developmental issues

I haven't written much in the past few days, partially because I've been busy running hither and yon to get ready for college, and partially because I'm undecided about the bit I'm supposed to be writing. The problem, you see, is that I honestly don't know if Jovie and Terrence are supposed to have companions on their quest or not.

On the one hand, I really don't picture the two of them tromping off into the woods on their own. Not yet, at least - you see, I'm certain that, if other characters come along, there will come a time when the prince is required to become separated from them, since that always happens in fairy tales. You know, "a prince who had been hunting with his guards but had gotten lost stumbled upon the enchanted cottage", so on and so forth. And he'll convince Jovie to come with him, of course, and that's all fine and dandy. And in order to become separated from his companions, he needs to have companions in the first place.

But it really just isn't sitting well with me. If the story is going to pan out the way I think it will (and, okay, when has that ever happened, but still) Terrence and Jovie really won't be doing much before they ditch their companions. So is it worth it to introduce three totally new characters, have them around for maybe three or four chapters, and then send them off without anything important to do before the reader even gets a chance to grow attached to them? These are characters who have no purpose, as far as I know, other than to be left behind. That doesn't give me much to work with.

And then, to top it off, the characters themselves have absolutely no presense in my mind right now. I sit down to write about them and come up empty - I can't picture what they look like, how they talk, what mannerisms they use, what makes them unique and lifelike and fun. And, as I mentioned earlier, they shouldn't even be in the story long enough for them to even develop all of that. Unlike Thistleswitch, Jovie and Terrence aren't going to travel for years before they reach the object of their quest; they're heading for a girl in a tower, and they're going to find her pretty quickly, as far as I know. The main chunk of the story happens after they find the girl in the tower, which is after they've left behind these companions. And then I'll be introducing new characters, who are actually important to the story...so does that mean I'm throwing in characters just for the sake of having them?

The other option is to have some generic Henceforthian soldiers go along for the ride, I suppose. Just make up some guys, call them all soldiers, and send them on their way. Maybe there's even some thistleswitchy comedy hidden in that, in a unit of interchangeable soldiers who are sort of on the daft side. Then I don't have to develop a bunch of characters who are never going to be seen again. Of course, that also means that everything I've written this week is pointless - Jovie and Terrence have been interviewing applicants to go on their quest with them, and there are so many great ideas in that:

There are certain sorts of individuals that one should never bring with them on an important quest. If a shady character on the side of the road offers his services while making veiled threats about stealing the golden horse you’ve rightfully acquired, it is advisable to let him hitchhike with someone on a less extravagant mount. Tone deaf people who insist on singing very loudly at odd hours of the morning are best left behind. Except for under very particular circumstances involving magical instruments and blackmail, thieves are a bad choice. And under no circumstances should any chatterboxes, germ factories, rumor mills, whippersnappers or whiners be admitted into the questing party. Even if a quest seems on the short side, there is no guarantee that you and your companions won’t be forced to wander the globe for years in search of whatever it was you were seeking, and being trapped with an annoying airhead or headcase for any lengthy amount of time is not good for your quest or your health. While it’s not necessarily necessary for you to like your companions, it is imperative that you can all tolerate one another.

Maybe I can keep all of the bit about interviewing people, but then state that Jovie and Terrence realized that there was simply no good applicant in all of Afalanphra, and that they decided to bring along some run-of-the-mill soldiers just to make things simpler. It's anti-climactic, certainly, but I tend to do that a lot in these stories. I condensed a year-long journey into a paragraph of unexciting exposition in Thistleswitch.

And then, of course, if my original plan is going to be followed (though it very well may not be) I sort of need one of the characters that I decided would be traveling with them. The doctor and the chef with his dog assistant are expendable (though I really did like Sunflower, the canine chef with the killer apple cider recipe), but the assassin of assassins is kind of important to the story right now. Do I throw him in with the unimportant soldiers? Throw him in somewhere else? Ditch that whole idea altogether?

Bah.

This has been a brainstorming out loud rant by Jessica. This message will not self destruct, though the author certainly might.