Winds of Change

So the seed idea that began my WIP was a scientific article that I read in Time Magazine a few years back that stayed in my mind all this time.  Oddly enough, when I made my resolution to really commit to my writing, this idea forced its way past all of my beginnings and partials and demanded to be heard.  It unfolded right before my eyes, and excited me to no end.

Then I started writing.  My scene in the middle worked out nicely, I just went back to the beginning last week, and then it happened.

My story had other ideas.

WIP was acting ridiculously like a willful teenager.  My main character was becoming less a sketch and more a colored-in person.  And she was telling me the story from her POV (she made the decision for me, in that scene from the middle, to write in first person).  And the story was fitting together and making perfect sense.  But she was steering in a different direction.

And it didn't include my original science-y seed idea.  The one I had done all of the research for. 

Now, I don't mind that I did the research for no reason.  It was interesting anyway.  But this little fear began to grow in my stomach, one that I haven't had since this extremely positive new WIP began.  Can I drop the seed idea?  But it was so cool!  And so interesting!  And it's a real thing that people don't know about!
For lack of better terms, I thought my story was losing its "cool factor". Which left me with a decision to make.  Do I make it work with the "cool factor", or do I let the teenage protagonist have her way?

I lost a few writing days as I ruminated on that.  But that's ok, I am completely allowing myself thinking time. 

Today, I explained it all to Handsome Hubby.  He and I had talked out my original story idea and he was all about it, so I wondered how he would receive the subtraction of cool factor.  We sat here, just now, watching more feet of snow fall, and I told him the entire reworked story idea.  It works.  When I allowed myself to take out the original idea, I removed doubts and connections that were not being made and I consciously decided not to force the story.

I know I've said this over and over in my posts, but I feel this crazy rebirth as a writer with this story.  My approach is so much more relaxed and I am hearing my characters and listening.  All of you writers out there are always saying that; I guess as a beginner I had to figure it out for myself to truly understand what you meant and feel the difference between how I used to write and what is happening this time.

(For the record, when I first told HH that I was taking it out, he looked stunned, but when I explained the story, he got all excited and asked questions and even got goosebumps!  See why I love this man?)