Plotting My Next Romance Novel
And, as predicted, the endeavor to chart a course this time around isn't panning out as well as I had hoped.
It is too much like work, which is precisely why I'm not digging it.
However, outlining still has it's appeal and so hope to proceed because I am an overly curious person and want to discover just how much of a difference (good or bad) plotting makes in my craft.
To begin with, I'm supposed to search online for 'famous' people who somewhat resemble my cast of characters and then display them somewhere -- like, on my den wall in front of me here, and in a blog post for posterity.
Fun stuff, I must say, and I did spend a majority of last evening doing just that.
Since I'm not a huge fan of Hollywood, their movies, or their stars, I'm not familiar with most of them and even less familiar with the modern music scene.
Case in point: Thursday's episode of Project Runway: Season 15 had a guest judge everyone on the show seemed mighty familiar with, and Heidi pointed out the fact that she (Meg G, I believe was her name?) is a co-host with her on another reality series . . . um . . . Dancing with the Stars? No, I don't think it was that one. America's Got Talent? Maybe it was that show?
Whatever.
I didn't find exactly what I was looking for in either male or female categories, either, after searching both Tumblr and Pinterest.
Oh, and I've shelved the fantasy series as well.
That's SHELVED - not scrapped. I'm just setting aside that series (for now) to concentrate on the story that has occupied my mind for months now instead.
It is another contemporary, but with the possibility of it becoming a series.
This third novel has got to be better than the second, of course, and I do believe I've read enough works by other, famous authors to have gained more knowledge of the craft while also learning even more about my unique style -- at least I hope that is the case.
Still in the development stage are the setting, the characters, their backgrounds, current employment situations, ages, mental/physical scars, phobias, and interests, so there is little for me to report on or outline.
I should have everything in order some time this week, though.
Also toying with the idea of their being novellas instead of full-blown novel-length romances, but that is a wait-and-see situation.
My idea is for there to be a youngest 'sister' with three older 'brothers', and one by one, these brothers find love via their youngest sibling. Her story will be told last, which would make for four total love stories if I decide on a series.
She adores all of her older 'brothers', but the eldest has a special place in her heart since he had to grow up fast after the death of their parents to look after the younger ones. Right now, he's typical eldest sibling: smart, pulled together, helpful, concerned, and diligent while also harboring bits of fluff like resentment, anxiety about being exposed, and duty to family.
His story should turn out to be the most rewarding or even tearful of the series.
The second oldest will also be a bit typical: wild, reckless, indecisive, rebellious, cocky, and a loose cannon or trouble-maker, I haven't decided. He'll be the bad boy and also the best-looking of the three, but all three will be attractive in their own right.
His story should turn out to be the most entertaining.
The third brother is closest in age to the girl but he'll be the thinker, the doer, the methodical, patient, quiet, reserved, and nerdiest of the three.
His story should prove to be the most fun.
In my head so far, I have them living in another country in relative wealth and with exceptional education and upbringing when something occurs to drag them away from that lifestyle and forces them to go into hiding or seek out a new, safer haven in America . . . where there will be a distant relative: an uncle, I think, who takes them in but then he dies a few years later. Right now, I've got him working on a ship that will sink, but this is likely to change.
So, the eldest is forced to become even more responsible and give up his own grand plans in order to help raise his three younger siblings. He won't be outwardly antagonistic toward them for his seemingly bad luck, and I'd like to make his character the most charming yet realistic of the four.
As for the girl, she is the least developed of them all.
So far, I see a whiny, pudgy child with too much empathy, emotion, and trauma to be all that love-able, but her older brothers will adore her and look after her as best as they can. It will seem as if she and the second oldest do not get along at all when in truth they are quite close in both friendship and nature.
The third son is her complete opposite, especially in brain power and wit, which puts them at constant odds with one another. She dislikes his being a snob and he dislikes her being a flaky dork. Which just means their relationship will unfold throughout the series and secrets will be revealed about them both and their true compassion and concern for each another.
And, as always, these characters are extremely loosely based on a family I knew and hung out with in my middle and high school days before being recently reunited with two of them via Facebook. Of course things are embellished and completely my own fantasy, but she was a very popular girl with three extremely gorgeous, older brothers. Aside from that, the story is all mine with zero in the way of comparison.
So, it is back to Tumblr and Pinterest for me, in search of images that will depict these guys as close to what is inside my head as I can find and then posting them here along with better, more detailed information about them and the stories that they'll share.
Wish me luck!
Your comments, thoughts, suggestions, issues, and insight are always welcome. Please feel free to reply to any of my posts.
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