If your scenes aren't going in the same direction, maybe it's because you're really wanting to tell two different stories. You can either pick a story, or integrate them both. As for characters taking over, that's the most enjoyable part of writing I ever experienced. If you just let them GO, how they relate to each other will shake out in the end.
That might be exactly why it feels like such a muddle...if I feel more organized about it, I think I will feel more confident at just letting them go their own way. Which is what they usually do, when I write, but this story is long, long, long, so it's a bit more of a challenge. Your advice is VERY good!!!
If not, you'll have to do what everybody else does and get a beta. You've already got one, so no problem! Some of the characters may have to go entirely so they can live out their own stories somewhere else. Once there's enough material, a good beta can do almost anything with it. I was stuck and confused in the middle of my first story with a complex plot, and one of my friends said, "This scene belongs here, and that one goes there." It fixed the whole damn thing, and I couldn't see it myself.
Betas rock my world. Sounds like they rock yours too. I'm making a list of characters as we speak....
Why have you forgotten that the only important thing is to keep writing? ;)
I did, didn't I. But only for a little while, because I know cool people like YOU to remind me! : D
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Date: 2008-07-28 07:08 pm (UTC)That might be exactly why it feels like such a muddle...if I feel more organized about it, I think I will feel more confident at just letting them go their own way. Which is what they usually do, when I write, but this story is long, long, long, so it's a bit more of a challenge. Your advice is VERY good!!!
If not, you'll have to do what everybody else does and get a beta. You've already got one, so no problem! Some of the characters may have to go entirely so they can live out their own stories somewhere else. Once there's enough material, a good beta can do almost anything with it. I was stuck and confused in the middle of my first story with a complex plot, and one of my friends said, "This scene belongs here, and that one goes there." It fixed the whole damn thing, and I couldn't see it myself.
Betas rock my world. Sounds like they rock yours too. I'm making a list of characters as we speak....
Why have you forgotten that the only important thing is to keep writing? ;)
I did, didn't I. But only for a little while, because I know cool people like YOU to remind me! : D