Hi. Thank you for bringing up these points. I’m always open to discussions like this one and I hope I can answer all of your points in this. My story is currently in very early stages and it’s a complete rewrite of Endless Summer that takes place within the first timeline (as of right now, anyway). I’m adding my own plot points and taking away some of the elements that PB included. I made this post a month ago when I was figuring out which characters would fit into the story better, as I didn’t know if I could juggle all 12 of them in one book. Since then, I’ve been constructing character studies, seeing how they could serve the story of the island as well as their own arcs (if that makes sense).
Grace is someone I want to do better than PB did. At first, I’ll be honest I really didn’t know what to do with her. I really liked her in the books and wanted to keep her in. She was always interesting to me because she did develop over the three books, especially the second book. Her confidence builds over the course of the story and she uses her intelligence and strengths to keep her friends alive. In book 3, there is definitely a point where she becomes static in a way, excluding her Ember of Hope scene as that is obviously focused on her character. Everybody gets their moments of course but i’ve always wished Grace got more. Don’t really want to spoil much but I’m about 3/4 finished with her character study and I’ve built some more interesting relationship dynamic ideas for her and found a way to make her more integral to the story. I want all the characters to have a fixed purpose in the story and try to give them all satisfying and individual endings, which is something i’ve always had a problem with what PB did. That’s why I left her out of the poll since I’ve already decided to give her a stronger storyline. And I agree that Grace is important for Aleister’s character too and I want them both to be better characters, especially since Aleister serves more of an anti-hero role then he already did in my version. Hope that clears up some of my thoughts about Grace. If not, feel free to let me know :)
Diego is staying in the story. I was never going to remove him. He’s too important for characters like Lo (MC), Vaaryn and his individual arc, within the island and himself, is something I can work with very easily. An idea i’ve been exploring is the dynamic between Diego and Raj. I really like it in the books and I want to do something with it, not really sure what yet though. Raj is still a tricky one for me. He is arguably the heart of the entire group and I don’t want to take him out of the story. He is integral for the groups’ relationships and that I was never in doubt about. It’s more what he does for the plot points about the island specifically, since my story is very focused on the state of the island for when it takes place. No one is axed yet and I don’t want to remove anyone. Eventually, I will find a way to build on every character and I think it will be much easier for me when I start Raj’s character study.
I have already completed drafts for Lo, Sean, Craig, Aleister, Jake, Estela and Zahra. I know their arcs and their endings and so far, I’m happy with them (may be subject to change tho cuz im indecisive). I’m currently in the middle of working on Grace, Michelle and Mike. The extracts I’ve written have been very focused on the completed ones and they will be posted soon. Pretty soon after I will start writing and posting scenes for Grace, Michelle and Mike.
Sorry this is so long but I hope this was an alright response. I really appreciate this feedback. I don’t want to write a book that just falls into the traps that PB fell into. I want to elevate the story the best I can. Thank you :)
