Winter                                                       Winter Moon

Working in Dramatica this morning.  This software forces me consider aspects of story I’ve not paid attention to in the past, at least not intentionally.  Much of storytelling, of course, is a product of having read and listened to stories for a lifetime, but when creating one it’s natural to overemphasize certain aspects and neglect others.  Though Dramatica seems overly determined at times, it’s emphasis on structure and plot throughlines has me imagining different ways to get my story out to the reader.

Let me give you one example.  My main character, John, begins Loki’s Children with one book’s work behind him.  He spent that book working through landing on another planet, in another solar system and in the body of a different person.  He was missing and by the end he has been found.

In Loki’s Children, on the other hand, he will struggle with whether he is alien to Tailte (the new planet) or a citizen.  His answer matters because Tailte is about to undergo a series of shocks, tests of its resolve to maintain life as it is known.  John can be the key figure in Tailte’s struggle with these tests or, he can succumb to nostalgia and focus on trying to get back to Earth.

(Thor in Hymir’s boat battling the Midgard Serpent Johann_Heinrich_Füssli  1788)

Having this level of clarity about John in Loki’s Children, before I wrote my way into it, is very new for me.  And it feels positive.