I did something today I don't often do: I wrote a scene within a scene. It's something like a picture within a picture on a TV screen. You know, that feature that lets you watch two different channels at once. I usually like to keep things focused on one moment at a time, but today the story presented itself to me in a different way. So I went with it. I think writers have to trust their instincts, their inner voices. The worst that can happen is you have to go back and rewrite it. As I enjoy rewriting, that prospect doesn't bother me.
In today's first scene, a principal character sets herself up for what she'll consider a big betrayal and being a vengeful person she will inevitably try to strike back for this. In a second scene, two other principal characters learn that a nemesis likely has killed a police detective in his younger days, marking him as a very dangerous guy, but also suggesting a way he might be dealt with. Finally, the protagonist and his spouse celebrate a very special event, highlighting the bond between them, making it clear how one will feel when the other is placed in jeopardy.
I wrote 6.5 pages today.
Day 33 of writing my new novel is done.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Day 32, April 29, 2010
I started writing my new novel and this blog one month ago. In that time, I've written 170.5 pages and 51,750 words. More important than the numbers, I like what I've written. The story will be a grabber for a lot of people; the characters are interesting and the writing flows. All of which is pretty good for a first draft.
Keeping the momentum going in the first three months of May will be very important because in the fourth week of May things are bound to slow down. Home from college comes the next generation of the family's writing tree, a true scholar of the English language. An additional person under the roof is another distraction, albeit a pleasant one. In addition to that the family will be decamping to Florida for ten days where yours truly will be doing some research for a future novel. If you think it's hard to keep one complex story in mind—and you should—it's much harder to keep two stories in mind. You have to compartmentalize. Occasionally, there's seepage and you have to say wait a minute, where does that idea go?
That's why it's obligatory that I keep writing this story without cease, though at a slower rate of 2-3 pages per day.
Today's first scene was one character examining her place in the world and deciding where she wants to go in the future. Taking a look at someone's dreams always raises the question of whether they will be dashed or realized. It's a good kind of a let's-take-a-breather scene between action beats or scenes that ratchet up the tension. A subsequent scene gets back to tightening the screw with the revelation that one principal character who claims that a fire was the result of arson is responsible for the blaze herself.
Today, I wrote five-plus pages.
Day 32 of writing my new novel is done.
Keeping the momentum going in the first three months of May will be very important because in the fourth week of May things are bound to slow down. Home from college comes the next generation of the family's writing tree, a true scholar of the English language. An additional person under the roof is another distraction, albeit a pleasant one. In addition to that the family will be decamping to Florida for ten days where yours truly will be doing some research for a future novel. If you think it's hard to keep one complex story in mind—and you should—it's much harder to keep two stories in mind. You have to compartmentalize. Occasionally, there's seepage and you have to say wait a minute, where does that idea go?
That's why it's obligatory that I keep writing this story without cease, though at a slower rate of 2-3 pages per day.
Today's first scene was one character examining her place in the world and deciding where she wants to go in the future. Taking a look at someone's dreams always raises the question of whether they will be dashed or realized. It's a good kind of a let's-take-a-breather scene between action beats or scenes that ratchet up the tension. A subsequent scene gets back to tightening the screw with the revelation that one principal character who claims that a fire was the result of arson is responsible for the blaze herself.
Today, I wrote five-plus pages.
Day 32 of writing my new novel is done.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Day 31, April 28, 2010
Today's writing involved one of the fiction writer's favored characters: the oracle. In Joseph Wambaugh's work there was a veteran police sergeant at the Hollywood station who was straightforwardly called The Oracle. In John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series the role of the oracle was played by McGee's best friend, the world renowned economist, Meyer. The protagonist in my story has as his oracle a "cousin by adoption," who's an MIT grad and an entrepreneur who's started a material sciences company. She possesses the kind of specialized skills to help the protagonist solve a needle-in-a-haystack problem.
The advantage of having a soothsayer who's close personally to your protagonist is you not only get the objective information out to the reader, you also get to reveal more of your leading character's personal side, making him more accessible and engaging to the reader.
In a second scene, two antagonists—whom I hope are quite engaging—discover the identity of a real creep; see previous post regarding the attempted sexual assault. Their problem is, how do they let the cops know who the bad guy is without taking the chance they'll give themselves away? And in the final scene written today, a supporting character who is a video game maven sees the future of his business being played out in the real world.
I wrote just over six pages today.
Day 31 of writing my new novel is done.
The advantage of having a soothsayer who's close personally to your protagonist is you not only get the objective information out to the reader, you also get to reveal more of your leading character's personal side, making him more accessible and engaging to the reader.
In a second scene, two antagonists—whom I hope are quite engaging—discover the identity of a real creep; see previous post regarding the attempted sexual assault. Their problem is, how do they let the cops know who the bad guy is without taking the chance they'll give themselves away? And in the final scene written today, a supporting character who is a video game maven sees the future of his business being played out in the real world.
I wrote just over six pages today.
