Going to see Han Solo today. I'm going to like it.

Sticking to Tuesdays with Linda, Monday's at the store, which is going to slow down the writing, but I'm more and more realizing there is no hurry.

I have the luxury with Fateplay of already having 76,500 words under my belt. So it's not as if I'm not going to finish this thing.

So what I'm looking for is something really strong, really good, full of emotion and action and surprise.

I've got an ending, but it is pro forma, and while that may end up happening and be perfectly adequate, I'd like to do something more than that. So I'm hoping for one of those "ah, ha!" moments I occasionally get.

Usually,  in fact probably almost always, I get these moments during my walks.

I'm letting myself have a few days to mull it over, then I'll finish the book and move on.

Sitting at home day after day writing can seem pretty isolating. It can feel like I'm just doing it for myself.

So working at the store occasionally has been good for me. I'm interacting with people and some of them are giving me feedback that I dearly need. Sold a copy of Snaked on Friday, had a couple tell me how much they liked my books. What do you know? It isn't all in my head.

My walking everyday is a saving grace. It gets me out of the house and out of my head. I'm always so glad that I did it. I also get ideas without forcing them. They come unbidden, which is the best way. (Maybe not totally unbidden; I usually sort of politely ask my subconscious...)

I've kind of backed off posting so much online, except on Blogger. Those of you who are reading this are the ones who actually come here to read, (I thank you for that), versus my come-hithers on Facebook and Twitter. I almost never mention my books otherwise.

I'm writing nevertheless. That's about all I can say. I'm writing nevertheless. 

"Re-write Summer."

Finally got another chapter written. As usual, it didn't quite go where I thought it was going to go. But in the middle of writing it, I realized that one of the logistical problems was solved. You never know when you reach the end of a story how impactful it will be. I'm wondering if this ending is strong enough.

But I have a rule about finishing a book before I mess with it, so...

I've decided spend the summer re-writing as much as possible. I have the four Lander books that need to be revised, the four Thirteen Principalities novellas, and now three different thriller books that could use a re-write, especially the beginnings.

I could get a lot accomplished if I just knuckled down.

What's kept me from doing this in the past is that I've always given fresh ideas preeminence. I don't turn down stories when they come to me. So this could still happen, I suppose. Probably will, actually.

But between fresh stories, I can still set the goal of finishing off the old.

Almost done.

Psyching myself up for the last few chapters of "Fateplay."

I more or less know what is going to happen, but I want to bring some energy to it. Really stick the landing.

I didn't write on Monday because I spent the entire day ordering books for Pegasus, and Tuesdays are now reserved for Linda and Duncan time. (We went to see Deadpool 2, and had writer's group in the evening.)

But I did think up some improvements on my walk. The start of the book always bothered me. The main protagonist wins the lottery (lame) is the richest man in the world (lame) and then comes out of hiding to get involved with the company he started.

Since 20 years pass, that makes him close to forty years old.

But I wanted to make this book a young adult, but I couldn't figure a way to make the changes without ruining the book.

Well, yesterday I figured out a workaround.

I also decided that I would almost immediately start the rewrite, which is a change of procedure. Or more like a return to the earlier procedure.

I have two conflicting things going on with rewrites.

1.) I've learned that giving a story time off helps with perspective, allows me to make bigger changes.

2.) I've only accomplished this once or twice, mostly with Faerylander which was a mess to start with. Yes, each time I've improved that book, but it is only now becoming an adequate write.

So what if I have more perspective if I never end up doing it? Right?

So I'm going to start right in the rewrite while everything is still fresh in my mind.

Tailoring your writing process to your personality.

One of the things I learned running a bookstore for so many years was that it makes sense to tailor your procedures to your personality. There's more than one way to run a business. There are so many directions you can go. Some make more money but are unpleasant, some make less money but are fun.

Sometimes you bite the bullet and bend your personality to make room for a prosperous product. I pretended--no, convinced myself--that I was terribly interested in sports, whereas up to the moment that sports cards started selling, I'd been marginally interested in football and that was about it.

As I've said so many times, if you run a business you have to accomplish one of two things--either having fun or making money.

