For example, when I first began this book, I had a general idea of where I wanted it to go: Girl marries dragonslayer, girl becomes Dragon Queen, Dragon Queen fights with dragonslayer . . . but I didn't really have any idea after that. Normally, I don't. I just kind of let my novels take me where the will. (Not that I don't have some structure, but I do have a lot of free room for my first draft.)
Second idea: Adding on to first--but dragonslayer is not main enemy; introduce Darion, who ends up being Dragonslayer's twin brother (I have a fascination with twins); now, it's DQ vs. Darion a.k.a. The Dark One; and all this led to the question (which should have been in my mind in the beginning): Who is the DQ? What is her purpose? Why Jade specifically?
These questions are what has thrown a monkey wrench into the gears. The DQ's original purpose was to reunite Yealanthe. Okay, why was Yealanthe divided? There was a war. What kind of war? A civil war? Between who? Darion and his brother. Why them? Uh...
And this is where I flipflopped for a long time. What would make Darion and his brother, Drake, go to war against each other? Obvious answer: control of Yealanthe. But Drake isn't a power hungry dragon, so why would he even get involved? Answer: The land was divided between Darion and Drake. But Darion wanted Drake's land, so he declared war on him. (Okay, following me so far?) Drake fought back.
Enter the Dragon Queen. (Now, here's where it gets tricky.) A rumor arises about a very special woman. Born beneath the thirteenth sky, both dragon and human, she carries enormous powers. Darion immediately sets out to find her. Drake does the same. Darion finds her first.
WAIT!
I know, I've confused you. Those of you who have followed my posts on Writer's Digest Sci-Fi/Fantasy Forum are completely bewildered right now. Because Darion doesn't find Jade, does he?
No. He doesn't. Drake does. And he marries her. Right-o.
But Darion found the first Dragon Queen. (And I'm going to stop there before I give too much away.)
Are you friggin crazy! You're just playing with us now aren't you Brandi? Don't give away too much. I intend to buy the book (or books) when you get them published. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL...me too! We'll be standing in line for our copies. (Maybe a virtual line, since I'm here in Canada, but I'll still be standing in it!)
ReplyDeleteLol. Thanks for reading, guys. Yes, the plot has become a very twisty thing. I'm having to step very carefully now so that I don't go into that "too much for one book" category. I think that as long as my characters don't have any more surprises for me, I should be okay. :)
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