Reference Material

I had been reading Joseph Campbell's "Hero with a Thousand Faces", but after the Hero's Journey section I can't pick it up without falling asleep. I'll get back to it later, but for now I've been reading "Character" chapters from some of my older texts, like "Story", "Fundamentals of Screenwriting", "Story Sense", "Making a Good Writer Great", etc. These are all from my screenwriting days, but I think the principals apply to this format.

Transcription

I transcribed some of my original notes from years ago. Many of these ideas have been in my head in some form all this time, but looking at these notes again has refreshed my memory.

The Muse

Throughout this project, when facing writer's block I play Luna Mortis to get going. The new Killswitch Engage should also prove rich in the motivation department! \m/

... Act II draft continues ...

Act II

I've begun piecing together previously written scenes into an Act II. Not a lot of cohesion yet but if I can keep moving forward it will become more apparent what works and what doesn't.

I also spent some time working on character back stories. It's nearly impossible to write characters without knowing who they are. Anyway, this opens up huge cans of worms from culture, to geography, to socio-political and religious implications. Maybe I'm over-thinking it, but I don't want stale characters.