What Makes This One Different?

So wow... let me begin by sharing my exciting news... over the weekend I passed up 82,000 words in my manuscript, which is roughly 290 pages. And my story is just on fire in my heart and definitely in my head! I seriously think about it all day and often dream about it at night. It has been all-consuming but in a great, fun way! I love getting lost in the lives of my characters. As they develop, they become like best friends to me. I know everything about them. And after their initial development, they kind of naturally just flow on the page... I get into a groove with them and it's second nature to write from their perspective- What would they do? How would they respond to certain situations? How do they feel? etc...

This new story of mine is SO very much outside my comfort zone. And at first, it scared me to write it because it's not something I've ever done. Could I really do this? But there is a quote that lingered in my head, pushing me to write this story anyway:

Be courageous and try to write in a way that scares you a little.

I took the leap.

So what, you may be thinking, makes this one different?

1) It's set in the future (not some flying spaceships and hoverboards future, just a time ahead of our current one). Why is this a big difference? Because I get to create everything in this world. There's no existing framework to start with. That is both exhilarating and terrifying. It's easy to fall into a hole and hard to find a way out.

2) I have two protagonists- female and male. Adult and child. I keep writing my scenes from the male character's point of view and then have to have Tim read them and tell me if I'm on point- does this actually sound like a man/child, or just a woman trying to sound like a man/child?

3) Along the lines of #2, I am really trying to diversify my character personalities and traits. People are a mixture of good and bad. We're paradoxes. We have flaws despite good intentions. And even our antagonists can have goals that align with the protagonist, just a different motivation (or the same) and paths to reaching those goals. Even antagonists can have redeeming qualities. So, who really is the antagonist? Does the good guy win in the end?

4) There are so many characters! I have two protagonists and two antagonists that play pivotal roles. And several secondary characters that we become close enough with to still either love or hate. And then even more minor characters. I've got lots of people to think about, to differentiate from one another, and to connect my readers with.

5) There is action in this story. Action and secrets and conspiracies. Writing plot twists! Twists that I want the reader to pick up on when the characters don't- involving them in the story, and plot twists they don't see coming at all, but in hindsight see the bread crumbs that were missed all along.

I was scared in the beginning. I'm still scared. But I love it. And once I got started I haven't been able to stop. I am bleeding onto these pages. Everything in me is coming out. And as a writer (an artist of any kind), when you expose and share your deepest passions, it's scary because you just don't know how people will respond. But...

Better to write for yourself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self.

So I guess we'll just have to see what happens when it's finally time to let my baby leave the nest.

Ever thought of writing a book but either have no idea where to begin and feel overwhelmed, or just doubt you a have a story worth telling? The same story has been written a thousand times, but never in the way that only you can tell it, so share your version. Here are some tips to get you started:

1) Write 50 words. That's a paragraph.
2) Write 325 words. That's a page.
3) Write 300 pages. That's a manuscript.
4) Write every day. That's a habit.
5) Edit and rewrite. That's how you get better.
6) Spread your writing so people can comment. That's called feedback.
7) Don't worry about rejection or publication. That's a writer.
8) When not writing, read. Read from writers better than you. Read and perceive.