I’ve added a new character to my Meet The Characters page. Her name is Evelynn, and she’s taking over The Waking.

Now, Evelynn’s been here from the start. She’s my least favorite character because I see a lot of myself in her, but as I wrestle with the current revision, I’m realizing Evelynn has a unique and interesting perspective on the events unfolding in Celandra. The problem is, her story starts in a pretty low place. She’s lived through some trauma, and throughout the plot she deals with mental health issues. I’m not sure how I’m going to lighten things up so that the novel isn’t overly depressing to read. I’ll probably end up relying on the supporting characters to lighten the mood, bring in some humor, and balance the sad parts with heart-warming acts of kindness and friendship.

The best part of this turn of events is that I’ve gotten over my writing slump. I’ve written more words in the past three days than I had this entire year so far. For a month, I would sit at the computer growling in frustration, squeezing out a few words onto the page, only to reread them with utter disgust. It was painful and humiliating. Yet, I’m thankful that the stall got me thinking and forced the rewrite I’m working on now. Without that dry season, I wouldn’t have taken the time to step back and think about whose story I should be writing.

Goel is a great guy. But he’s a boring hero because he finds his identity early in the plot and sticks to being the naïve, gentle, optimist all the way until the climax, where he takes action like a square-shaped cork fitting into a square-shaped leak. The reason I’ve seen him as the protagonist all this time has to do with his key role in the plot. If he didn’t exist: Evelynn would have died of despair or insanity, the Osakk would devolve into power-hungry tyrants on a path of self-destruction, and the kingdom of Celandra would be blood-soaked and in ruins before the war could be brought to an end. Characters who meet Goel are changed for the better. Some of their lives would end without his intervention. But he’s just not the protagonist I needed to tell this story.

So… now I have to rewrite my synopsis. Oh joy.

Evelynn’s rise in prominence has given me an opportunity to redraft The Waking’s outline too. One of my goals at the beginning of 2022 was to teach myself (via the internet) what a Three Act structure is, how to write one, and how to implement a good outline. An author I connect with over social media recommended using Blake Snyder’s beat sheet. The template was an excellent guide, and I didn’t have to make too many adjustments to my already-crafted plot.

The resulting story structure feels much tighter and I’m super excited about writing it. I feel like I’ve been trying to tell a story, and all this time I’ve gone about it by describing exciting events, focusing on what happened, instead of why ____ happened. Inevitably, the why should be answered with a character motivation, and now that I’ve made a clear Three Act structure, Evelynn’s motivations and actions drive the plot all the way from start to finish, and it works. Her theme is “fear over love” and I am placing it in opposition with the villain, Danen’s anti-theme of “power over love”.

I can’t wait to share The Waking with all of you, with all the thoughts and convictions that undergird it. I may be too similar to Evelynn for comfort, but at least that means I’ll feel right at home telling her story.