If you want to be good at anything, you have to be dedicated. Do it day in and day out. It has to go beyond simple discipline, but it should be something less than mania. In between these poles is where you find the term love of the game. That's the way I feel about writing. And if you think all this is leading up to my telling you I didn't do any writing today, you're wrong.
I wrote 3.5 very nice pages.
But before I got around to that I felt like being a regular guy and did some Saturday morning summer chores just like most other people around the country. My wife and I took my father's dog for a walk in the park. Dad just turned 90 and though he can still push his lawn mower or snow blower around for an hour, he leaves the dog-walking to us. After that, I mowed the grass, front, back and side. Then I had a talk with my daughter who recently received notice that she's made the dean's list again, after receiving the 1,000th straight 'A' of her academic career, and I told her this was a pretty good sign she should be self-confident.
Then I got down to writing, and it went like silk. Today's scene was revelatory. Two of the antagonists, brilliant though they are, learn that their every move has been observed. More than that, they may be about to receive a big job offer. This is the kind of twist I love in a story. It was unexpected, but it makes sense, and it can thwart a criticism of the story that might have been made before the scene happened.
I might have written more pages, but I pitched in to help get some laundry done.
Day 74 of writing my new novel is done.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Day 73, June 11, 2010
Today was a good day. Not a whole lot of pages, only four. But four really good pages. They didn't flow smoothly off the keyboard. I had to put some effort into both the writing and the rewriting. But the end product was very satisfying and more important than that the scene advanced the story in terms of both character and plot.
Things are getting tense enough now to allow allusions to hell. The protagonist understands that his own situation is about to change profoundly, but he's still out looking for solutions to the problems that confront his town. But adversity, as it likes to do, only mounts. Two new dangerous characters appear—but this is allowed only because a precedent had been established earlier. You can't just spring things out of the blue without foreshadowing. That's bad writing. But the new threat sparks an insight; the protagonist begins to look at the situation in a whole new light. As a result, the way he approaches solving his problems will have to change.
Good, good day.
Day 73 of writing my new novel is done.
Things are getting tense enough now to allow allusions to hell. The protagonist understands that his own situation is about to change profoundly, but he's still out looking for solutions to the problems that confront his town. But adversity, as it likes to do, only mounts. Two new dangerous characters appear—but this is allowed only because a precedent had been established earlier. You can't just spring things out of the blue without foreshadowing. That's bad writing. But the new threat sparks an insight; the protagonist begins to look at the situation in a whole new light. As a result, the way he approaches solving his problems will have to change.
Good, good day.
Day 73 of writing my new novel is done.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Day 72, June 10,2010
Ah, what a difference a day makes. My narrative voice is back, my muse is with me, and the work flowed. I wrote five-plus pages, expending only half the effort it took me to do three pages yesterday. But I was able to get to this happy situation only because I gutted through the work yesterday.
In today's scenes, the problem with the sexual predator becomes worse by a factor of two. An ambitious woman gets the feeling there may be a higher risk to achieving her goal than she ever imagined. And a secondary character decides it's time for him to leave, but wants to go out with a bang. Story lines are becoming much more tightly woven creating greater pressure on each strand.
Day 72 of writing my new novel is done.
In today's scenes, the problem with the sexual predator becomes worse by a factor of two. An ambitious woman gets the feeling there may be a higher risk to achieving her goal than she ever imagined. And a secondary character decides it's time for him to leave, but wants to go out with a bang. Story lines are becoming much more tightly woven creating greater pressure on each strand.
Day 72 of writing my new novel is done.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Day 71, June 9, 2010
For me, the written word is the way I hear with my eyes. That might sound strange, but people often talk about an author having a "voice." As a reader, I find that to be almost literally true. When I'm caught up in a good story, the experience is very much like listening to someone tell me that story aloud.
When I write, I don't talk to myself, but I can still hear my words as they appear on the computer monitor. Today, I was having a hard time with both what I saw and what I heard. My voice was off key, my tone was flat. It wasn't much fun.
The only thing to do when that happens is to shrug it off. I imagine Sinatra, Elvis and even Meat Loaf all had days when their pipes weren't quite pitch perfect. When that happens, you just have to put it behind you.
Today's scenes were about characters getting jittery as the pressure on them builds. Perfectly okay for the characters. Not so good for the writer. I got three pages written today and on a day like this, that was enough.
Day 71 of writing my new novel is done.
When I write, I don't talk to myself, but I can still hear my words as they appear on the computer monitor. Today, I was having a hard time with both what I saw and what I heard. My voice was off key, my tone was flat. It wasn't much fun.
The only thing to do when that happens is to shrug it off. I imagine Sinatra, Elvis and even Meat Loaf all had days when their pipes weren't quite pitch perfect. When that happens, you just have to put it behind you.
Today's scenes were about characters getting jittery as the pressure on them builds. Perfectly okay for the characters. Not so good for the writer. I got three pages written today and on a day like this, that was enough.
