I’ve been neglecting my characters again. This time, it’s Michelle’s father.

Back in the days when my novel was a script treatment for a television series I dreamt of selling to Netflix, her dad, Charlie, was a main character of sorts. He was the entry point into this story; the person who’d guide audiences into this world for the first time. The perspective would gradually shift to that of his daughter as the series progressed, but he’d be the one to allow us into this world. 

Since carving up those screenplays and beginning the process of remoulding them into a novel, Charlie has undergone something of a demotion. This was primarily due to the fact that I’d decided the novel version of this story would only have two point-of-view characters; Michelle and Quinn. We’d see everything strictly through their eyes. Charlie’s story would therefore have to unfold from their perspectives. 

None of which is to say he’s less important to the story as a whole. He still plays a significant part in this narrative. His presence musters up all sorts of interesting plot points that I have no intention of abandoning. There’s a reason I introduced him in that opening chapter. He’s as pivotal as he was always intended to be.

Which makes me wonder how on earth I’ve written out the book’s first third without him cropping up at all since then.

Seriously, what game am I playing here? It would seem I’ve become so caught up in laying down the foundations for other characters (I’m looking at you, Rosie!) and subplots, that I’ve ended up neglecting one of the core pillars. It’s a monumental oversight on my part; one which has momentarily got me questioning my overall writing capabilities.

Of course I’m being silly and melodramatic again. I know this is simply a case of creative growing pains.

I think the issue is the sheer scale of all of this. This is the furthest I’ve ever gotten into a novel. I’ve never had to juggle this many plot strands, arcs and characters within a single body of work before. There’s a lot to keep tabs on. The issue is, when you become so bogged down in one aspect of a novel, it’s very easy to lose sight of the obvious. Pivotal features become non-existent for a period of time, as was the case with poor Charlie during the last 20,000 words of my draft.

I’ve neglected him not because I’ve ditched him as a character. I’ve neglected him because I was drowning in a mountain of ideas and plot strands.

And that, I think, gets to the heart of the problem; my approach to this draft.

I’ve become so fixated on merely getting the story out of my head that I’ve not been planning as aggressively as I used to when I’d write scripts. I used to love outlines, character sheets and script bibles. I ditched all of that for this draft, largely because I often found applying those tools to novel writing would often result in me procrastinating. It was a faff. I’d plot and plot and plot, then would end up moving onto something else before I’d even gotten around to writing a single word for the novel itself.

Which is why I planned to revert to mapping after draft one was all said and done. Draft one was intended to be the “word vomit” stage. Just get the bleeding story out of my head, then worry about the mechanical functioning of it all later on down the line. Write now, ask questions later.

This approach is working, for the most part. I mean this is by far the furthest I’ve ever gotten when it comes to writing a long-form piece of fiction by a landslide. I’ve contributed a dizzying amount of words to the story so far. So much, in fact, that when I stop and look at the word count, I find myself getting giddy at how much I’ve managed to get out onto the page.

Unfortunately, there are limitations to this approach, which I’m now starting to realise. I’m struggling to step back and properly assess. I forgot about Charlie because I haven’t mapped out who is meant to be doing what in each of these chapters. I’m just writing it out and hoping my writing instincts will do the rest of the work.

Of course, this isn’t the end of the world. I can easily build Charlie into earlier chapters. There’s plenty of room to slot him in and have his story work alongside much of what’s going on. My main question going forward is, do I alter my approach when it comes to writing out parts two and three of this book?

Now that I’ve got a substantial bulk of words down for the opening third, can I revert back to a structured, regimented, pre-planned approach for all future chapters? I suspect I’m less likely to walk away from this project now that I’m so far in, yet there remains a risk that stopping to map everything out will disrupt my current flow. I’ve got into quite a delightful rhythm recently, regularly contributing scenes and chapters on a daily basis. I don’t want that to stop just because I’ve decided to stop being a “pantser” for the rest of this opening draft.

Of course, the other option is, I just carry on with this method and worry about such details later on. If Charlie, or any other character for that matter, is unnecessarily absent for much of the plot, then so what? I can fix that when it comes to the next draft. After all, the mission remains the same…

Get that darn story onto the page!