Losing everything I had saved for Miranda may be a good thing after all. I think perhaps the reason I was so bogged down on it was the range I was planning. From the time she was 16 until middle age was just too much of a time-span. I don’t think I have the experience to manage that.
One of my favorite English Professors told us that revision did not mean simply rearranging material, but actually changing your vision of the story. The former should properly be called editing. Revisioning is a much deeper process and should properly be spelled re-visioning. In other words, tearing the story down to the outline, then rearranging that skeleton as necessary before rebuilding the flesh. So that’s where I am headed.
However, I don’t think I’m even ready for an outline. I think, first, I need to recreate my list of characters and summarize their lives before the beginning of the story, building a background that will give the actual plot substance.
So, that’s where I am. At the moment, I’m thinking I need a short story for each character that shows their history and explains their personality. Since the story starts when Miranda is a teenager, to fully understand her, we must first look at the adults in her life: who they are, their worldviews, how they came to that point, and how those things affect her.
To achieve this, I will need more research. I have materials and bookmarks from what I did before, but more is needed. Since her parents came from Eastern Kentucky with a strict religious and feuding family background, I’ve bought the 7th Foxfire book and I’m reviewing the first three that I already owned along with other, related, books. Lots of reading leads to better writing.
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