Hero and Heroine Attitude Readjustment

I got my first five chapters back from my CPs (2 of them) and the questions they raised are questions I have as well. And they are biggies. I don't know if I can pull these two characters' stories off without a MAJOR overhaul of the s/l. The good news my writing voice is strong and the craft elements in general are improved. However, the s/l has a lot of weak points to it as far as the premise is concerned.

I was/am in a bit in a panic.

BUT overnight I had an epiphany of sorts. I am giving myself time to do it right, regardless of my preset deadlines. First of all, this book was written in a week. Yup. And I pitched the basic story to an agent after I had spend a month resetting the bones of the story based on what I had written and my thoughts about it at the time.

She asked for it. I offered to send a partial by the end of the year. I had thought I'd clarified the careers of the hero/heroine (don't ask, but his changed during the first draft and hers changed during the first pass through) I had believed, based on the current cast on the story, I could revise it further from that point and fine tune it by December. I also entered it into the GH because I knew that would force me to kick it into high gear and make me do the dang synopsis and get the partial ready to roll.

Upon my own self-reflection and the comments I received from the CPs, I must step back and reevaluate the story's plot line. I'm not sure if I can do this properly by November 20. Hence MY PANIC. My epiphany is that I can send the GH entry, written as best as I can, by the 20th without worry about the prospect of being a finalist with this story. The most I can hope for is to have the new plot line reflected in the story. Period.

How do I accomplish this goal? Can I even achieve a semblance of beauty by the 20th of November? I think I can if I don't stress too much about the word county or the pages after page 50. So my plan of attack is as follows:

*keep moving forward on the story scenes and writing the story as it stands so it LOOKS GOOD when they open the file. I can always change what I've written after Nov. 20. Realistically, I was truly done revising SS by January 23/09 last year. The pages after P. 50 weren't so fabulous for the GH LOL. But I continued revising it AFTER I sent it in. And we all know how that ended. I didn't final in the GH, but I did final in the MAGGIE. I had improved the story by forcing the deadlines. And I had a synopsis!

*brainstorm the front end of the story, the first meeting, and the careers of my hero/heroine. I've come some conclusions about them and while a part of me wants to toss the whole story out and start on something I KNOW is marketable, I HAVE TO TELL THEIR STORY. I have to. I love them both. This is for them, not me. It won't be easy, but I feel if I can muddle through this story and tell it for them, then my next stories will be so much stronger for the all I've learned in telling this one.

*go through my hero/heroine book and my BREAK INTO FICTION book and answer the tough questions when I am not writing their story.

*brainstorm with my CP up in Fairfax this afternoon --run some of my thoughts I have by her

*Keep moving forward--the ending of this story is very important to me. I know it reveals a lot about the characters and the beginning may reveal itself in those scenes. I'm stuck in the middle chapters right now. I might reflect the changes I need to make in those middle chapters as I move forward. The beginning scenes can incorporate the scenes.

*print out CPs' comments and pages. Reflect and note changes I agree with into the story.

*Set target to begin again--November 2. So keep moving forward till then, step back, restart my engines and go forth

*research a bit more on the careers I am considering for my characters

*try not to stress out

All of the above is easier said then done, but writing is hard. Fun, but hard.

I shall solve this conundrum and be true to my characters' stories.