I’m working on a first draft of a novel in my series, and one of the characters just isn’t gelling with the rest of my cast no matter what I do. This is a character who is vital to my story, but I’m not done with the draft yet. My instinct is to wait until the draft is done and then see if the character doesn’t work.
Are there any benefits to changing the character now, or should I wait until the draft is done?
That’s such a good question, Erin. I think you really have to know yourself.
Generally speaking, if you know a change needs to be made, the sooner you can make it, the better. You might as well change it now before you commit it to 80,000 words! Assuming the change is more than a superficial detail like hair color, changing it early also allows the character to influence their scenes more organically. You can do that in revision, but it’s a big job!
All that said, I’ve learned that sometimes people just need reassurance. If you made a Novel Matrix plan for this book, you might just need to hear “Everything will be OK, just stick with a plan, and give it a chance to work.” There’s always that point in the novel writing process where everything feels like trash, and you just want to pitch it or change everything. I call that the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” and it normally hits in the 15,000-40,000 word mark. If that’s the case and you’re just feeling frustrated, bored with the idea, etc. as is normal at this point in the process, then don’t change anything. Trust your plan. Keep moving forward. Let the character evolve naturally as you write, but don’t make any big changes.
You know yourself and which camp you fall into. 🙂 I know I’m answering the question on both sides, but hopefully just discussing it helps you to see a good path forward that matches your personality.
