Old People Writing for Teens, IV

Weren't you YAWNing, just the other day? Or was that something else?

Ah, yes, edits can get in the way of producing new stuff. But they're still very productive!

Oh, man, boy POVs can be hard.

I console myself that Taylor is not your average guy. He's a guy built for girls and adhering to what another girl thinks this one girl wants. (And he's not allowed to think much about sex)

I'm getting close to the end, but I'm stuck in the technical details. Also in being one dream short of where I need to be. I need to find an excuse for everyone to stay with this girl for just one day and night, but I can't figure it out.

I...may be rooting for the wrong LI to win.

I wrote 6K yesterday. Haven't written anything today.

The best way to get people talking is to talk about something and to interact with what's already been said.

I had yesterday off, so I made it a writing day. I'm also approaching the climax, so things are happening, which makes it easier.

wampuscat said:

Are you still struggling with the wrong LI winning? If the book ends differently than you thought it would, will you go back and change things about that LI at all?

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So, I have two LIs, Rosie and Malinda. Taylor is programmed to be Rosie's boyfriend and the first half of the book we don't even see Malinda except in flashbacks. We focus completely on Taylor winning Rosie over. In the 2nd half Taylor finds out he's an android and programmed for Rosie, and he completely freaks out and cuts himself off from her. But just before he finds out, he's met Malinda (who owned the android that was programmed in Taylor's body before him). So we spend a lot of the 2nd half with Malinda (and I'm in the 2nd half, so it's easy to lose sight of Rosie).

I know that part of my problem is that the first half is the build-up to the Taylor-Rosie romance. They don't have dramatic kisses because they aren't there yet, and then they are, but something gets in the way, etc. But Taylor and Malinda are predisposed to romance because Malinda loved the android who used to be in Taylor's body and Taylor has been inundated with that android's memories. So when their romantic scenes happen, whoosh, it's big and dramatic and romantic and nobody's fighting it. Whereas Rosie was fighting it for most of the book.

Also, with Malinda, it's tragic and tender and beautiful, which really appeals to me. With Rosie, it's fun and it's a struggle but I know that they're really the ones that are perfect for each other. The climax is set up for Rosie to be the one to win. Malinda's not strong enough to help Taylor through the climax. It the end, I want it to be clear, though, that it's his choice, even if he ends up choosing the one he was programmed for.

I do have to change a few things about Malinda because I realized something that happened in her backstory that I wasn't planning for in her earlier scenes. I knew something sad had happened to her, but not what it was. Now I know, and I have to lead up to it. I also might have to switch some of the backstory scenes around.

I also have to strengthen Rosie in the first half. I wasn't connecting to either Rosie or Taylor that much, so I think I sort of failed to portray her feelings as deeply as I did Malinda.

Oh, no, the fact that Malinda is probably really in love with Justin (the other android) and that Taylor maybe only loves her because of Justin's feelings is a huge issue in the book. But this is an intellectual reasoning, and romance isn't always intellectual.

If Malinda were to win, plotwise, it'd be because Taylor went against his main programming (ignoring the fact that actually it's Justin that programs him to love Malinda, lol). But if I were to let her win, it'd really be because of the nature of the scenes and how romantic they feel compared to his scenes with Rosie (as I remember them, from like 20-30K back--poor Rosie).

The intention is for Rosie to win. I just have to get her back in there and build the romance back up, instead of having them fight all the time.

I also have to admit that I've gotten called out by betas and agents on a couple of my FMCs for not showing their feelings, and I'm very afraid that Rosie will be one of them (even though she's an LI). Having Malinda be very clear about her feelings, both showing and telling, is kind of reassuring, and I'm sure that's part of what's weighing on my mind.

ETA (b/c I refuse to do yet another post): The previous post is really helping me solidify why it's Rosie and not Malinda and what I need to do

Finishing the night at over 66K. My writing week is Thursday to Thursday (7 p.m.) so assuming that I don't have any new writing tomorrow before 7, I'll have just over 14K for the week Productive week is productive (actually, this whole month has been pretty productive)

yellowhammer said:

and less "willy nilly write when inspiration strikes."

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LOL, no, I'm the first to admit that this is me. It's just that I'm pretty inspired for this novel. Which is weird because when I rebooted, I totally thought I was going to eventually trail off and abandon it again. But instead I hit the middle-ish and fell in love.

Getting through the Great Swampy Middle (which was mostly before the halfway point if things continue word count-wise) was greatly facilitated by having two 10K Saturday challenges during that part. Then Taylor found out he was an android at about 40K, and I could not stop writing. I seriously glare at people at work when they try to talk to me because I'd rather be thinking about my novel than talking to them (of course, I'd much rather be at home writing than there at all, but sadly I have to work).