Yeah, so basically a core conflict in my novel isn't working for me. Either I haven't figured out how to use it right, or it is broken, period. There's maybe three central conflicts going on that might be just different aspects of the one. So it is possible that this isn't just an internal character thing that's not working, but an overall theme that isn't working.
At the heart of it, I still can't stomach some of the baggage of pseudo-archaeology. This book came out of trying to do an end-run on that by using a fedora as a lampshade.
And now I'm trying to understand what it means to the character who is choosing to don it.
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I've been working on it all week and I seem to be making progress out of the hole. I think, though, it is less that I've found better approaches, than I'm becoming resigned to the ones I have.
There's still so much I don't know about my protagonist and of course I'm in the big opening scenes here. Is she tall? Shy? Blond or brunette? Most of what I seem to know at this point is a list of what I don't want to do.
The female equivalent of Indiana Jones is a smaller reference pool but there are aspects that occur frequently enough to annoy me. So no martial arts background, reliance on or even particular skill in fisticuffs. Doesn't hold three degrees and speak six languages. Isn't wealthy, or even financially secure. Is pretty much in agreement with academic history and standard archaeological practice. Isn't drop-dead gorgeous and doesn't run around in a halter top. Or safari wear, for that matter...no pith helmets need apply.
Add to that list: yeah, she flirted with acting, and she totally could come at everything from the perspective of a theatre person. But I don't want that. Similarly, I refuse to believe a modern young person hasn't played a lot of video games but I also don't want her referencing that constantly. It's old and worn out. The natural voice for characters like this is First-Person Snarky, and that's fine as far as it goes, but can we leave the far-too-topical pop references aside?
Unfortunately for me I'm trying to take her -- especially in this introductory adventure, basically an origin story -- as far from an experienced traveler, and a relative neophyte to history as well. Not to say there isn't always more to learn in the later! But connected to this there's a way I want to both play fair with the reader and make the inevitable lectures less annoying; if a historical fact is going to be important to the story, the reader will learn it as she does.
But that means as tempting as it is, she really shouldn't be name-dropping historical figures and amusing factoids all over the place. Which certainly leaves out a lot of options of stuff for the internal voice to go on about!
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I've almost closed in on how to handle those critical first scenes. It's still my dangerous three; first a student film that is full of bad history but all in good humor, then a presentation about the Acropolis of Athens, then pretending to be an archaeologist through party chatter at a gallery opening. All three of these scenes throw the problem of how she relates to history -- and pseudo-history -- in sharp relief.
And right at this moment I am tired of it all. I know - well, I hope -- the sense of fun will come back and I'll want to do it.
I'm in the ramp-up for a new show, I'm making progress again on trumpet, and basically a lot of my mind is elsewhere right now. Which is not a good thing. This is the time to get some of this stuff written down so when the crush of other responsibilities means I have to put it down for a while, I'll be able to come back to something that makes sense and that I can continue.
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