Another plot pondering post.

I've mapped out the progression of Seth and Rosetta's relationship. For the most part, I'm happy with it. But now I'm back to the big, important scene that solidifies everything. I've been calling it the "Will they or won't they?" scene because even now I don't know if they're going to have sex. (I keep thinking, no.)

My problem is, to give this scene some surprise or whatever, I've deliberately held off on having them kiss. I threw in a thing Rosetta said about one of her guy friends not understanding that she only wants to be friends so that Seth would think she was talking about him, too. That way, he wants to kiss her, but he chooses not to because he thinks she doesn't want that.

So, there is a scene at a dance where they really SHOULD be kissing, but they don't. Then there is a scene where Rosetta is having the biggest breakdown she'll ever have in these pages. At the end of it, when Seth realizes just how much she depends on him, he could kiss her. Maybe. But not if he's never kissed her before, right? Or maybe he could kiss her out of some kind of desperation, thinking it will help her feel better?

Right now, I have them NOT KISSING there, but going back the trailer park where Seth's mom makes a fuss over Rosetta. Meanwhile Kendall from next door gives Seth shit over bringing some rich girl home (which Rosetta does not hear). Seth ends up betraying Rosetta (but no realizing it at the time). Then there is some sexual innuendo when everyone else takes off and leaves them alone together. It's mortifying, really.

And this, THIS is where I've chosen to have Seth and Rosetta's first kiss take place. And then whatever else happens after that. And they have very Important Discussions and it is clear that they are falling in love.

And then two scenes later his unintentional betrayal ruins EVERYTHING and the rest of the story is spent with Seth dealing with losing Rosetta and finally, their eventual reconciliation.

I think it is probably realistic that it would happen this way. He isn't the type of guy to go for it and kiss his close friend if he thinks she doesn't want him to. But once it's clear that she does want it, hell yeah, he'll be going for it. To what end, I don't know. I keep putting off the scene out of fear, I think.

But it looks like this:

Rosetta cries/is mean to Seth--->Seth helps her out anyway--->Kendall is mean to Seth and Rosetta, then leaves--->Without talking about her crazy meanness of before, Rosetta admits she's been waiting for Seth to kiss her for, like, EVER--->They kiss and whatever else happens--->They talk and she apologizes for and explains the craziness.

I'm just not sure if I like that their first kiss happens at like this with some many things up in the air. I keep feeling like maybe it comes too late. At the same time, I think it's real, just... not as well-placed as some of their other opportunities.

Or maybe the real problem isn't the placement of the kiss; maybe it's the fact that until Rosetta says what she says, Seth really doesn't get that she likes him like that. Maybe he should realize it sooner. But if he realizes it, why hasn't he kissed her yet?

Puzzles

Since I don't write my scenes in chronological order, I don't always now how certain details came to be. For instance, there is a girl in my current wip who has a phobia. I know why she has it, I know the cover story she uses to keep people from noticing, and I know how she'll work through it in the end. What I have never known was HOW she came up with this cover story or WHEN exactly she started telling it.

So, in the past few days, I've redone my outline, started revising from the beginning to reflect the changes, and now I'm filling in missing scenes as I go.

Just now, in chapter nine, it came to me. She needed to say something, so she said it. And it makes perfect sense that she would say it there because of the events of the previous scene. If all fits together so perfectly that it's going to be one of those things that readers will think I planned from the start. But honestly, I didn't even know this scene in chapter nine was going to exist until three days ago.

It's like a piece of the puzzle that was there all along but I never even knew it!

Plot pondering

I have to type this up before I go crazy!

Seth, my protag plays bass in a band. That's been my vision for a good, long while. Despite having written over 40,000 words for this story, I don't know exactly what the significance of the band is in his life and the story, but I keep plugging ahead.

Originally, I thought he should be in a band with his older brother and his bro's best friend. Just the three of them. And they would play shows and it would be cool. But then I thought, what would be the lesson learned exactly? How does he grow?

Then I thought the drummer would, um, sleep with Seth's mom. And it would be a THING. Seth would be pissed at his mom, causing issues at home and pissed at Mikey causing issues in the band and with their friendship. And everyone would have to figure out how to get over it.

I clung to that idea for months before deciding I don't want to go there after all. Partly because this is supposed to be a story for teens. Does anyone really, really want to read all about these adults and their sordid affairs? Blah.

Then I decided that is was WAY too easy for Seth to be in his brother's band. He didn't really have to do anything to get in. He plays bass well and happened to be free when the guys kicked out their former bassist. How convenient. What a non-challenge. What's he going to learn from that??

So, I decided that the real lesson here should be that Seth gets kicked out of his brother's band and has to get over his pissed-offness at the world and get off his ass to find a new band because he wants to make music that badly.

That works. Except, now I have absolutely NO storyline for Seth and his brother anymore. Maybe there's some resentment, but no real story. Well, I could make it that the brother's new bassist isn't working out and they want Seth to come back. But Seth doesn't want to. He isn't ready to play music. But wait. What about the new band he's joining? He's ready to play with them but not with his brother?

And then it occurred to me that Seth's brother is kind of a jerk if he'd kick his little brother out of his band right when his little brother's best friend died!

Maybe Seth wasn't kicked out at all. Maybe he quit because he was depressed about his best friend dying. And now the thought of playing with those guys is just so unappealing. So, even when they ask, he won't come back. And he meets these other guys and starts playing with them instead. But doesn't that make Seth the jerk? To abandon his brother's band,refuse to come back, and then move on to something new? Seth's arc with the band is supposed to be one of some triumph, not him being a jerk.

He doesn't want to play with his brother's band because those guys drink and he gave up drinking? But what about the new band? Is he okay playing with them because they're all straight-edge or something?

Does there need to be any kind of resolution with Seth and his brother in relation to the band? Like, should he join the new band and realize he really belongs with his brother's band after all?

I kind of picture the new band being something he thinks he won't be into, but then he is. Like, the guys are nothing like him and they all have their different prejudices. But then they realize that they kind of like each other and have fun. Seth learns to be a more accepting person in this new band. I feel like the old band is something he needs to be getting away from...

Well, I typed it. I don't think it helped.

Edit: Actually, it did help! An hour later,I was trying to sleep but could not. And I found the solution.

Mid-day bathing.

I was pretty grumpy and miserable all morning. I got up at 6:30am to write, but it just wasn't happening. It isn't like I don't have a million things to work on! It isn't like I don't want to get this draft done! It isn't like I have the luxury of wasting my day like this! And thoughts like those were making it worse because I am just SO OVERWHELMED.

So, around 2 pm, I stopped staring at the walls and the carpet and got up off the couch to take a long, hot bath. I was probably in there for about forty-five minutes and, in that time, I thought many thoughts, came up with an all-new idea for a first chapter(!), worked out some of the big issues I've come across in my outline, and improved my mood by at least 78.5 percent! ;-)

Now I'm ready to get going again.

Mid-day bathing. I highly recommend it!

Being proactive.

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.