1. dreamca7cher

    dreamca7cher New Member

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    Is it a good sign that the tone of my book is changing?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by dreamca7cher, Nov 22, 2015.

    The first hand written draft of my book is finished, and so for the past couple months I've been typing the second draft. Of course, as I've typed it, I've also made changes on the way. I had an idea to add more depth to it, change scenes, and add more life to my characters as I've typed it, but something changed.

    As I near the end of the draft I realized the nature of the book evolved into something else in my head. Now I want to go back to the beginning and make even more changes. The scenes are the same but the expressions are completely different. The overall tone I had in mind is completely different than originally intended. Its better actually. The book feels more grounded and deeper. Not in a form of a message, just the undercurrent that drives the book is more pronounced.

    So my question is, does this happen to a lot of writers? The tone of their book changing drastically. Also how often do writers change the tone of their books? And overall is it a good sign? Or just a writer can't seem to make up their mind?
     
  2. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    I think of the first draft like a sketch. In the second draft you add the colour. So this sounds normal to me :)
     
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  3. GuardianWynn

    GuardianWynn Contributor Contributor

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    I don't think there is a flat answer to this. I mean, if the book had a very playful tone, shifting to this end of the world seriousness suddenly could be like hitting people in the face with the book. I know when I am reading a book, if the tone shifts so suddenly that it feels like a different book I may drop it.

    Not to say it is always bad. Books are supposed to be about characters that grow. If a character is less serious but becomes more serious during the result of the book, than the book becoming more serious to reflect who he is becoming is not only good but great. Because a reader will probably not even realize the change, because people change slowly(normally) so if the tone shifted in the same way, it would be good.

    Though, it is about expectations. If the MC loses a their spouse, than the tone might shift faster, which is expected. So it isn't going to feel bad in that case. The real general thing I would focus on is this. "Would noticing that shift, break the flow of the read?" I think that would give you your answer.
     
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