Better Fiction

They usually say to storm through the first draft, not letting anyone see it at that stage. jus bust through it.

I think there is really good logic behind that reasoning, but I think that logic depends on one being at a stage where the work is planned out.

My current project, Wisdom Mine, has been on hold for a couple of weeks. With the holidays and my back, it probably would have been on hold anyway, but in posting it here, I got some good feedback. The two chapter re-writes I've posted include sections from what were the first four chapters, with some junk cut out (including all of chapter three) and a little new material. I've been waiting for further feedback before moving forward.

In that time, I've had a chance to think over the story based on the changes made to those opening chapters...and it's helped.

I had a vague understanding of the overall structure:

1) Brief view of first meeting with God.
2) Alternative universe 1: hero and girl don't get together, but he saves her life in the end.
3) Second meeting with God.
4) Alt. universe 2: hero and girl get married and stay married, leading to a situation where he is unable to save her life.
4a) Note: As hero (Franklin) goes through these two lives, he is occasionally away that events are not what they "should" be...and it is this way that we largely learn how his real life went...rather than reading through that as well.
5) Third meeting with God.
6) Denoument...in Franklin's real life.

What this time, and your input, has given me, is a better understand of Alternative Universe 1. Or, at least I have some new ideas that seem good right now.

I already knew from the original four chapters that it was going to be important for Franklin to win over Sarah's father (or grandfather, depending on the version). I began to see the possibility of her father's ongoing conflict with the local pastor and Franklin getting drawn into his plans for revenge...which I figured in this reality would backfire on Franklin's plans to woo Sarah. Now, I'm thinking that Sarah's father had an interest in Franklin's mother earlier in life. In Alt. Universe 1, Franklin's efforts bring them together...leaving Franklin and Sarah as step-siblings rather than husband and wife.

Anyway, breaking convention has helped me piece together the plan for this part of the novel.

Thanks,

Wade