But I haven’t forgotten my original manuscript! When I get more detailed feedback from my readers, I’ll work on le livre. My goal is to start querying agents in September, which feels very close.

I’ve been reading more writing blogs, and adding a few more links to the blogroll. In particular, I’ve discovered Write to Done, which I really love. It’s a great resource for writers who are dutifully working to achieve their dreams. This post in particular was very helpful – I am a huge “digital fiddler.” I’ve started disconnecting my laptop from the Internet each evening when I sit down to write now, which really does help enormously. And, in the new story, I’ve found that setting word count goals really helps a lot. If I write 500 words each session, I’m happy (and I’ve found that often I go over that goal, anyway, which helps even more).

So today my goals are to weed the yard, bake a cherry pie from scratch, and get 500 more words into the story. I won’t say any of them will be easy, but with some work and some inspiration, I know I’ll get them done.

First, Writer Unboxed is doing a second month devoted to one aspect of the craft. A few months ago, they focused on plot; during May they’re focusing on, you guessed it, character. This post from Therese Walsh really struck me, particularly when she talks about how pictures can solidify a character and her desires for an author. 

Months ago, I asked Caitlin, who posts her work on Flickr, if I could display some of her photos here. She graciously agreed. To me, her pictures conjure emotion. They inspire characters, too. This shot, for example, is one of the inspirational shots I’m using for book #2. Looking at it gave me an instant sense for a new lead character: quirky, dark, damaged, intuitive, naive. The model may very likely be none of those things, but for my purposes, it doesn’t matter; for me, Caitlin has captured these ideas using shading and contrasts, and by the placement of that flowering branch.

The second I read this, it clicked in my brain. I know exactly what my protagonist needs in le livre, and I had a clear image of how she would look at the end of the story. I’ve never been the type of writer who creates a collage of images before starting or working on a project, but I may have to rethink that policy in the future.

Other musings on character that have resonated with me are from this post at Jennifer Hubbard’s blog. In it, she talks about character motivation and this part in particular stuck with me:

The villain, if there is one, should have some motivation more complex than just, “He’s bad.”  Everyone’s life makes sense through his or her own eyes; we can all rationalize our actions even if they bother other people.  Why does the bad guy want to rule the world, or steal the main character’s love interest, or thwart the main character’s ambitions?

This is something I’ve been struggling with my wip. I have a bad guy, obviously, but I’ve been having problems making him more human. He’s not all bad, and I’ve introduced a subplot with him, but I’m not sure it’s working enough to make him a more sympathetic character. In fact, it might be making him worse. Sigh.

Okay, off to work some more on these issues…