An interesting challenge (the writing process):

June 1, 2012June 1, 2012 / Rachel

In the novel I’m writing (okay, in one of them I’m writing but in the one I’m focusing on right now), I have to tell not one but two separate love stories. The first one ends tragically, a casualty of war, and the second one is truly the focus of the story. That being said, the first relationship has to feel as authentic and true as the second one later becomes. It’s a hard road to traverse, I’m finding, because I want to focus so much on Lila’s relationship with Jack. However, I have to remember that Danny is Lila’s first love, her husband, the man she thinks will be coming home to her once the war is over. She and Jack are walking parallel paths and once they intersect, her world turns upside down for probably the third time in her young life. Walking these paths with all of them, and showing the beautiful love that Danny and Lila share and then not discounting it once Jack steps into her life, is going to be the biggest challenge of telling this entire story. I’m slowly feeling my way toward how to do it but it definitely requires a lot of thought (and note taking!)

3 thoughts on “An interesting challenge (the writing process):”

rtd14

June 2, 2012 at 10:20 am

The trouble with love stories is trying not to sound cliche especially when writers, like us, want to reach a wider audience. In my book, I have two couples also. One takes a lot of time to develop because the boy constantly makes a fool of himself in front of the girl people say he can never have. The other couple sort of forms out of a childhood friendship. He is more casual about it since he is a teenage boy. Everything is about perspective whether it is your own or what you hope your readers will see. The ulitmate question is: Why are they right for each other?

Reply
- rlhayden78
  
  June 10, 2012 at 4:33 pm
  
  Do you find the back and forth of two love stories to be a challenge? Do you favor one couple over another? I legitimately favor Lila with the man she falls in love with later over the one she’s with at the start (because that second love is a huge part of the story) but I have to be true to both couples. It’s such a challenge! Kudos for the fact that it sounds like you’ve got it figured out!
- rtd14
  
  June 11, 2012 at 8:48 am
  
  I think the challenge in two love stories is making sure they are different just as your characters are different. That is not to say both are not of the same intensity. One of my characters’ relationships begins earlier than the other, and faces trouble at a different time than the other. I think timing, plot and making sure different challenges are presented to the couples helps. It is a challenge, and I’m sure you’ll get it!