Split Sides

TWDMAR Updates and Plans

I've been noticing, over the past few months, renewed attention towards my story, that millstone of a project I've been working on for the past seven (almost eight) years. It's a source of endless frustration and mental grief for me. Believe me, it's given me constant intellectual shellacking due to its complex plotline and unfinished status. And yet . . . I can't seem to leave it alone. It's always egging me to finish it, to give it resolution. I know what I want, I know how I want it to go, but I can't seem to translate my strategic view into a tactical roadmap. The big picture has long existed in my head, but it's those little details that get me stuck.

Here's where I am at the moment. I've stated that it's undergoing structural changes, I'm busy rewriting the entire story. That much is true. My five basic characters (Ryan, Esther, Martin, Helen, Sylvia) remain unchanged. But I've decided the current plotline has to be rewritten significantly. The current storyline is jovial and humorous and I'm shifting it to a more serious one. That's the one I'm going for. I think this will be more of a drama/suspense story. It has to be, because I want this to be a trilogy.

In fact, while I'm stuck rewriting the beginning of the story, I already know how this first story, on the eventual plotline, will end. I envision it as having two endings, both of them tragic, and it'll end on a bittersweet note. This first one is about Ryan trying to recover his lost memories and figure out who killed his brother and why. The second story is about Ryan crossing countries and continents to find someone and something linked to his past. And the final story is about Ryan attempting to live a new life in another faraway land only to be dragged back into another adventure. As you see, I have it all figured out; my main problem is getting him from A to B to C and writing down all those details that form the backbone of my plot. I'm good at the strategy, but I'm bad with tactics. This is why living with ADHD is problematic.

There you go. I want to rewrite TWDMAR from a romantic comedy to a drama/suspense one. Yes, I'll work on getting the romance right between Ryan and Esther. And yes, I'll be working on those substantial issues that keep hounding the story. But it'll be more serious, deeper, and it'll involve blood and terror and greed and all those things. That's how I want this story to go. Apologies for not finishing this for the past seven (and soon eight) years. Plenty of things have happened in the intervening years.

Any questions? Comments? Concerns? Feel free to drop me a line. I'll entertain your issues as long as they're not abusive or degrading.