So Cawdor is very nearly finished in its first draft form. I am working on Chapter 25 and that is the final chapter of the book. It is unlikely that I will finish it tomorrow, but I’ll probably have the chapter more than half done by the end of the day.
It has proved to be an interesting trip. I learned quite a bit writing this novel.
I learned I don’t know what my books are about until I actually write them.
I learned that I do not accept that Macbeth is the villain of the play.
I learned that I liked doing a ‘rolling edit’ better than writing the entire novel and then having 300-400 pages to edit. It also gave my brain time to process story elements while I edited so I think I turned out a stronger plot and set of characters.
I learned I love my outlines, but I’m not afraid to walk of the path when the story goes somewhere else. The outline shows me the end point so I am free to explore along the way.
Today is also the official 1 year anniversary of me submitted Love & Loyalty to a major publisher. I know that this is how the biz works. If you do not have an agent you wait and wait and wait. Sort like the DMV but you can get on with your life while you wait.
The Witches are the villain of the piece. They instigate and continue to instigate the acts of mutiny and murder throughout the story. Had they kept their mouths shut nothing would have happened. More over they know the exact consequences of their actions and proceed to act that way just the same. We are never given motivations for them and yes you can argue fate and that there is no free-will but I reject that.
I still love/hate this manuscript. It think it has some of my best writing in it, but I doubt overall it will seen the same way by others.
No, Macbeth is not the villain. One could argue that the antagonist is fate. Macbeth is much more the tragic hero who falls because of his innate flaw, in a small way like Oedipus, but with more volition. Lady Macbeth is more a villain than is her husband. I teach the play in Sr English and a frequent topic of discussion, one I put in exams, is whether the play supports Macbeth as the tool of fate. Would he have thought of regicide without the influence of the witches?