One of the most irritating things is the re-invention of a sexual triad (No, it's not dirty, and no, I had no idea what this was until I read about it in my writing bible.) Google will take you down the Polyamory road if you let it, but in the context of story, it's about tension between three characters in a romantic sense. As in, Character A and Character B are together, but Character C is more than a little interested in Character A and intends on giving it a shot.
Or as Robert J. Ray put it in 'The weekend Novelist', 'The sexual triad bristles with biology, mate selection, power, and the dramatic intensity of the intruder penetrating a closed circle.'
I had a triad in my first draft, but it lacked any real drama, and didn't kick in until later on. Cue, a much needed re-write.
A few things have changed here; the characters that ultimately fancy one another start flirting much earlier. Initially I had them fighting their way through a good fifteen chapters. Now that it's clear there's something between them early on, there's a reason for the boyfriend to be jealous.
That still wasn't enough. And that's where back story comes in. Ray encouraged me to create this beauty of a table, called 'The Three Goods':
CHARACTER
|
GENES
|
RESOURCES
|
BEHAVIOUR
|
||
Hannah
|
Good
|
Bad
|
Bad
|
||
Daniel
|
Good
|
Bad
|
Good
|
||
Linden
|
Good
|
Good
|
Bad
|
Initially all three triad characters were pretty much the same - reasonably well off attractive people. Great work imagination. So why would Hannah be compelled to like one of them more than the other? Yes, I know it's not that simple, but these are the most significant reasons why people stray.
So, I had a play around. What if Linden had a lot of money, and Hannah didn't, better still, what if Daniel was having secret financial struggles (that come out eventually). That's a reason for Hannah to consider trading up, and another reason for Daniel to dislike Linden. Win.
I liked the money idea a lot, so I took it further. I created a historic issue between the two men based around Linden embarrassing Daniel over his lack of cash. that's hinted at for a while before it's known - great - another potential reveal and some much required tension between the guys before their competition over Hannah even comes into it.
I also decided that Daniel would be so worked up over his hatred of Linden, that it would take him a while to realise that Hannah's interest in Linden was a little over-zealous. Too late.
The good news is - I made my book better. The bad news is I was left with a handful of chapters where two characters now needed to grow closer together instead of their amusing (but ultimately irrelevant) sparring. I have to keep reassuring myself that stripping away is oddly essential to moving forwards.
I've edited 22 chapters, only another 10 to go. Then I'll be spending a bit of time in the past, with my so far ignored Flashbacks.
I'll leave you with some wise words from Robert J. Ray (I realise that I gush over this man):
Q: What (if anything) in your writing do you find challenging?
A: Beginnings, Middles, Ends, First Drafts, Rewrites—everything in writing is hard to do well. If you write a good book, the next one could be a stinker. If you write a stinker, ouch. You need luck. You need energy. You need help from other writers. You need to know where you are in a book, but you can’t know until you finish a couple of drafts, so how do you keep moving, what do you write today after writing crap yesterday? Writing practice keeps me afloat, writing with other writers, packing the pages of your notebook, reading out loud, listening around the table. Writing at Louisa’s here in Seattle has kept me going for two decades. Working pages with Jack Remick and Joel Chafetz sends me back into the words, always.
