Committing Story Adultery
The Arc Riders is currently in the hands of a remarkable agent, and she is prepping revision notes for me before we place it on submission. This means that I need to down tools on the Are Riders (including Book 2) until I get those notes. Making changes to the universe now would just confound my brain when it comes to the revisions I have discussed with the agent. I need to see her notes before deciding on the next steps. The problem: a member of her family recently died, and another elderly member is suffering some severe health setbacks. She asked for a couple of weeks time to deal with family issues before getting back to work. I said YES, what else could I have said? Unfortunately, this means more waiting on my part. I’m not good at waiting. I fuss, I stress, I drive my friends and lover’s batty. I need to be distracted.
To keep my mind off of the wait I entered into a CampNaNoWriMo challenge with three members of my writing group. We are each taking the same simple plot spark and main character and writing a story based on it. It is an exercise in possibilities. How will each of us view and expand upon the idea? How will we develop the character? What conflicts and problems will we manifest? All in all, I think it is a good way to keep my writing chops in shape, and distract me from the waiting.
The rules are simple:
1. The story must be completed in exactly 50,000 words.
2. Attempt to keep to the plot.
Genre: Steampunk
Plot: Quest to retrieve the Tesla Diamond, a jewel used by the inventor in one of his experiments to bring free and endless electricity to the world – the experiment failed, but the jewel is reputed to have taken on magical properties. It has been lost, but the captain of the intrepid ship Pegagus’ Child, Jordie Aeron, has a lead on finding it. All that stands in the way is the Royal British Aire Force, the Bermuda Straights and the captain’s conscious.
Main Character: Jordie Aeron is a ginger, and a known scoundrel. Risk taker, hothead and wanted criminal. May be male or female.
Main Villain: Unique to each story.
So I am writing this and having a blast! The only problem is I have this nagging feeling of unfaithfulness. Like I am cheating on the Arc Riders, the story that has consumed my imagination for a couple of years now. How about you? Do any of you have a little piece on the side? Do you feel guilt over it?
