The outline for my current project and most of my pages so far reflect a bad kid who becomes "better" because of things that happen to him. This, I realize, is not an effective character journey. Seth needs to want to be better. He has to make decisions and put himself out there. He has to take risks.
I'm making changes as I go so that things stop happening to him so much. So that he takes responsibility. And every few weeks it seems that I end up analyzing some plot point or other and realizing that what I have is not the way it should be done. I'm usually close, but there is always tweaking required.
Today I realized that if Seth seriously wants to play bass, I can't just let him be in his brother's band, mope around when he quits/gets kicked out, and then join up with them again when they realize they really needed him after all. THAT IS NOT A JOURNEY. That is Seth, waiting around for other people. That is Seth not taking control of his life.
When he leaves his brother's band he absolutely MUST try to make it on his own. Maybe not right away, but at some point, he must. He has to look for other people to play music with, even if it is out of his comfort zone. Especially since it's out of his comfort zone. And, you know what? Maybe going back to his brother's band is just NOT meant to be. Maybe he needs to be branching out and doing his own thing. Maybe that's his journey.
In the past, I've been a little reluctant and disappointed when I've had to change certain other aspects of the story. But I keep doing it because I want this story to be the best it can be.
This thing with the band though? This terrifies me. I have to create two to four other characters for him to try to play in this new band with, to possibly become his friends. I have to put Seth in situations he is going to hate. I have to adjust my idea of how his relationship with brother will play out. But he needs for this to happen. And that means I need to make it happen. It's important.