If you're not having fun and not making money, then you will quickly burn out.

And as I've also said so many times--as a corollary to the above--burn out is almost as big a danger for small business as not making enough money to survive. (Of course, not making money isn't fun, so they go together.)

Eventually I started eliminating things that were unpleasant and I didn't enjoy even if they sometimes would have been profitable to do so. Trading and buying off the street is the most notable example. Concentrating on carrying product instead of promotions and events. That kind of thing.

The things that made the bookstore fun to go to everyday, not the things I dreaded.

All of which is to say, now that I'm writing all the time, I'm finding the same thing is true.

It makes no sense to do things that are so unpleasant that it discourages me from writing. Promotion, mostly, but other things that most writers would say you should do.

The difference, unfortunately, between my bookstore and my writing is that my bookstore has a platform. We are on a "high" street, as the British would put it; a busy foot-traffic area where I have a built in audience. The foot traffic grew in concert with the rent, so it was manageable. So all I have to do is be where I am, pay the higher rent, and I get enough business to survive.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find an equivalent "high street" platform in writing. Most of the ways you get noticed in writing require huge efforts at self-promotion. Which I hate. Which I  hate so much that if I was required to do it, I'd rather quit writing altogether.

The other possibility is to try to hook up to an agent or mainstream publisher--but you lose so much control, you are so much at their mercy, that it is extremely unpleasant for me. I've had over 35 years of doing what I want. Sending something off to the void and being a supplicant to the powers of others has become almost impossible for me. 

The other thing I did at the store, as mentioned above, is concentrated on filling it with content. Books, books, and  more books. As much product--good product--as I could cram into the space. I learned a long time ago, the more product I had, the higher the sales.

So, in theory, I'm concentrating on writing a lot, in hopes that the more I write, the more I sell. (So far, that doesn't seem to be true, unfortunately.)

So I'm more or less tailoring my writing process to the same kinds of things. Going walking helps? Then go walking. Going into the bedroom and putting a pillow over my eyes and letting my mind wander helps? Then do it. Writing blogs to get the juices flowing, then do it.

The time of day I write, what I write, how I write it, how fast or slow, how much research, how much re-writing, how much time between drafts--all tailored to fit what is most comfortable for me.

Because in the end, what I really care about is writing my stories.

So that's what I do.

There is a certain assertiveness to writing.

There is a certain assertiveness that comes with writing.

You have a vision in your head, you describe that vision the way it comes to you as clearly as you can without any tricks. Just that.

That's the story.

Take it or leave it.

In other words, second guessing while writing isn't useful. It blurs the vision.

That isn't to say you can't make changes. The changes also have to be assertive.

It's amazing how often I ignore the little doubting thoughts and go ahead and write something and find that it's just fine. Sometimes it's better than fine.

It's the sureness of voice the reader picks up on. This is a confident voice, one that knows the story its telling. This is what happened.

What happened may not be interesting to you. It may not happen fast enough. But you have to give it proper respect. The story is what the story is.

Now then...

Once the story is down, then you can fuck with it all you want. There are so many ways that a thing can be said, and sometimes you can improve on it.

But I've found that sticking to my original assertive voice is usually best. Smoothing it out is fine. Adding or subtracting is fine. But changing the voice, changing the way it is told too much, and it looses all cohesiveness.

You have to allow the confidence of the story to manifest.

The enthusiasm level is what chooses next to write.

It took me 4 days to write the first 30K words of "Fateplay." (I've gone back to this title, rather than "Time In/TimeOut, because I like the sound of it.)

It's taken me 23 days to write the next 30K words.

I'm feeling my way and it's slow. I've spent entire days just trying to eke out 1000 words. I'm not writing until something clicks, but I'm also not letting up until something clicks. But I'm sticking to it, I'm going to finish. At 60K words it's a "book" even if I just tack on an ending.

After my initial excitement, I've cooled on its prospects. I still like the book quite a lot, but there are a couple of problems built into the beginning that if I had it to do over again, I'd change. I've even thought of simply putting it aside and re-writing it with what I know now, but boy would that require a lot of discipline.

