Twin Drafts

Working hard on The Circle again, but I've got two matching drafts. Right now I'm focusing on the one I call "Christine's Surprise."

So why two drafts? Glad you asked. You may remember from my earlier post that Christine is pregnant. I've made peace with her internal debate over keeping the baby, but that didn't solve all my Christine's-Pregnancy-Related-Issues. This one I have been dealing with even longer than the abortion issue, but I figured it would sort itself out. I still think that eventually it will sort itself out, but this blog is about my writing process, so I thought I would share what's going on with all this.

I'm not sure how exactly Christine finds out she's pregnant. I have two different drafts with two different scenarios, neither of which I like. Originally, Christine confided in Missy as soon as she was suspicious, Missy got her a home pregnancy test, and when it came out positive, they went to the doctor. This is the way Christine and Missy handed it naturally.

However, in the end, Christine's pregnancy is only mildly important. It's such a minor part of the story that I almost feel guilty having all that build up for nothing. So I cut it all out. Christine thinks that "something is wrong" but doesn't say what. She goes straight to a doctor and finds out that she's pregnant. This works better plot-wise, but it's not the way that Christine would handle things. Call me crazy, but my characters are real people, and I don't like to force them to do things. If she wants to confide in Missy, let her.

Right now I have two drafts, and really wish I knew which one worked better. After a while it not longer matters how she found out, so I have skipped that bit for now and am working on what scenes come after. Sometimes it's best to let things sit and stew before you make a decision, and that's what I have here. I have written two beginnings for now, and wont touch them again for a while.

And a quick note on the subject of letting things stew, I have a few new story book ideas in the works. More about them in another post.

Posted in: indecisive,plot,The Circle