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Something has been bothering me about my first draft of the steampunk romance I’ve been working on.  The characters aren’t meshing, and yes, I know I-hate-you, I-love-you is a common plot device, but neither of these characters seemed interested, or even aware of each other.  So I lost interest in their story, as well.

Like most steampunk novels, it’s set in Victorian times.  Proprieties are set, and certain rules apply.  But, the genre allows a certain amount of leeway.  Belief has to be suspended in order to swallow steam powered airships, mechanical men and transporting vortexes.

A writer never knows when inspiration will strike.  A book review mentioned a characteristic of a similar era heroine that threw light on what was wrong with my story.  The heroine is too passive.  Without her taking charge of the relationship, nothing will be resolved.

Now the real writing challenge begins.  Without emasculating my hero, the heroine needs to call the shots, at least as far as the romance is concerned (he’ll get to fight the villain.)  I’m sure there were Victorian misses who set their sites on a husband and arranged matters to their satisfaction.

This isn’t the first time one of my characters has raised a hand and said, “Wait a minute,” or revealed a secret into the middle of a story.  It’s always a surprise, sometimes unpleasant, but the story is richer for it.

What about your story?  What stopped you and forced you to rewrite your unfinished first draft?

Take care,

Cheryl