Does the book have enough heft to warrant that treatment? That is, would it significantly improve the story?

I dangled this idea with an agent and a publisher--100 "kick-ass" pages. No response. So that let a little of the steam out of my enthusiasm. If the book is for my own amusement, then I like it fine the way it is.

There are some thematic questions the novel raises that I don't really address, that if I was to do the end-to-end re-write I would be very conscious of. It would lend the novel some depth, but I'm not sure depth is what I'm after. I'm after fun and entertainment.

If I was going for depth, my model would be more "Brave New World" than "Ready Player One." I wikied BNW and was amazed by how little of the plot I remember. (Finding that to be true to a ton of novels--I remember almost nothing about them even though I know I've read them.)

As I always say, I discover plot by writing. Which means I often go down wrong roads and have to make up for it. Sometimes that works out fine, sometimes I write myself into a corner.

The other possibility that my re-write ideas are significantly different enough to warrant an entirely different novel altogether. A novel that would deal with the same subject (cosplay and Larping) but in a totally different direction.

With any novel there is a certain amount of enthusiasm for me to carry through to the end. I've started several novels that lost steam along the way and were abandoned halfway to two-thirds of the way through with the thought I'd come back to them. I never do.

The enthusiasm level is what chooses what to write. I never know until I've finished one book which idea I'll be most enthusiastic about next. I have at least three or four ideas that I think are strong enough for the next book. But I probably won't know which one I'll do until it starts appearing in my brain.

I still want to believe there are canals on Mars.

My current book is a seriously silly book. I can almost visualize most readers rolling their eyes.

But my twelve year old self is having a grand time writing it.

I think probably my first love is retro science fiction. It wasn't retro when I first read it. The Lensmen series, Heinlein, Asimov, Andre Norton, Jack Vance (the Great Jack Vance). Burroughs and Howard and Zelazny.

All terribly dated now. But so much fun.

I still want to believe there are canals on Mars.

As long as there is internal logic, anything goes. So, obviously, it wasn't really the science I was after--it was the adventure. The science just sort of gave it some kind of underpinning, but when fantasy came along (and believe it or not, it came along--it didn't much exist when I was younger) I realized I didn't need the science to have the adventure.

But I still like all the dressing of spacesuits and rockets and robots.

I've convinced myself of this fictional future I'm writing where everyone lives their adventure lives everyday by dressing up in Cosplay and going to Larping events. That holograms and VR are readily available and can produce anything the imagination can come up with, and that everyone has access to it.

The question of, if holo decks really existed and you could live in Middle Earth, why wouldn't you? has always been something I think of when I watch STNG.

This isn't a cyber future (is cyber still used as a term?) like Neuromancer and Snow Crash and Ready Player One, but more physical, more real, yet still containing all the elements of a completely fictional world.

It's nerd culture carried to its logical conclusion. Not just nerds and cosplay on weekends, but every day. Getting up and dressing as Aragorn and going to work, and meeting Elvis and Marilyn Monroe and Spock.

So it's silly, and I'm probably including too many retro references (not just the 80's like Ready Player One, but all the way back to the 50's and earlier, as far back at the black and white movies that played late nights on TV when I was a kid.)

I suspect no one will ever read it. I loved my little fantasy roadtrip, Faerie Punk, and it had a similar vibe, and absolutely no one picked that up, so...

But over the last few months I've moved irrevocably into the idea of writing exactly what I want without any regard whatsoever to what I think the marketplace will accept. No one knows that anyway.

Way back when I first started writing, I constantly included anachronisms in my stories, and was told by everyone, writer's groups and teachers and friends and professionals, that I couldn't do that. I didn't understand why not.

Over the 25 years I didn't write, this became not only acceptable, but standard. I was ahead of my time, dammit.

But even now, I probably mix it up more than is acceptable. I mean, I don't mix it up more than Zelazny did in Lord of Light, but he's Zelazny and I'm McGeary, and...well, who am I to be messing with things.

Actually, I'm probably caught somewhere in-between. I venture off the path, but maybe not as crazily as would make it truly effective.

