Candybar Scenes

Holly Lisle calls them “candybar scenes.” The juicy awesome scenes, the ones you can’t wait to write, that draw you on through the slog of the story.

I don’t know about that, quite. I do enjoy writing and don’t generally need to be dragged on. Candybar scenes, for me, are the ones that keep me on target. When a candybar scene hits me, I know I’ve found the passion of the story, and I can just follow it onwards to a book I’ll love writing.

You may have noticed I’ve been thrashing about on my NaNo, trying to make progress and completely unable to do it. I had some lukewarm ideas, and thought the problem was it’s an old story, I’m distracted, blah blah blah…

No, the problem was I had my characters in the wrong roles. Melissa† is a grumpy, pushy, opinionated, stubborn unmoveable object of a woman. All she wants is to be left alone. Okay, so far that works just fine with the “suddenly magic and elves and unicorns and a quest to save the world!” thing. She’s having none of it, go away, CONFLICT.

I’m not a fan of whiny women, so I’d never write one as an MC, but Melissa came close. She didn’t know what was going on. She just wanted out. She’s suddenly a mage. And as any D&D player knows, you have to protect the mage. They can seriously save your ass, but one good attack and they’re creamed spinach. You gotta protect the mage.

Corindor, I figured, was up to it. He’s a prince, a warrior, he knows the theory of magic even if he can’t practice it, he’s certainly determined…

XXX (pretend that’s flashing, and a buzzy noise is happening)

Melissa’s a freakin’ guard dog. I mean it–she’s downright vicious in defense of her own. I had hints before–put the horses or Jesse in danger and she turns mean–but I didn’t pay attention and my plot died and I gave up. Some fifteen years ago, I gave up on this story, until this NaNo and my fanfic just wasn’t working. So I grabbed her story and I switched setting and such and began writing madly. It went horribly. I pressed on. And then, suddenly, in the middle of the velociraptor attack (it makes sense, I swear!) there she was, defending Corey.

Well, I rationalized, Corindor was unarmed. And he did hold his own. And it was her house, and her cat, she was defending.

No. She’s a guardian. I was flailing for plot today and I thought of something that put Corindor in imminent and incredible danger and ZOOM! In my mind, Melissa was there, flames around her and Corindor, threatening to burn the world if the idiots went through with their Make-a-Martyr plan, and…

Oh yeah. I’ve got her number now. I don’t know what Corindor’s role is besides protectee, but I’ve sure got Melissa’s number now.

† I named her a long time ago, and now I have a lovely in-law of the same name who is very little like this Melissa. I’d changed to Perdita because of that, but that’s not going to work so we’ll go with the old name for now.