Richard Noggin and Brandi already have a few fans. I’m happy that readers found them likeable and well developed.
Richard is a bit of a klutz. Not seriously useless, but not quite as adept as I had originally planned for him. That’s how characters sometimes take over and write their own stories.
Having a name that translates into dickhead might have been the impetus for his development, but I really think developing Brandi and her skills had more to do with it. I wanted her to be feminine, but tough. She frequently had to come to Richard’s rescue in book one, so she sort of came into her own, leaving Richard to appear to be floundering a tad.
Richard is still a smart guy. The outline I have for book two gives Richard a much greater leading role and Brandi sort of takes a back seat.
But here’s the thing:
I don’t know if I like this. Brandi has earned her place and pushing her into the background on this one doesn’t seem right.
So, I’m skipping what I planned for book two and proceeding with book three. Book three has a more interesting plot, whereas book two has a plot that, IMHO, has been done to death.
Book two deals with development encroaching on the environment. A noble cause. However, I must have read variations to that story a hundred times. Maybe I’ll come back to it.
So I’m going with what I had planned for book three as book two. It’s more obscure and I think it will be more fun.
Confused little old people are missing all over the country, with a significant number missing in Florida. Richard and Brandi must find out who, when, where and how. There’s a common denominator.
I’m working on my victim profiles now. We’ll see how this unfolds.
Potential victims:
S.K. Nicholls 
I love the old man with the flat cap. Too bad he has to die. Happy writing!
I don’t have any plans to kill anybody, yet. I’ll see how this moves. He may live 🙂
I love these writerly conundrums. It reminds me that I’m not alone in my struggles. I’m sure you will figure it all out.
Oh…you are definitely not alone. I know many who suffer in silence. I also know many who won’t talk about them for fear of someone “stealing” their ideas. I never really give that much thought. So many themes have been written. That’s why they are referred to as themes, the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person’s thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic. What we have here, is my original take on it. Especially in crime fiction. There are precedent setting cases, and then there are laws to be broken.
My ideas get shared pretty regularly. Nobody else can write the story the same way. I worry about tropes, and done to death issues all the time. I’ve avoided certain subjects because they are tired. It’s just interesting to see other writers going through it too.
I think about television. We’ve seen it all…so now we have reality TV…which is even worse. Did you see the movie Inception? I thought the layered dreams were fantastic, but so many just didn’t get it. I like stuff like that, but general audiences in today’s market seem to need stories dumbed-down and spoon fed. I’m writing differently. I’ve simplified. I was reading on Kristen Lamb’s blog a while back about the contemporary audience and how things are changing. People don’t want to think too deeply. I want to avoid tired subjects, but I don’t want to get too complex either.
Missed Inception. I get where you’re coming from. We are force fed data all day long. When we relax, we don’t want to think too hard. There is a reason some topics get used a lot — they work. Each of us has to make that topic decision alone.
True. I could never be a ghost writer.
I hope they don’t die! They are so cute!
I don’t plan for any of them to die. Some may even become heroes. 🙂
Book 3 sounds intriguing. Work on what’s grabbing you right now. Book 2 may wind up being Book 3 or even Book 4. That’s the nice thing about a series … You can jump around.
Thanks Marie. That’s what I’m thinking. These books are basically stand alones with the same protagonists. The is the backshadow of a case that has not really become a case…a very subtle subplot that doesn’t necessariy need to come to fruition right away.
Good to be kept in the loop. Whatever you decide will be good I’m sure.
It is progress. After Alliances required so much editing, I was a little slow on getting back into the groove, but the third story is more appealing to me than the second and I’m feeling more motivated.
😀 😀 😀 Love the pictures. So long as you have a plan, you can’t lose. ❤
Feels good to have some sort of plan mapped out.
~(~__*)~~
I think the couple in the car look like they just saved someone, Susan. Have fun!
maybe they will 🙂 Thanks Jill…if it’s not fun, why do it?
It’s always best to go with your instinct! So if you need to move on, then that’s the thing to do 🙂
Thanks Misha for the faith and encouragement.
It sounds like a great idea. Maybe you’ll come back to the ideas in book 2 someday, or come up with a new take on them. How interesting that you have photos of your potential victims! 🙂
Their little stories are forming in my head. HA!
🙂