Anyway, it's happening, and I'm having a great deal of fun. It probably is such a hodge-podge of my own particular tastes that no one else is going to like it. Except Linda. Bless Linda, she likes what I write. 

Fanboy paradise.

The writing of "Time In/Time Out" seems to be mostly about maintaining tone.

Linda's comment when I said this: "Aren't all stories?"

Well, yes, I suppose but that isn't usually the first thing I think about when I write a book. Plot, characters, action; all kinds of things come to mind first.

With this book, the first concern is the keep the breezy, irreverent tone, the character's voice. Zachary Spence, otherwise known as the mysterious Que, an average guy who also happens to be the world's richest man.

He's got to keep his humility at the same time he grows into the power he is given. What keeps him sympathetic is his ethical grounding, his always looking for the moral high ground, his unwillingness to simply buy what he wants.

It's probably stupid to have such a character--a guy who wins the lottery. I suspect that publishers get this kind of fantasy all the time.

But at the same time, plot-wise, it opens the story up to anything I can conceive of. The fact that so much is at stake, that anything can happen.

I make a comment in the book about how limitations are what make art, with the example of George Lucus and the first Star Wars and how his limited budget and the state of special effects forced him to make decisions that benefited the story.

And yet, here I'm doing the opposite. It's twenty years in the future, Que and the other characters have unlimited resources, and so if I can imagine it, it can be done.

Which is very freeing and fun. Wish-fulfillment in a big way. Fanboy paradise.

At the same time, though, I'm bringing a lot of writing experience to this book so I think the plot and all is working.

At least, I'm having fun imagining it all. 

A little research goes a long way.

"TIme In/Time Out" continues to surprise me.

I want every chapter to click. Which means that I'm not writing if nothing clicks.

What seems to be happening is that a few days pass, but when I do finally click I write more than usual, so it almost evens out.

I have five Larping scenarios to write.

I woke up this morning with one of them firmly in mind. Completely out of left field.

I recently read a book about the Eiger and mountain climbing and that's the scenario I woke up with. (Funnily enough, I was using the "random knowledge is helpful to a writer" point when I mentioned the book--to be followed by that exact thing happening.)

So spent four days not writing, but then came back yesterday with 4000 words, which makes up for at least one of those days.

This is a totally wish-fulfillment book, starting with the protagonist winning the lottery and going from there. I don't care. It's loads of fun to write and hopefully that fun transfers to the page.

I'm not really as conversant with Larping or Cosplay or gaming as much as I probably should be to pull this off, but I decided by setting it 20 years in the future I can make up my own rules.

Plus I'll do some research when I'm done.

I'm listening to "Led to the Slaughter" and I'm amazed by how much historical detail is in the book. I mean, I don't remember over-researching it. A couple of pioneer accounts and some Googling. But it rings true.

In other words, a little research goes a long way. Imagination can do the rest. I don't have to be hanging off the side of Eiger to imagine how it feels.

Writers are such a strange mix of ego and uncertainty.

Four days of not writing and BOOM! The first page is ready to go when I wake up this morning, and by noon I've written 2500 words and I'm pretty sure that's not all.

"Time In/Time Out."

If I could count on this kind of inspiration every time I wait four days, I might use that as a technique. Heh.

Got the edits from Lara yesterday for "Shadows Over Summer House." I went through all of them yesterday. Took the whole day, but got it done. I've still got some editing of my own to do, but it's more or less ready to go. She found almost no structural problems to the book, which is unusual for me. Partly, I think, because I set aside the first 25,000 words and rewrote them from scratch, thus avoiding my early missteps.

So it's done and it reads well.

Thing is, I just sent a 125 page proposal for "Time In/Time Out" to the publisher I was intending to send Shadows to, so now I need to wait a week or two before I pile on.

This is my last hurrah with mainstream publishers or agents.

If these two books don't catch their attention, then nothing will. I mean, what the hell?

Listening to "Led to the Slaughter." Feeling like it's very solid, even good. Writers are such a strange mix of ego and uncertainty. 

After I'm done trying this last time to sell to the mainstream, I'm going to let things fly. Just put the stuff out I've finished, edit what isn't finished and put it out, write new stuff, put it out. No concern over timing or any of that. I've probably been too cute by half with all that. Mostly because I was concerned about stepping on my publishers' toes.

