I’m trying to get my head back into Summer Rush mode. It’s a lot harder than I’d originally anticipated, especially considering that I’ve changed some of the characters. I had to get rid of Mallory, because she was boring/annoying the heck out of me. I’m sure she was an interesting person, but I didn’t care enough about the character to explore her any further. So, yes, she’s gone. Karolina (I doubt anybody remembers her; she was in California Girl) might make an appearance instead.
One of the ways I get to know my characters is by sitting down and free-writing their profile. I did James Montoya today. I’ve done him several times because he’s one of my favorite characters, and I always find out something new about him. For instance, today I discovered he has a tattoo. Who knew?
The character I’m having the most trouble with, though, is Brett Geisha. Every time I think I have a handle on his personality, something comes up that makes me realize he’s a different person altogether. I know he has a sister who wants to be a tattoo artist, that he likes Pit Bulls, and misses his father (Craig Geisha left two years ago). Besides that, Brett remains a mystery to me.
In spite of that, I can feel IT coming on: that wonderful, intense need to just WRITE. And when it finally arrives, I’ll be able to write like a crazy person for hours upon hours without hesitation. Whether the words are worthwhile or not is a whole different story, but that doesn’t matter. As long as the words are there, I can figure them out later. “Don’t get it right, get it written” as somebody I don’t know once said.
Sometime characters can be complex things. One character I was writing refused to be defined by words. I felt like I knew his personality, but each time I tried to add some aspect to who he was, he would reject it. I had take it away because I knew that it just didn’t fit him somehow.
It can be so frustrating sometimes. I’m ready to get on with writing, but Brett refuses to cooperate.