I started my day by digging back into the Archivist series with only a vague idea for a couple of scenes for Archivist 2 and A LOT of Things-To-Be-Revealed™ for many, many books after.

Usually, I firm up the core idea for the next book in the series while writing the previous book. I leave myself notes … like breadcrumbs to follow into the brainstorming and outlining. And, since I usually write with a thriller-type construction (aka the antagonist propels the plot) and I adore seeding those relationships/possibilities, etc, in previous books, that usually means that I know who the ‘bad guys’ are for books ahead.

But even with a long list of Things-To-Be-Revealed™ I still had no idea who the ‘bad guy’ was for Archivist 2. I had a bunch of fantastic characters, two or three great scene ideas, and a throughline for the romance storyline, but that did not equal a plot.

So I pulled out all the sticky note pads I had – index cards would have been better but apparently I no longer own any – and I started with listing and placing all the secrets.

Then, still stymied on book 2, I thought about how the Archivist series is different from my other series, especially the Dowser or Amplifier (which also feature powerful characters). The WHY I was writing it. WHAT drew me to explore the idea. It’s easy to get caught up in the relationships and the background and all the secrets, but the FEELING of the series as a whole needs to be really established by the end of book two (or three if you include the prequels). In my opinion, of course and always.

That FEELING is tied directly to the main character.

So, what makes one main character different from another?

Answer: how she interacts with her world. How she reacts. Her fundamental nature when confronted with change or a threat/challenge/hurdle or an offer or desire, etc.

Does she create, like Jade? Does she protect, like Emma? Does she love, like Wisteria? Does she believe, like Rochelle?

Short answer for Dusk?

Yes. To all of the above.

So knowing how my main character reacts to challenges, knowing her capabilities, how do I force her out of her comfort zone? How do I shake her to her core? How do I make her doubt? Falter?

A rather difficult thing to do when dealing with a practically immortal being with vast resources.

Continually finding/creating a ‘bad guy’ who is stronger than Dusk is rather … farfetched. [This holds true for Emma as well]. Making a bad guy smarter is possible, except that level of intelligence really relies on the writer (aka me) and I rarely manage to outsmart … anyone, so I have no illusions that I could pull off that dynamic in a story.

So then the bad guy has to be sneaky … has to be patient … has to learn how to play Dusk … how to manipulate her. Then they have to offer her something she can’t refuse or give her no other choice but to step onto the wrong path …

Thusly armed with my notebooks and sticky notes, I figured out the ‘bad guy’ for Archivist 2 by lunch.

Then with Ed Sheeran’s Afterglow (YouTube video) on repeat, I had the major plot points – aka the beginning, middle, and end – plugged into my structure (aka paradigm) by 2 p.m.

Oh, I won’t be silent and I won’t let go

I will hold on tighter ’til the afterglow

And we’ll burn so bright ’til the darkness softly clears

Ed Sheeran, Afterglow

And, ahem, I might have paused for a few moments early on and dropped a few notes into my notebook for Amplifier 6 (yes, I’m writing that series a book ahead now). 🙂

Headache or not, apparently the muse only needed a little juice. Though a hot chocolate, the brand new notebooks, and some pretty ink might have helped along the way.

Thank goodness.