Getting Organized

While I was eager to get back to forging ahead with "Resistance," I had to pause this morning for research and getting organized. A couple of ideas about how the world of the future that forms the backdrop for my story came to the state it is in. It's the year 2070, and the action takes place in a city rising from the ashes of destruction. An island of civilization has grown up in the middle of a vast urban wasteland. I knew I wanted to do this from the start, but I needed to figure out what cause a thriving city to be devastated on a scale wide enough to cause a city to be deserted. