The Low Moors

In my fantasy novel By WaysUnseen there’s a place called Frecksshire that’s dominated by the high moors in the center, and the low moors in a ring around the high moors. The low moors are so called because most of the year they are submerged in water, with bits of firmer ground like muddy walkways – think the Dead Marshes, but shallower. Haydren won’t fall in and almost drown. But in the darkness it can be tough going, especially as it continues to rain and the firmer ground becomes steadily softer. And I feel like my revisions are on the low moors in a rainstorm.

If you’ve been following, you know I’m trying to write a character, Sarah, into the earlier chapters so she doesn’t show up as a central character after you’re halfway through the book. An admirable goal, and one that must happen before this thing would get published. You simply cannot introduce main characters that late.

I’ve already discussed how awesome a moment it was when I realized Sarah had her own, recognizable voice. And that was really awesome. The problem I’m finding now is that the bouquet is already full of flowers, and Sarah is a calla lily that I’m trying to wedge into the middle. An admirable goal, and one that must happen before this thing would get published: but it may not happen without unwrapping the bouquet.

Because, in the end, I’m still trying to work her character arc into scenes that have already been written. I rumble through, putting her name and some words here and there, trying to find a place to develop her character; if I don’t find a good spot, I move on. But I’ve been moving on for three chapters now, and she has yet to develop much at all. In the end, it’s going to read as if she was just there to satisfy one part of structure, but she won’t really start developing until her usual place more than halfway through the novel.

So, if you must add a character to your plot, take some advice: be prepared for a lot more work than just writing the new scenes. It might work out better for you than for me, but it might not. I always like to hope for the best and plan for the worst.

So, what’s next? Well, I need to flesh out the scenes her character needs in order to show her arc. I’ve already started on that in my head: I just want to make it a little more solid. There’s a very good chance I’ll just need to drop in whole new scenes; so far it hasn’t worked to graft her into existing scenes, because those are already complete.

The very good news is, I love her arc. I think it’s a very good point to make in this book, and I think she’s turning out to be the best and only character to make the point.

And that’s good stuff.