My character's, that is.
So at the beginning of my novel, my protagonist is talking to her boyfriend, and this causes her to be in the right place at the right time (or perhaps the wrong place at the wrong time) to set the entire string of events in motion. I'm now only a few thousand words from the end, wrapping a bunch of things up, and I'm realizing that she hasn't spared more than one thought for him in 106,000 words. Now, she's been on the run and knew he'd be under surveillance (that's the thought she spared for him) but really, it's not much of a relationship if she doesn't think about him--or wonder if she can contact him in some way--in over two months. I mean, if I were on the run for pretty much any reason, you can bet I'd be trying to figure out how to get past the wire taps and undercover cops to contact my husband, and he'd be looking for and worrying about me.
At the end I was planning on having him pay her a visit, but now I'm not sure I should. I might need to just scrap the boyfriend entirely and come up with a different reason for her to be in the right place at the right time. If I do keep him, I'm going to have to do some strategic additions. She's at least going to have to think about the guy, and perhaps think of--and reject--ways to contact him. ...Unless I make things go sour in their relationship either early or late--which I'm partially leaning toward only because of the lack of buildup.
I'm glad I was at a stopping point when this issue came up today. It'll give me the night to mull it over. It came as a bit of a surprise to notice such a big oversight when I feel I'm (otherwise) within touching distance of the end. How could I possibly have ignored something so major in my character's life?!
4 comments:
I'm sorry- I laughed when I read this. I bet you're not the only author that has happened to. And sadly, some of them seem to not care about continuity or reasonableness in books I've read.
So, good for you for catching it before an editor, or worse, a reader did!
Perhaps he dies? Damn villains, you killed Steve. He will be avenged.
Don't be sorry, it is amusing. And I've decided what to do with it. It will require a few additions, but not too many. Just a few more items on the list of things to tweak once the first draft is done.
Maybe the reason she's with him in the beginning is because she's going to break up with him. :D
Good luck on this! I'm sure you'll figure it all out.
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