Fjords

One of the neat things about how we use the rainbow is how it encourages us to really examine everybody’s through-line. We just study the whole thing color-by-color and it helps us make sure everyone’s accounted for.

Of course, we focus on the principle players first. That means by the time we delve into the second half of the cast, stuff’s pretty well defined. We don’t want to add padding, or make excuses to mention these characters. But we don’t want to just dismiss their arcs either. It’s tricky to find things that are worthy of inclusion and also won’t require us to revise our major characters’ actions too much.

Once all the big plot landmasses are established, the goal is to fit stuff into the crinkly bits around the edges.

As you’ve surely guessed, we are currently examining the parts of the rainbow concerned with not-so-major characters. One in particular, whose activities are severely constrained. The way he’s limited is interesting in its own right, but there are only so many times a reader wants to be reminded, “Yup, dude’s still stuck.” For various reasons, we knew it’d be a wrong choice to just skip his parts. It was a bit frustrating. But, we did eventually hit on a setup that ticks all the boxes. It dramatizes the central desires of this person, and intersects with the primary characters’ paths in a non-interfering way. Huzzah!

A writing partner is someone who loves doing all the crinkly bits as much as you do (and helps you remember where your towel is).