The Serendipity Factor

I can’t believe I haven’t yet described the serendipity factor in writing this graphic novel. Every time I sit down to adjust this second draft I stumble upon some unforeseen witticism, plot twist, or character nuance. Here are some examples.

I just finished EU23 which begins with, “Cast your bread upon the water.” In response I wrote in Draft One these random word balloons, “Do I detect a note of optimism here?” “All these weeks of doom and gloom and Dr. Q is finally offering some practical advice.” “The generous person gets lucky.” “The person with many investments increases their odds of return.” And then the final panel, “Hey, turn off your music. This just got good.”

As pure text it’s boring as can be. But when I attached characters to those word balloons magic happened. One of the characters is named Rich, the money lovin’ guy. Those word balloons fit him perfectly in several ways.

• Dr. Q’s words agree with Rich’s values.
• It’s fitting that Rich and Dr. Q finally agree on something. As I bring this novel in for a landing we’re tying up loose ends of how these lectures have impacted each student. It’s been 381 pages of battle between Dr. Q and Rich.
• The narrative took a happy twist when one student (Rich) pitched to a fellow student (wearing headphones) the importance of what Dr. Q is saying. It’s a gradual but very important part of the story. Rather than telling readers some students are agreeing with Dr. Q, I’m showing it.

Serendipity number two: In a squabble between the feminist 

and the militarist I had this exchange in draft one:

She: I think you are an elitist snob.

He: You are an anarchist!

Which morphed into:

She: I think you’re elitist!

He: You’re an anarchist!

Which morphed into:

She: You’re an elitist!

He: Anarchist!

Which morphed into:

She: Elitist!

He: Anarchist!

Why didn’t I simply begin with one word jabs at each other? Because I’m not that good a writer. Some writers would know to economize; I start wordy and pare down.

A third serendipity: On page 375 Dr. Q begins by saying, “A feast is made for laughter; wine makes life merry.” In the earlier draft I bootlegged a quote from Charles Dickens and put it in the mouth of the heavy drinker. “Let’s fan the sinking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship and pass the rosy wine.” Initially this was my homage to Dickens and a way to spiff up the brains of my students. On second thought, I expunged the whole quote and feel much better. Less is more when there’s limited space for dialog.

Each time I experience a serendipity I get a buzz. At some point I may take pictures/scans of a page from draft one and arrange it next to draft two (improved text), and draft three (penciled drawings) and draft four (ink and color). But I haven’t started draft three yet…so this task will wait. I anticipate artistic serendipities when I begin illustrating. Please stand by.