Princess: Out --- Mystic Amazon: In

After several days of thought and debate (with my husband), it has become clear that Alexa is not a Princess, a Maiden, shy and/or self-absorbed.

Frankly, as I've written her -- particularly in the first part of the first novel -- Alexa is a boring ninny.

She gets better, at the right moments. But how she does that is not clear.

And, since Alexa is entrusted with a very important package, She Has Got to Change.


Actually, not so difficult. She just needs to take over the dynamic things that I assigned to other characters.

And become a, ta-daaa, a    Mystic/Amazon!

Of course, that changes details and dynamics.

But that's part of the Second Draft.

That's me, sitting in front of the computer, chewing my nails, double-checking my notes.

Second Draft on Two Stories

So, now there are two. Two stories, one a followup to the first, to be whipped into second draft.

In my imagination, pitching the first or second story to an agent, I realized I am waaayyyyy far from a good short summation.

Reason: characters, in particular the main protagonist, needs to be sharpened.

After considering for a couple of days, I've realized that the protagonist I began writing as a reflection of myself (something that probably every newbie fiction writer does) should REALLY be a "princess."

For the endings of both stories to make sense, the protagonist needs to begin as a bit of a "maiden" or "princess."

I am so NOT a princess, that this will prove to be a nice challenge.

It also gives me a clue on how to inject a good dose of drama into the first third of the first story.