But at this point, Crossroad has told me the more books the better, and the other publishers have books that are already established, so I have a clear field ahead of me. 

Get on with the writing.

Maybe I really am a writer. Listening to audio of Led to the Slaughter.

My publisher for the Virginia Reed Adventures has done an audio book of "Led to the Slaughter."

It's been a number of years since I wrote that book, so it's an interesting experience. Linda and I are listening together, trying to catch mistakes so that they can be corrected before the audio is put up for sale. 

This was the first book out in this, my latter career. The book I chose to try to publish first, even if it was fourth book I wrote that year.

So I remember how diffident I was about the book. I mean, I thought it was good, but what do I know? I couldn't be sure.

It got a good response and excellent reviews.

I don't know if I've gotten more egotistical in the last few years, but my feeling about the book now?

It's good. It's very, very good.

It's as good or better than a lot of the books I'm currently reading by well-known authors.

The story of the Donner Party is inherently interesting, so it has that going for it. But my take on it is effective and believable.

And Virginia is a really wonderful character.

Maybe I really am a writer. 

Sending a book proposal.

First the first time in a long time, and probably only really the second serious attempt ever, I've sent book proposals off for "Time In/Time Out" to the only major publisher and only major agent I've had any real contact with.

I figure there is a 70% chance of no answer at all, a 20% chance of an outright rejection, and a 10% chance of a tepid interest. Heh.

But not sending it off at all would result in the same, so no harm and no foul.

I tend to write quirky genre novels, which are limited probably by being both quirky and genre. But this book I think has real commercial possibilities. It's got a strong premise and a breezy tone.

I sent the first 40,000 words and a synopsis.

I don't think I'm rushing it. These guys are looking for strong premises and commercial potential above anything else, and I think what I sent will either catch their interest...or not.

It is a bit of an impulse, but what I've learned about myself is--either I do it by impulse, or I have second-thoughts and don't do it at all.

I have, I think, a very realistic view of the publishing terrain, so I won't be disappointed, whatever happens. I won't take it personal. It's the way of the world.

New title: "Time In/Time Out"

I'm thinking of changing the title of my larping book to "Time In/Time Out."

I've never had a book do this before. A hugely strong first 30,000 words, written in 4 days, two days off, then another 10,000 good words off of the steam of that beginning in another 4 days.

But all the threads don't lead anywhere. They don't excite me. I like everything I've written a lot, but I feel like if I extend them, they'll weaken. It feels more like a duty to extend them.

Then again, the first 40,000 words are really the set up. The situation, the characters, the stakes, the world.

So it occurred to me on my walk to treat the next 40,000 words almost as a new beginning, a new story, if you will, using everything I've set up to drive to an ending.

New beginnings are always the best, and if a book is a series of new beginnings--at the same time it continues the basic premise--then it keeps up the excitement. It especially inspires me to write.

I'm even thinking of labeling Parts One and Parts Two with the tags "Time In" and "Time Out," and having the title of the book be "Time In/Time Out."

I've figured out a little trick to raise the stakes.

I have to do is coming up with 5 puzzle stories, or at least 5 different LARP scenarios, that the two sides have to play against each other, with the stakes raised with each game until at the end it becomes real life and death.

I'm thinking one per genre.

SF.
Fantasy
Horror
Noir
and...

What for the fifth? Maybe Steampunk? If I could pull it off, romance would be cool, but I'm not sure I know how to do that. Maybe give it a try, since each scenario will be like writing a short story.

Very cool.

I think I've got it.

Leaving perfectly good stories behind.

When a story comes to me I immediately start writing it.

When I came back to writing I told myself that I would write everything. I know that's unrealistic and impractical in real life, but amazingly, I've been able to mostly follow through as long as I write every day.

I also love first drafts. I love telling the stories to myself.

I do not love editing. I realize the necessity, and I've come to terms with it, but it always a cinch-my-belt moment to sit down and actually do it.

