So the other night I was doing my nightly run at the gym. I’m listening to my favorite podcast and the guys are talking about character arcs. I’m sweating at this point (not a gross man sweat, but more of a healthy glow deodorant commercial sweat). I’ve been running now for over 10 minutes non-stop (I’m bragging at this point) and suddenly I have a revelation come to my head that nearly makes me stop. My main character isn’t suffering enough. His arc of progression in the story is too weak. HE MUST SUFFER! Now, I’m the first to admit that I hate novels that torture their characters for pointless reasons. So while I’m running I vow not to introduce some new conflict just for the sake of upping the tension. I needs to be something real. That’s when the second revelation hit me (about the same time that the sports chick passed me on the track). I knew exactly what I needed to do to fix the story.
I haven’t been in the mood to write lately and I think I now know why. I’m finally excited again about my novel. It’s been broken for awhile, and I’ve known it, but I just didn’t know what was wrong. Now…I believe that this is the final overhaul that this story needs. Here’s hoping I’m right. Now I just need to kick my writing into high gear and finish this novel by December 31st.