Letting a Story Tell Itself

Up until a couple weeks ago my character Phoenix had quite a different backstory. Once I started writing it, however, the story itself pulled me in a completely new direction.

I had to black out some brainstorming for the story, some writing tasks are just a little too weird.

Before

Phoenix grew up in very poor conditions and was separated from her little sister, Lily. She goes through many strange phases and through all of them searches for Lily- to no avail. Eventually she meets and befriends a crazy assassin named Marie, who convinces her to infiltrate the infamous rebellion of their world. Originally wary Phoenix works her way up to power via seduction and wit, with Marie at her side, and lets it get to her head. When she does eventually find her sister she hopes they will work together to take over. It takes more misfortune later in the story for Phoenix to be knocked off her high horse.

Now

The beginning of the original stays the same, because that's what I was writing when I let it take a new turn. (If you need a refresher, read "Phoenix grew up .... rebellion of their world.") Phoenix is still wary here as well, but she doesn't work her way up to power. Vance Vernon is the face of the rebellion, and they are immediately smitten by each other. In a whirlwind romance they are married a couple months later and have a son they call Vinny. Marie is still around, but they are much more distant than in the original. Before Vinny could even turn one Vance is killed on the job- leaving Phoenix in control until their son can take over. Soon after learning all her responsibilities Phoenix finds out that Vance had found her sister, who Phoenix hopes to bring in close.

So how exactly did this happen?

I'd been writing Phoenix backstory on and off for a while, and recently I became determined to finish it. I had the story outlined and everything was going to plan until I created Vance. As silly as it seems, something between the Vance and Phoenix characters clicked, and I couldn't ignore it. When you are creating a story from nothing it can be difficult to create interest or depth, so having something click like this is amazing. My character grew from a power hungry rebel to a desperate single mom- both are often used but for different types of stories. For a action packed comic book having a single mom in Phoenix's position is not quite as common as power hungry rebels. This complicates many things in Phoenix's life, and creates a more emotional reason for her to be in the position she is.

This topic was the result of me running out of ideas. Do you guys like hearing about my comic writing? If so, let me know below!!