In the Presence of True Genius
February 22, 2001
7:14 a.m.
I hear you. What about the novel, Ron? Where's the freaking novel? Hey, get off my back, all right? It's coming along. [grin]. I spent the last two days rewriting what's eventually turned into about a thousand word passage. I wanted to introduce a new character, and so I did it by showing her existence in the thoughts of the main character. Effective, I thought. Everyone thinks of people throughout the day. This is very real. Flash to later: Ron scratching head... Yes, it's very real. But it's also very boring. I need something different. Perhaps something that introduces the character by actually having her SHOW UP! There are times where I can be a real genius, you know? I mean, what a mental giant I must be to actually realize that I might have a bit more to work with in character development if I actually had the character come on stage. don't try this at home, folks. Sometimes I even amaze myself. So, I wrote the thing again, smugly, knowing that I was applying true genius and feeling the power tingle through my arms and fingertips as I was creating literary ambrosia. Take that, I thought as I walked away. Flash to later: Ron scratching head... Yes, the new scene gives us a bit of insight into the two character's relationship. This is good. But ... maybe ... doncha think ... just maybe you could do a bit more if the second character was actually awake? Geeze. Some people cannot recognize true genius if it bit them in the tail--and internal critics are the worst at this. Anyway. You're hearing me correctly. I fixed my problem of having this new character introduced off-screen by having her introduced sleeping, proving once again that sometimes I am just too brilliant for my own good. For those of you wondering, this is not a highly effective way of allowing a character's personality to come flooding out of the page. I quickly, however, circled my mental wagons (no comments on that metaphor, K?), woke this darned character up, and proceeded to make the two have a conversation. It's now almost 24 hours since I wrote the scene, and I think it actually stands up. I have found my true genius at last. Possibly.   Have a very good day, all right?  Bet your publisher is ACME Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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