Last Saturday I had another meeting with my writing group. Two people couldn’t make it which meant that I was critiqued by four people this month.
Many of you know I’m working on a mystery series titled George Florence. It was originally called Detective Florence and decided to change it.
Everyone in my group seems to enjoy the novel really well so far. I’m happy with it and I’m happy with the feedback they’ve given me, both good and bad.
Now, before I explain my problem, I have to say that I’ve been thinking about making some changes to my novel. One, I’ve been rethinking the POV. Right now it’s in first person with George as the narrator since he’s the protagonist. The more I write this series (three books written so far) the more I wonder if it should be third person limited.
Why? I’m not entirely sure. But if I’m thinking this then somewhere in the back of my mind must have some good reason, right? It wouldn’t hurt to try, right?
Okay, now I’ll explain my problem…
No one in my writing group really likes George. They all love and adorable Lilah, who is the female protagonist, but George is the main-main character… and they think he’s a wuss.
As sad as I am to admit, I agree with them. George does not have the personality I originally intended for him to have.
George has been a character in my mind for years. I first thought of him while writing in a notebook at Barnes & Noble with my sister. I had about 40 or so pages written. The plot was different, the characters were different, the setting was different… the only thing that remained true over the years was George and the title. Lilah wasn’t even a sparkle in my eye at that time.
For an experienced detective, George certainly should not be acting the way he does. Lilah takes charge, she’s bossy, she knows what she’s doing–when she probably shouldn’t.
I told them I knew George needed to be flushed out more. I told them I was thinking of changing the POV. I also told them that Lilah seems to have squeezed her way through and started taking over the story without my consent.
Their advice? Screw George. Write Lilah’s story.
The group coordinator brought up a good point and told me that if Lilah is itching to be told, then she needs her own story as soon as possible. This is Lilah’s way of telling me that she needs to be the lead on a story.
We all know that its the characters who write the story, not the author, so when he said this I completely understood and agreed with him.
The problem is… I feel like I’m cheating on George. Of course, he would still be in the story. He would still be the detective. The plot, characters, setting, etc. would be the same. It would just be from Lilah’s point of view.
So, here are my options:
1. Keep editing and revising until George strengthens and grows against his will 2. Rewrite story in third person with George as main character… see if that makes a difference 3. Rewrite story in first person with Lilah leading the way
4. Rewrite story in third person with Lilah in the lead