Day 31 of writing my new novel is done.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Day 30, April 27, 2010
Very quick post today, which was truly crazy, late, with intrusions. Did two scenes, a police follow-up on an assault which will really ratchet up the tension for a scene to come in the climax sequence, and a scene that will lead to the discovery of the true nature of a character that will also figure in the climax.
Six pages written today.
Day 30 of writing my new novel is done.
Six pages written today.
Day 30 of writing my new novel is done.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Day 29, April 26, 2010
In the past, I've been criticized on occasion for not making my villains three dimensional. My reaction has been: That's the problem with villains, they're not fully formed people. They lack empathy. They're indifferent to the suffering of other people. At their worst, they're piles of poop in search of swarms of flies. I show them without redeeming qualities because they have none.
Nonetheless, they do have internal lives, even if they're creepy and malformed. So today's writing looks at what's going on in the head of a character who set out to reach some noble goals but got way too caught up in building and maintaining a personal base of power. This reflects one of my core beliefs: Institutions that are established for the best of reasons ultimately, and usually quickly, come to exist primarily to serve themselves.
That point of view might be seen as cynical; I welcome rebuttals to offer exceptions to the rule.
Today's examination of personal corruption covered six pages.
Day 29 of writing my new novel is done.
Nonetheless, they do have internal lives, even if they're creepy and malformed. So today's writing looks at what's going on in the head of a character who set out to reach some noble goals but got way too caught up in building and maintaining a personal base of power. This reflects one of my core beliefs: Institutions that are established for the best of reasons ultimately, and usually quickly, come to exist primarily to serve themselves.
That point of view might be seen as cynical; I welcome rebuttals to offer exceptions to the rule.
Today's examination of personal corruption covered six pages.
Day 29 of writing my new novel is done.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Day 28, April 25, 2010
I've been working on my new novel, and writing this blog, for four weeks now. Out of the past twenty-eight days, I've written pages on twenty-seven of them. That's a sign, as I see it, that I'm doing what I love. Which is the only reason to become a fiction writer in the first place.
I moved two story lines forward today. In the first one, I'm pushing the possibility that one character is a very creepy guy, but at the same time I'm creating some ambiguity about that possibility. This is known as keeping the reader guessing. Always a good way to get the reader to turn the pages. In the other story line, I've added another character to the pursuit of the story's antagonists. This introduces an element of competition. Who, if anyone, will nab the antagonists? This is another way to pique the reader's interest.
I wrote just short of five pages today, a little less than my daily goal, but, heck, it's Sunday.
Day 28 of writing my new novel is done.
I moved two story lines forward today. In the first one, I'm pushing the possibility that one character is a very creepy guy, but at the same time I'm creating some ambiguity about that possibility. This is known as keeping the reader guessing. Always a good way to get the reader to turn the pages. In the other story line, I've added another character to the pursuit of the story's antagonists. This introduces an element of competition. Who, if anyone, will nab the antagonists? This is another way to pique the reader's interest.
I wrote just short of five pages today, a little less than my daily goal, but, heck, it's Sunday.
Day 28 of writing my new novel is done.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Day 27, April 24, 2010
Today's post was delayed by a tornado warning. The radar picture on my TV showed a bright red band of storms heading right for the town where I live. In case no one ever told you, it's not a good idea to be at the keyboard of a computer that's plugged in to your house's electrical system when there's lightning in the nearby sky. Your machine and you both might get fried.
Dangerous, inclement or even murky weather can, of course, play a major role in any story. I don't think I'll be giving away too much to say one of the three types of weather I just mentioned will play a significant part in the climax of my novel. The thing about severe weather is, you don't want it to appear out of the clear blue, so to speak. You have to build up to it.
In that way, it's like any other story development: It should build, not just appear. If something dramatic happens without any prelude, that's clunky writing. People appreciate foreshadowing. It shows skill. In one of the story lines on which I worked today, there was a dramatic scene, a near miss of a sexual assault. This had been preceded by two other scenes in which this threat had been growing…and if it leads to something still more threatening a third precedent will have been established.
In another story line, it looks like the antagonists might have achieved their goal, but any savvy reader knows they have to suffer a setback or the story is over, and the story is far from over.
I wrote five pages today.
Day 27 of writing my new novel is done.
Dangerous, inclement or even murky weather can, of course, play a major role in any story. I don't think I'll be giving away too much to say one of the three types of weather I just mentioned will play a significant part in the climax of my novel. The thing about severe weather is, you don't want it to appear out of the clear blue, so to speak. You have to build up to it.
In that way, it's like any other story development: It should build, not just appear. If something dramatic happens without any prelude, that's clunky writing. People appreciate foreshadowing. It shows skill. In one of the story lines on which I worked today, there was a dramatic scene, a near miss of a sexual assault. This had been preceded by two other scenes in which this threat had been growing…and if it leads to something still more threatening a third precedent will have been established.
In another story line, it looks like the antagonists might have achieved their goal, but any savvy reader knows they have to suffer a setback or the story is over, and the story is far from over.
I wrote five pages today.
Day 27 of writing my new novel is done.
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