The Insecure Writer’s Support Group had an interesting topic for this month’s post. I haven’t responded to one of their prompts in a while, and this one caught my eye.
They asked:
Have you ever written something that afterwards you felt conflicted about? If so, did you let it stay how it was, take it out, or rewrite it?
It made me reflect on the stories that I’ve written over the years. Quite a few don’t make the cut in the revision journey. I have a couple of stories that I wrote about the world coming to an end kind of vibe, and those remain in the journals they were scribbled in. I’m sort of not in that mind frame anymore to write doom and gloom stories so much.
The biggest internal conflict that I run into with my own stories is character development. I mimic my main characters after myself many times, and it’s through a lengthy revision process that I discover who they are outside of myself. I’m hoping to increase my speed for revision as from draft 1 to the final draft takes a long time.
Brings me about to some good news, though! Two of my short stories are being published later this year. I’m looking forward to seeing them in print.
Anyways, how would you answer this question?
Hi ,
Congratulations on your short stories.
Mimic my main characters myself ? Then strip out (most) of that self ? Car radio once ( least likely to be interrupted) once heard Beryl Bainbridge saying all her female characters were based on herself, and all the men – obviously that was more complicated…
Choosing a fourteen year old as a key character in my current WIP has been fascinating,
My fourteen year old self ? Definitely not.
I like knowing another author felt the same way.
If you model your protagonist after yourself, when you mature and look back on the story, it may jar you, for you have changed, But that is not a bad thing. It shows growth or healing. Here’s to happier writing for you! https://rolandyeomans.blogspot.com/2023/08/why-writing-in-crosshairs-iwsg-post.html
Excellent point! I like that perspective.
Woo Hoo on the short stories!!! Those are always the hardest to write for me. It’s hard NOT to make yourself the hero of the tale. Try giving them characteristics that are oppose your own views or send them down roads you’d fear to take. If you’re Yin, make them Yang. If you’re afraid of something, make that their cause. Write the main character as a sex opposite yours. Little things that make them different even if you choose to share the same core traits.
Good morning and thanks for chiming in today.
Oh boy, are you missing an opportunity if you don’t use the opportunity to kill off an ex- or model one of your characters after a sibling or other family member – such fun!
Nursing a cup of tea or coffee in a cafe that allows one to linger with a keyboard is golden for character clues. Camp out at the mall… being an active eavesdropper and lookie-loo. Better than great!
Haha I had to laugh at your comment. Great point!
Good tips too! People watching is a great character development tool!
Congratulations on the two short stories.
And welcome to the IWSG!
Thank you! 🙂
I generally work it out by the time I call a story done, but I feel conflicted throughout the process until I get there! Congrats on your upcoming short story releases! @samanthabwriter from
Balancing Act
Thank you so much! I take that approach too, working it out as I go.
Congrats on your stories being published. I have the opposite problem. I can revise fairly quickly but getting out a first draft is so slow. I’m dreading that I’ll finish my revisions on my current manuscript soon.
I wish I was faster with revising!
Congratulations, Nicole. Being published is a wonderful thing. One trick I use is to tape a profile shot of my protagonist on the edge of my screen so I can look into his/her eyes when I’m having difficulty with a scene. Best to you. Happy IWSG Day.
I love that idea!
Congrats on your short stories!
I’m a painfully slow reviser. I keep hoping I’ll find some magic method to get faster but so far, the only thing that speeds me up is a deadline 🙂
Ha, yeah me too! Deadlines pick up my speed!
Congratulations on your stories! Oddly, my short story characters are not only dissimilar to me, but I had to train myself to stop writing mostly male characters. My theory is that it was because the authors I read were mostly male at that time (horror was very male-heavy). I do believe that I often instill my novel characters with bits of me, though.
I’ve done it myself.