However, I recently got back from vacation and the time shift has made it harder for me to fall asleep on time. So I've had to come up with something to do until I fall asleep. So I fall back on "Old Faithful" and write. The problem is that the story I'm writing has really grown and developed lately and I'm still figuring out how my "grown up characters" will react in new situations. If you think about it, you react differently to someone sitting in your seat in the lunch room than you did in grade school. As you grow up, your reactions change.
One of my characters: Jane, is being particularly difficult to figure out. When I first created her I was in high school. Jane was a quiet, self conscious, older sister. She was a natural athlete, and a loyal friend.
But not she's changed so much I don't know how to write her reactions. She used to be very emotional, and now she's got such a thorough and traumatising back story that I've made it difficult to write a particular scene.
How do you write the reaction of a tough woman who has just lost everything for a second time. The first time was easy. Devastation, pain, tears, mental break down. But now, a second major traumatising event occurs to her and I can't see her reacting the same. I haven't written her as the kind of character to go in to a rage. I think she almost has to react with shock and disbelief.
And this has been my nightly challenge. I go to sleep playing through the same scene with Jane reacting differently every night, and somewhere through the scene I drift off. It hasn't been very helpful in trying to find a way past the challenge of "how would she react now" but it's helped me get back to a normal sleep schedule!
Haha! However, I feel like it might be a bad sign that a scene in my book is consistently putting me to sleep...
Do you ever run into character "continuity errors"? What's a good way you've found to get past them or solve them?
-Brandy
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