Notions

I had a couple of ideas for sequels to Of One Mind, the story I sold to Torquere Press. (Or, more precisely, additional stories set in the same world, since they were both standalone plots rather than true sequels.) So I started working on the one that intrigued me the most, and just to tie it to the first story, I decided to center it on a couple of characters I'd mentioned (but not actually introduced).

I had the plot all sketched out. I agonized over the ending, trying to choose between the conventional-but-unrealistic happy ending and the one that made for a better story. I knew who was going to do what, and when. I knew what the twist was going to be, and I knew what the hook was. I'd started writing a few key scenes. But as a whole, the story just... wasn't coming together. So I put it aside for a while.

I worked on my plot for the Scum game, and made some great progress that will let me tie off a couple of old dangling threads. So I'm getting practically giddy as KT's plot comes to its conclusion, both because I've been looking forward to that climax for a long time now, and because I'm excited to introduce the new plot. (And KT will finally get to play in a game instead of running all of them.)

Thanks to a conversation I had with KT about writing, I thought about rewriting Willow Bough to sell it to Torquere as well -- it's even novel-length, which could get me my first actual print book! But on re-reading it, I don't think I can quite make it match Torquere's niche, which is fairly narrow. It might do for one of their subsidiary presses, though -- I'm reserving the question for my editor, when we finally get down to business, to see what she thinks. On the plus side, its plot isn't nearly as horrible as I remembered it being. There are some things I want to rework (I introduce characters that don't serve any purpose, I introduce a few plot threads that are never tied off, the romance is completely all wrong and should be a friendship instead, the ending doesn't make sense, and if I'm going to try to sell it to one of the Torquere lines, it needs more sex. Which is not something I would have ever thought to say about Willow Bough.)

And then last night, I finally realized why the Mind sequel wasn't gelling: the characters I'd chosen for it were rebelling. They're not ready for the spotlight. They have names and they have destinies, but they don't have personalities yet. And the more I think about my other plot idea for that world, the more intrigued I am by it. It hadn't caught me because I hadn't met the characters I wanted to use for it yet, but last night I considered using one of One Mind's secondary characters. I asked him if he was interested, had him audition it. It could work. I started headworking a few scenes.

And then the other main character... woke up. Enough to tell me his name, anyway, and let me see a few glimpses of his personality.

Enough to give me a few notions.

For the first time in weeks, I think I might be bracing to write.