Novel Update #14: Trajectory
tra•jec•to•ry (trəˈjekt(ə)rē/)
noun
“The path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under the action of given forces.” (Google)
Synonyms: course, path route, track, line, orbit.
Character Trajectory:
Looking to the future while plotting how your Main Characters will end up, based on their current behaviour at the start of the book.
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I have begun the next phase in the extensive editing process of my manuscript Fallout.
Recently, I completed the Character Profiles I was working on for my people and learned a great deal in the process.
I have now come to the part where I must track the “Trajectory” of main and secondary characters throughout the novel.
As plot points develop and key players are thrust into all sorts of challenging situations, they begin to grow and change as they move in a new direction. They must progress.
As we grow and mature, we hope to discover new aspects of ourselves throughout our lifetime. Novel characters should also make the same personal journey from the beginning to end of the novel.
For some it may be overcoming tragedy and learning how to trudge forward and live again.
For others, it’s a matter of re-evaluating priorities and trying to figure out where they are supposed to be in their lives.
For others, its making those difficult decisions in order to gain a solid footing.
This trajectory is subject to emotions, actions, outside influences and reactions. As a result, the characters we see at the start should be changed by book’s end through their personal and intimate experiences.
Can Mary continue to carry on without Sam? Will Cooper ever find his way? Can Drew make sense of his life before he utterly destroys himself and his family? These are some of the tough questions I must now face.
It is my great hope, that each will be more fully true and transformed in a significant way by the end of this exercise and thus more vibrantly alive.
And on it goes…
Paula Antonello Moore, Novel. Copyright: Thursday, April 9, 2015
Gif: Point A to Point B
Image: From Jonathon Wold.
Hear hear! What an exercise in “out of the box” creativity. Must be difficult, yet exciting at the same time, to explore all of those trajectories. But in the end, would make you get to know your own characters in a way you didn’t before. Clever 😉 B. On 4/9/15 4:38 PM, “The Expressib
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