Scorpion Sting - Development Point #1

Novel Planning Interlude

Comments are open for everyone in this post. It turns out I enjoy writing serial fiction, especially where it offers comments. I have let a comment for myself in Chapter 4 to cut it during the next draft round.

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I’ve completed the first seven chapters—pantsing the entire time.

With chapter seven drafted, I now take a step back to develop the characters, refine the plot, and formulate an end game. This is where pure pantsing stops, and some plotting begins.

I intend to scratch out ideas for the end game and an end goal for the following seven chapters. I have no idea if this is wise, but I’ll find out.

The Characters

After the seventh chapter, I decided to develop the characters. I always have a character sheet, and recently, I’ve had AI create a profile for them. It’s nice to have a visual. The image doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be there for me to ponder. A source for me to draw from.

No doubt, the character images will change.

Here is the cast of characters living in Virginia Beach, all aged twenty in 2038

Matthew Rogers

A mixed heritage of Caucasian and Chinese, Matthew Rogers is destined to reveal his understanding and suffer the punishment for doing so—forcing him to deal with internal struggles.

To complicate matters, Matthew’s infatuation with his best friend’s love interest compounds his psychological nightmare.

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Diane Swan

Born from a broken set of irresponsible parents, she entered the foster system early. Adopted at fourteen, her teenage years, she challenged her adoptive parents, but in her heart, she was grateful but never able to truly show it.

At sixteen, she began her Social Media presence, about to hit 100,000 followers just before the world changed. This leads her to quickly fall in line with Jack’s “what could have been” mentality.

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Jack Miller

Jack was a high school football star who’s always loved snacks. He dwells on what could have been, and Diane is quickly pulled into his dwelling.

Jack is also of mixed heritage, with a Caucasian and Turkish lineage.

His father, Adam, is now behind bars. His mother Sabrina and older brother Jason have run off… or so he believes.