So when the stories come fast and furious, I'm finishing entire first drafts and then immediately jumping into the next story, and then into the next.

And the books I so loved writing sit abandoned, unedited.

The sad part is that I can edit a book about twice as fast as I can write one, so effectively, I could produce twice as many books if I just edited them.

But no, I'm so enamored with storytelling that I always give myself permission to do that first. I can always go back to editing, I tell myself, whereas the story that's scratching at my brain isn't going to wait around.

I hope I don't get hit be a truck before I have a chance to polish off all the stories I've accumulated.


Meanwhile:

"Fateplay" is more about mood and tone than anything else. The plot is coming slowly, chapter by chapter. Not sure where it's leading. But the characters feel engaging to me. I'm enjoying the interplay between them.

I want to avoid getting too cute. I don't much like that when I read it in other's fiction and I think it's an easy trap to fall into.

But then again, having them a little "cute" adds to the appeal. So that's a fine line.

When I start every day's writing session, it's the mood and tone that I call up. Then I'm trying to figure out how to get these charming folk moving around. Heh.

Why don't I care about awards?

It's weird, but I simply can't get interested in awards for either books or comics. My eyes glaze over instantly. I just don't care.

It's not a moral objection, I don't think. It's not because I doubt the accuracy of them. (Though I do. I suspect that in-crowd politics is the biggest factor.) It just seems superfluous, somehow.

I know that it would probably help sales at the store to pay attention, to be aware of who is "important."

But again, I just don't seem to care.

Same thing with bestseller lists. I ignore them.

I have a budget. By the time I've ordered the replacement books that I know I can sell, and added a few more books that I've always wanted to carry, there is little left in the budget. I almost never feel like wasting it on any current bestsellers.

I used to have the objection that new bestsellers, especially hardbacks, are discounted so heavily by places like B & N and Costco that having them at full price just makes us look bad. But...after a few experiments I found that I could actually sell them

Not a lot of them, but one or two. But these experiments were almost always books that caught my attention in some other way. Either reading a description of them somewhere or having someone ask for them.

In this case, my lack of interest might even help. Books rise to my consciousness because somehow they need to. If enough people mention Ready Player One or World War Z, then I'll go out and get it. Doesn't matter if they are on the bestseller lists, what matters is people want them. (I know, same thing--but there is a difference in approach.)

I've mentioned before that most indie bookstores seem to carry the same stuff--the ABA approved lists and bestsellers and heavily reviewed and contest winners.

How can I be right and all of them wrong?

I don't know. I just think individual curation is more valuable in the long run. Paying attention to what actually sells not what people tell you sells.

It seems to me to be foolish to spend almost all your budget on newer books that may or may not sell. Which may or may not be any good--no matter what the bestsellers lists and contests tell you. The same books everyone else has--books which more often than not have a snob appeal.

Meanwhile genre books that actually have a following are ignored.

But most importantly, it's not taking advantage of the history of books. You can pick books out that have a proven track record. Or books you've read. Or authors you like. Or books that have stood the test of time. Or books that have a cult following.

People off the street see these kinds of books and get excited.

If I've fallen off in my job it's from not being diligent about having all these types of books.

Not from missing out on award winners or books on bestseller lists.

Same thing with graphic novels. I pay some attention to awards just so I don't miss on quality stuff, but generally the quality stuff is apparent without the reminder of awards.

I will say, if I was a full-service bookstore, instead of books being a part of my business, I might have a different attitude.

I should also say that people don't necessarily come to us for books--we sell off the street to people who wander in, so having a great selection of great books is probably more important than having the newest bestseller--and admittedly, if I was a full-service store I'd probably be driven crazy by the constant lemming requests for the Big New Thing.

And I do believe if I could force myself to be interested, I could probably cherry-pick both the bestseller lists and the award winners.

If I can just force my eyes not to glaze over.

Writers love trivia.

Doing my daily hour walk in the high desert, surrounded by juniper trees.

I write a fair number of stories set in this terrain, and casually mention the juniper trees often. I mean, it's more specific than "trees" but not by much. It's it bit like saying Toyota instead of "car." It's more of a telling detail but not a lot more.

