I've been busy "simulating" for the past several days (pardon the computer term). I've blogged several times in the past months about the evolution of my writing process from a pure write from the hip style to a style that uses outlining to some degree. Well, one thing that I've returned to, as I work on the sequel to Hemlock and the Wizard Tower, is trying to "simulate" character arcs. This consists of imagining that I am one of the characters, and then, given a certain plot point and the information known by the character at that point, I try to imagine what that character would be thinking and how they would react to their circumstances.
I'm finding that, at times, these reactions are not what I had planned for in my outline. In other words, the course of action that I had planned for the character just isn't working when viewed from that character's perspective. Discovering issues like this is why I like to take my time when I write. I'd much rather figure out this type of problem in the development stage than after the manuscript is written. That's why re-writes happen, I think, and I don't want any parts of re-writes, if I can avoid them! I've always hated re-doing things...
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