My first book Soothsayer, I wrote from Violets POV and I learned a lot about who she was from that. For the second installment of the Soothsayer Series, a novella that takes place between book one and book two, I decided to write from Roberts POV. And let me tell you, it's been a learning experience.
I was used to Violet's voice and how she saw the world but Robert was a whole other ball game. Of course I knew who he was and how he fit into the world I created, but I had never been inside his head before. I had no idea how different the experience would be once I started writing from his POV.
So as I started writing, Avalon, I was surprised to find that it was a struggle. The other characters in the story were talking just fine and I was getting a lot of setting down, but Robert was quiet. At first, I thought the whole thing was a bust. As much as I wanted to write this part of the story down, it just didn't seem to be working and I was starting to doubt myself. Maybe I could only write from Violet's POV?
I took a break from Avalon and decided to work on Promised Ones instead. Right away, the words started to flow out of me and before I knew it, I had a whole scene on the page in front of me. It was like coming up for air and I realized that I knew Violet in a different way that I knew Robert. Up until this point, I only knew Robert through Violet's eyes. Sure, I knew way more of his back story than she did but knowing where he came from and being inside his head were two different things.
I decided not to give up and kept working on Avalon. Then one afternoon, Robert came to life on the page. He started to interact with the other characters much more and I started hearing his inner dialogue. I began to understand him on a different level and that was exciting. Fast forward to today, I have the first draft of Avalon done and Robert's novella has come to life in a way I didn't think possible.
Telling the story from Roberts POV has been such an amazing learning experience. Writing really is a journey and unless you keep writing and keep challenging yourself, you'll never get better. A few month ago, I never would have thought that it would be hard to write from another characters perspective. And I definitely wouldn't have thought that I could write the entire first draft of a novella in three weeks.
I'm excited to write from other characters POV's now and I can't wait to find out more about them. Oh, and for those of you wondering, I am hoping to have Avalon out this summer, so you wont have to wait too long to find out what happens after Soothsayer ends. :)
Until next time.