The thing is, though, that as I contemplate this, I realize I have an reservoir of knowledge about the juniper trees.

They are long living trees, over 1000 years in some cases. They suck up water, making it difficult for shrubs like bitter brush to survive, thus impacting on the deer population. Before homesteading in the high desert in the wet early part of the 1900's, the junipers mostly lived in high rocky places where the fires couldn't get them.

With land clearing and fire suppression, the juniper population took off, now covering 165% more territory. The wood isn't useful as firewood because it burns too hot. In fact, anyone who can find a really good use for juniper trees would have lots of material to work with.

Old growth junipers can be identified by having rounder tops, with dead branches poking up, with lichen covering the lower branches. Old growth is protected, but it would be good for the ecology of the area if the new growth could be curtailed. Old growth is important for the bird population.

So I know this off the top of my head. (I've lived in Central Oregon my whole life. I read placards at the foot of hiking trails every time I see them)

Here's the point I'm trying to make. At any point in a story any of the above facts can add verisimilitude and or telling detail to a story. I don't have to research this, it's just there.

I'm a fact gatherer, I love just scooping up info at random for no good reason. I read anything that grabs my interest whether it makes sense or not.

I'm currently reading a book about North Wall of the Eiger. I have no idea why. I'm not ever going to be a mountain climber. But...the first nine men who tried to climb the wall died. Why would you want to be the tenth attempt? For the first couple decades you had about a 50% chance of dying versus getting to the summit.

Thing is, I've written lots of stories where the characters are struggling with the elements--snow, heights, ect.

All this adds to the ability to write a story. Just these little random facts. As long as you don't go too crazy doing them.

I rely on my general knowledge to get me through the first draft because I don't want to have to stop my progress to look stuff up. That's a different part of the brain.

After I'm done, I do research, find out where I've got the details wrong, find new details that are pertinent, but it's rare that I'm so wrong I can't use what I've written with a little jiggering.

Anyway, my suspicion is that most writers are like this. General knowledge that they can dip into to add telling detail to their stories. Without these little bits of color, the story inevitably seems bland and generic.

There are more than enough bland and generic stories in the world.

Give us a little juice.

How much fanboy is too much fanboy?

The more I write "Fateplay" the more I realized it is hopelessly fanboyish. I'm not sure about the propriety of using so many licensed references--which, ironically, is the subject of the book in some ways.

It's probably also a little fanboyish as an older guy--I mean, I'm pretty hip to pop culture for someone my age. But I certainly don't have the reference landscape that, say, Sabrina, my mid-twenties manager, has. I can try to research that, but so much of it is inherent in one's history. Fortunately, in this day and age things don't really disappear, but just become added upon. Star Wars is still out there. LOTR's, ect. big as ever, but what I'd like to do is find some just barely recognizable pop culture references from the last few years.

The trick is to have enough cool references to let people feel like they're hip to know them, but not so obscure that it is all meaningless jargon.

Cthulhu is probably a good reference point. Far too big in nerd culture to ignore, and yet the mainstream population still seems to be mostly ignorant of what it is. So I think things like Cthulhu are probably on the borderline, which is where I want to be.

But I'm pretty sure I mustn't pander. That it all has to be genuine.

Whatever happens, I'm enjoying the hell out of writing it.


The other thing about this book is that is proves once again that there is no routine way to write a book, even for me.

This started off with a few paragraphs in my mind as I woke up. (I'm not sure what this phenomenon is--it really doesn't come from dreams, it's just as if my unconscious mind has been at work and offers it up.)

It exploded into a ten hour day of writing, or 9500 words. The next day was almost as strong, about 8500 words. The third day was another 6500 words, and the fourth was 4000 words before I hit a wall. The second half of the day I couldn't think of a thing.

Worked the next day, and the following day I still had nothing. So after that fast start I had two unfruitful days.

I had a vague notion yesterday and struggled to write a chapter, coming in at 2500 words.

Then woke up this morning with a bunch of ideas for the next few chapters.

So who knows how this works? About the only thing I can do is be diligent. Leave myself open to when it happens.

Writing too fast?

