Today, I finished editing my book, and started reading it for the fourth time.
It's strange reading through my own words, especially when I can’t remember what motivated me to write some of them. But I think what’s stranger, is when I can remember when I wrote things, or what gave me the idea for them.
There are several incidents in my novel CONSEQUENCE where I can remember exactly where I got the idea from, what thoughts were running through my head at the time. Reading those, I see a clear image in my head of myself at whatever time.
When I started writing this book, I was certain of three things. One: no character would have any similarity to me. Two: who I am as a person would not affect the story. And three: I would finish writing this book; I had to finish writing this book.
Out of those three things; I think only one of them was accomplished.
Reading through CONSEQUENCE, I often find similarities between myself and the characters, especially one character, whose name I won’t mention. I don’t want people reading it and thinking that all her personality is based on my own. She is certainly the complete opposite of me in many ways, but similarities often creep through.
Another thing I noticed is that some aspects of who I am as a person have ended up in the story. For a start, I tend to use a lot of metaphors, when I talk to people, but also in my own mind. I think that CONSEQUENCE is filled with metaphors, some obvious, others not so.
I also have this bizarre ability to see both sides of most situations, and I think I have brought that into the book as well. With most of my “bad” characters, they tend to not be all bad (except one character who I have yet to find any good in). After all, in real life, most people have an at least slightly rounded personality, and if fiction is even a little true to reality, I believe that that should be incorporated into books. Also, as this trilogy progresses, I tend to end up telling both sides of stories. With the second book, I have some similar storylines to those of CONSEQUENCE, but from the opposite point of view. The characters are different, but the essence is the same.
For about four years, I’ve been really interested in the French revolution, especially the fate of Queen Marie Antoinette. (Right down to knowing her exact time of death.)
And, even though I know why that revolution happened, I can never quite empathize with the revolutionaries, because of their cruel methods. I think, because I have read so much about the royal family in that era, and who they were as people, I can never read about the French revolution with an unbiased mind. But, of course, the thousands of deaths that it caused were the sacrifice payed for the people's “freedom”. Not that they were exactly free under the tyranny of Robespierre… with CONSEQUENCE, it does tell the tale of war and revolution, though this a futuristic one, with a heroine based on a Greek goddess…In CONSEQUENCE, the main storyline isn’t about a war, or uprising, or people claiming freedom. The main storyline is about consequences, and also friendship. But with the war in this book, it tells it from the revolutionary point of view, their ideals, motives, reasons. Though, mostly the two main character's reasons. In the sequel, it tells things from the royalist point of view. Maybe that’s strange, me “changing sides” with my own fictional revolution, but I think, if it was a one sided story, I never would have finished it.
And the final thing I was certain of...I would finish this book.
