I have "sort of" decided where the plot will end up, but I've got a loooong way to go before I get there.
So, yea, I've decided to just go with it; stop fighting. Perhaps by this time next year, I'll have a first draft. Well, as I've said before, I have nothing else to do.
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