Day 71 of writing my new novel is done.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Day 70, June 8, 2010
Some days come easier than others. When there's a thunder storm, and you're watching your dad's dog, and the dog's afraid of thunder, and the lightning starts flashing, and you decide it's a good idea to shut down and unplug your computer so it doesn't get fried, that kind of stuff can impede your productivity.
And when you write in fits and starts instead of nice big peaceful chunks of time, the quality can suffer.
But so what? If you're a writer, you write. And you don't worry too much about the writing because you're going to rewrite it anyway. And it's just the first draft. The whole thing is subject to revision, polishing, buffing, making it as close to perfect as you can.
All that being the case, I managed to write five-plus pages today, and with the rewrite I did, it turned out pretty well. In today's scene, the protagonist was sitting at his desk occupied with analysis and decision making. Doesn't sound too riveting, I know. But the character is at the center of the story and he has to figure things out as much as the reader does. I think he handles this task quite nicely.
I've always admired this type of scene when it's artfully done, and every writer from Arthur Conan Doyle to John D. MacDonald has done it. I'm happy to be following in a worthy tradition here.
Day 70 of writing my new novel is done.
And when you write in fits and starts instead of nice big peaceful chunks of time, the quality can suffer.
But so what? If you're a writer, you write. And you don't worry too much about the writing because you're going to rewrite it anyway. And it's just the first draft. The whole thing is subject to revision, polishing, buffing, making it as close to perfect as you can.
All that being the case, I managed to write five-plus pages today, and with the rewrite I did, it turned out pretty well. In today's scene, the protagonist was sitting at his desk occupied with analysis and decision making. Doesn't sound too riveting, I know. But the character is at the center of the story and he has to figure things out as much as the reader does. I think he handles this task quite nicely.
I've always admired this type of scene when it's artfully done, and every writer from Arthur Conan Doyle to John D. MacDonald has done it. I'm happy to be following in a worthy tradition here.
Day 70 of writing my new novel is done.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Day 69, June 7, 2010
I'm back to writing at home following my research trip and a weekend off to celebrate a landmark birthday in my family. The time away was good but it's very reassuring to be back in familiar surroundings as I bring the first draft of my new novel to a close.
I got off to a good start today, writing five and a half pages. In today's scenes the leader of the antagonists has to go outside her group to recruit an outsider to help her forces pull off their final caper. Thing is, while the recruited character has the technical ability to step right in, will he be agreeable to what he's being asked to do? Also, he's an older guy used to running his own show. Will he be able to subordinate his ego to go along with the wishes of a younger woman? In today's second scene, the spouse of the protagonist loses her job. She didn't do anything wrong. It's a matter of sending a message to the protagonist. Get in line and do what you've been told, and fast, or you could be next.
Day 69 of writing my new novel is done.
I got off to a good start today, writing five and a half pages. In today's scenes the leader of the antagonists has to go outside her group to recruit an outsider to help her forces pull off their final caper. Thing is, while the recruited character has the technical ability to step right in, will he be agreeable to what he's being asked to do? Also, he's an older guy used to running his own show. Will he be able to subordinate his ego to go along with the wishes of a younger woman? In today's second scene, the spouse of the protagonist loses her job. She didn't do anything wrong. It's a matter of sending a message to the protagonist. Get in line and do what you've been told, and fast, or you could be next.
Day 69 of writing my new novel is done.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Days 61-68, May 29-June 4, 2010
Being without a home Internet connection is so 20th century, and not even a 1990s dial-up connection either. It's also a reminder to me that I was born and raised in a technologically quaint time. Unlike some writers who persist in using a typewriter or even a pen to make words visible, I love using a computer that is hooked into a boundless source of information and communication.
Okay, be that as it may, the important thing is with a few interruptions I've been able to continue to crank out some pages most if not all days over the past two weeks. I did another 3.5 today and the grand total has reached 331 pages and 100,000+ plus words.
The story continues to pick up speed and energy. The protagonist is getting closer to pinning down at least the lead antagonist, but now he's having a big problem with someone who should be an ally. Newly discovered information has revealed that person might just be a bad guy, too. The social structure that forms the context of the story is also becoming more volatile.
This is one of those situations where things will never be the same again.
So part of the fun will be to guess and then find out what the new shapes of things will be.
Days 61-68 of writing my new novel are done.
(Daily posting should resume on June 7, 2010)
Okay, be that as it may, the important thing is with a few interruptions I've been able to continue to crank out some pages most if not all days over the past two weeks. I did another 3.5 today and the grand total has reached 331 pages and 100,000+ plus words.
The story continues to pick up speed and energy. The protagonist is getting closer to pinning down at least the lead antagonist, but now he's having a big problem with someone who should be an ally. Newly discovered information has revealed that person might just be a bad guy, too. The social structure that forms the context of the story is also becoming more volatile.
This is one of those situations where things will never be the same again.
So part of the fun will be to guess and then find out what the new shapes of things will be.
Days 61-68 of writing my new novel are done.
(Daily posting should resume on June 7, 2010)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
