Writers, editors, and self-help writing books all preach the same thing. Write, write, and write some more….then write a little more. On the first story/novel I was fresh to the whole thing and was super eager to do something. So I wrote 2000 words, 3000 words here or there. Momentum and tenacity sort of got me to my 49,820 words and an ending. On the one hand I was super stoked because I’d finished a story and in all honesty I’d rarely done that. I’d started a lot of stuff, but almost never finished anything. On the other hand I was bummed for two reasons. The first was because it was the typical story I always wrote and think of. There were no star wars references, no force, no swords but it was still a Star Wars clone. I changed the names to protect the innocent.
So fast forward three or four weeks and a myriad of starts and stops. Gothic vampire novel idea. Check. Uber cool Urban fanstasy. Check. Hip futuristic Cyberpunk concept. Check. All of these great ideas/concepts were no more than a page or two and I kept returning to this idea that I wanted to write a PI crime story. I read through Sue Grafton novels, and more Robert B. Parker books (I concentrated on the Sunny Randal series) and while I sorted through story idea I returned to one I’d started a few weeks earlier.
It was only a page and a half and crude as hell. I fixed up that page and a half and something clicked while I was doing it. Soon I was off. I realized a few things about my characters and about what makes a story good. Grafton and Parker both rely on the everyday, almost mundane, routine of their characters to spruce things up. A few conflicts here and there and suddenly the mystery is nearly in the back ground. We almost don’t care about it. I found this enlightening and amazing. I’ve tried to incorporate it in this story I’m working on.
I also toned down the characters. All of my characters are really nothing more than super heroes. Flawless and perfect. This time he’s not. Slightly larger than life? Maybe but not perfect. I’m also writing almost everyday. I’ve committed to at least 5,000 words a week and have broken that down to about 1,000 words a day. Never less. A couple of the days have been fairly rough and I’ll probably need to do a really good edit job but its been fun and I’m really feeling like the whole thing is coming together. When I manage to finish it I believe it’ll be the first story I’ve ever written that wasn’t either a sci-fi or a fantasy. I’m pretty excited about that.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Where to go from here?
So I’m still a little stuck with my desire to write. For the past several weeks I’ve started and stopped nearly half a dozen ideas. They seem great and then they peter out. The idea pops into my head and I take off. The first page, then two, then three all come flying across the screen as my fingers type at breakneck speed on the keyboard. I hit my time limit or the idea just fades and I’m left with three pages of a some what acceptable intro….and nothing else!
I’ve even had an outline or two. I’ve come up with a mystery or three that seems super-mega-cool only to sound flat and boring upon reflection. I’ve got characters galore but no one with any sort of depth. I live in a world of cardboard cutouts.
I did finally start a story though and while I have not gotten far it had a depth the previous attempts lacked….but it was a Western Fantasy! Do I even try to write this thing that should not be? Do you spend the time trying to write something that you know isn’t going to sell? Or is this simply my inner critic telling me, “You suck my friend. Get over it.”
I’m sticking with it for now, well because I’ve not had anything else plop into my head, but I still really want to write a mystery. I want to have that recurring character that everyone loves and I doubt there is much of a market for a cowboy fighting werewolves and vampires. (Unless of course Stephen King writes it…or Nancy A. Collins….or Charlaine Harris.)
Still, if I can give enough character to this cowboy of mine perhaps there is a market for it. If I can create such a sympathetic character that the world will want to know what happens to him then perhaps, I too, shall have my own HBO series! Dreams are good but perhaps I should have a bit more modest ones…..like oh I dunno FINISHING IT FIRST!!! Thanks for listening folks and may all your dreams come true.
I’ve even had an outline or two. I’ve come up with a mystery or three that seems super-mega-cool only to sound flat and boring upon reflection. I’ve got characters galore but no one with any sort of depth. I live in a world of cardboard cutouts.
I did finally start a story though and while I have not gotten far it had a depth the previous attempts lacked….but it was a Western Fantasy! Do I even try to write this thing that should not be? Do you spend the time trying to write something that you know isn’t going to sell? Or is this simply my inner critic telling me, “You suck my friend. Get over it.”
I’m sticking with it for now, well because I’ve not had anything else plop into my head, but I still really want to write a mystery. I want to have that recurring character that everyone loves and I doubt there is much of a market for a cowboy fighting werewolves and vampires. (Unless of course Stephen King writes it…or Nancy A. Collins….or Charlaine Harris.)
Still, if I can give enough character to this cowboy of mine perhaps there is a market for it. If I can create such a sympathetic character that the world will want to know what happens to him then perhaps, I too, shall have my own HBO series! Dreams are good but perhaps I should have a bit more modest ones…..like oh I dunno FINISHING IT FIRST!!! Thanks for listening folks and may all your dreams come true.
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