NO LINE CHANGE came out this week, I am sooo happy not only to share Dylan and Henri’s story, but to finally be able to talk about the book in more detail than the vague hints to events and characters. Today I want to talk about how much Dylan changed from concept to on page presence.
I’ve talked before about how I outline books and make notes of ideas and even write out whole scenes, and how during the writing process those ideas can change or might totally need to be scraped. I sometimes save those pieces I had to cut, just in case I want to use them for later short stories. During the editing process, I poked in on some of those lines and realized…they were a very different character than who ended up in the book.
When I first started No Line Change, my Dylan wasn’t a golden retriever. He was still an elite goal scorer, yes. He’d been a little too close to his center, and he was sad to see him go. But Alexei wasn’t the toxic darling he ended up as, so when he left Albuquerque, it was on good terms with Dylan.
But when he left, he did leave a hole in Dylan’s life, which manifested as awful hockey. He had the worst year of his career and it didn’t look like things were set to improve any time soon. Even when Henri arrives on the Turkeys, there are only little blips of success. Dylan gets it in his head that it’s not about having a good center: he needs a center he’s, ahem, close to.
That’s right. Dylan Everett pursues Henri specifically to seduce him and improve their hockey playing. (Even this more selfish Dylan recognized that they both could use the career boost of better play—it was mutually beneficial that they sleep together, duh.)
Once I actually started writing the story, this turned out to not be Dylan at all (or Alexei for that matter). By the time I got to those parts of the story where Dylan should be actively seducing Henri, that’s just not what Dylan wanted to do. And I don’t think it would’ve won Henri over, not in the same way at least.
The only vestiges imo of that storyline that survive are in that first meeting between Henri and Alexei when they’re out for drinks with Dylan in Albuquerque. That was as far as I got before fully, consciously deciding the plan was no longer the plan, and that meeting definitely changed flavor from the original idea of an Alexei who doesn’t mind that Dylan’s moved on because they both had to.
Well…that old version of Dylan also survives in my notes as chapters titled “LOSE THIS ??” And “more lose this.” So here are the unedited original chunks of story I wrote out 🙂
Henri: is it true what they say about you two?
Dylan: what do they say?
Henri: that you like to play man to man
Dylan: That doesn’t even make sense I’m not a defensemen
Henri: and yet you know what I’m asking
Don’t worry you don’t have to answer it’s none of my business
Dylan: The fans might have romanticized it a bit.
Henri: I could come along. Make him jealous.
Dylan: look I don’t know what impression you have but I promise there’s nothing going on with Alexei we’re just catching up
Henri: I understand
but wouldn’t it be a little fun to make him jealous?
Show him you are getting many goals without him?
Dylan: alright you’ve convinced me lol if you wanna come we’ll be at (bar)
You can help me escape if it goes bad
Dylan: hey wanna grab dinner & drinks tonight?
there’s a place by the rink the boys like
LHB: I’m not sokolov
Dylan: yeah i know
but we’re linemates
we’ll do better on the ice if we’re on the same page off the ice
we’ve been doing really well lately let’s keep it going
LHB: linemates…so Novak will be there too?
Dylan: ofc
7 pm @ (bar)?
LHB: ok.
Dylan: hey i need a big favor
Novak: yeah…?
Dylan: can you meet me & LHB @ (???) in an hour???
Novak: why
Dylan: bro please
he didn’t want to go w/o you bc we’re all linemates
Novak: ugh not again
you play perfectly good hockey. you do NOT need to rely on someone else. it’s all mental
Dylan: I do better when he’s passing to me
no offense
Novak: i pass the puck to you plenty
not my fault you can’t convert
notice my numbers are as good as ever
Dylan: 🖕
but for real pls i’ll owe you one
i’ll pay for all your beers
don’t you want to beat (team) tomorrow night??
c’mon
Novak: ugh FINE
but i’m bringing (guy)
Dylan: deal
thanks bro you’re the best
Dylan: drinks in my room in 20
Novak: it sure is nice to be invited to your room so often these days
Dylan: you’re a great wingman what can I say
Novak: you ever going to invest in good beer or is it still just that shit you get at the front desk?
Dylan: you don’t like miller and coors?
Novak: no self-respecting beer drinker likes miller or coors
Dylan: not true
there’s also vodka and tequila in the mini bar
Novak: ugh i’ll stick to beer
be there in 20 to chapereone
Dylan: my room for drinks? not as crowded as the lobby
Henri: sure
don’t invite Novak this time
Henri starts sabotaging play a little, not passing as much, not timing the line change perfectly so he’s out with other people. It messes up Dylan’s goal number and the team is a little agitated (but Henri is getting goals and Dylan stands up for him)
“Is this just because we’re linemates?”
Aaaand that’s as far as my notes got with that plotline/dynamic. Obviously all of that was chucked out the window, because my sweet ray of sunshine Dylan wouldn’t do any of those things, and I’m not sure Henri could emotionally recover if he did. But that was the premise up until January this year when I dusted off my outline and got to work.
Hope you enjoyed this window into another version of No Line Change! Though I’m pretty happy with the result as is 😉
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