I usually impose a 2000 word limit on writing. If I do 1000 or 3000, that's fine, it all evens out. I just try to make sure that I do that almost every day. To me, that isn't an extraordinarily high number, especially if I devote the entire day to it.

I came on this number after a lot of hit and miss. Basically, I decided that it was a productive number and also rested the creative brain for the next day.

But every once in a while a book explodes out of the gate and I just grab on and ride it to wherever it wants to go. There is no sense not letting inspiration take over when it comes along.

So with this new story, "Fateplay," I wrote nearly 30,000 words in four days. I'm not sure that's the fastest I've ever written, but it's up there.

Thing is, to me it reads just as well as my slower written material--if not better. The excitement, the forward momentum shines through.

Two things help. It's a first person story and it's told sequentially. What usually fouls me up in a story is getting the plot timing all sideways and backward. Writing from a first person perspective usually keeps this from happening. Writing from first person is just easier somehow, you're inhabiting the main character and just letting things flow.

Of course, it needs some editing, but no more than usual I believe.

In other words, I don't think writing this fast is a bad thing unless I'm forcing it. I'm trying to be careful about not forcing it. I want it all to feel fresh and in the moment.

I had to work the store yesterday, so didn't write a word. I'm not upset by it. I had reached a natural break point. But if this book gets entirely written in 10 days or something like that I'm not going to freak out about it.

Then again, I may get blocked and I'm not going to freak out about that either.

The story is what the story is.

Once again, there are some basic plot problems that arise from the original premise that don't become apparent until I'm well into the book. It's rare that I don't have these kinds of second thoughts. But I'm not messing with it. To me, it reads really well. It's only when I intellectually pick it apart that I see the problems.

Four big problems I see:

1.) the main character wins the lottery--big bucks, which he invests into Larping conventions.

Winning the lottery is kind of lame as a story device, and yet--it's really what made it fun to write. The "what if" daydreaming side of it really propelled the first part of the story.

2.) The basic McGuffin is that the good guys and bad guys are fighting over control of---control over a corporation. Over stock shares, essentially. Which is super lame. But there are bigger stakes.

3.) the plotting is a little awkward, a little live scene I added to the front, then the "telling" of his winning the lottery and what he does. Then he meets his mentor, and all the stakes are revealed, and then he has a chapter where he remembers meeting each of the five biggest shareholders, one after the other. Intellectually, almost none of this works. But I think it reads really well. Maybe I'm just kidding myself.

4.) the story involves cosplay and larping, and while as a comic shop owner for so many years I have a bit of awareness of this world, it really isn't MY world. I've set the action 15 years in the future so that I have some leeway with my imagination, but I'm going to need to delve into this world when I'm done writing to add to the verisimilitude.

These are doubts I'm shoving to the side and pressing forward.

Why? Because I'm having so much fun. That has to mean something. 

Blowing through this book.

23,500 words in three days.

But yesterday I definitely hit a wall in the afternoon. Wracked my brains for another story thread but nothing came. Lay down and napped three or four times, wandered around asking myself questions, went to sleep last night puzzling over it, hoping to prime some dreams.

The story started off so fast and breezy that it's a little alarming for it to screech to a halt.

Part of it is that the further into a story, the more the needs of a plot dictate what you write. You can't just go off half-cocked and see where it leads as much.

But today I'm going to try to recapture the tone and not worry so much about the plot. The tone basically comes from the characters, so I just need them to lead the way. But I don't want to force it. It needs to be inspired. If I have to wait a couple of days, so be it.

Later:

Took and shower and Bamm! The ideas started flowing. There's a moment when something just "clicks," when you know you've got it.

It's a mystery.

So the next section of the book is pretty much figured out.

From the beginning premise, I more or less set up five Herculean tasks for the hero, but I've already blown through four out of the five and I'm only a third of the way through the book. I was going to pull a little trick and have the last task fragmented into another five tasks, and I'll probably still do that, but the next section is a bit of a detour. An interesting detour, hopefully, that brings in the larger theme of the novel so that it will have sufficient impact at the end.

But most importantly, I'm looking forward to writing it, that inner excitement to signals a fruitful writing session.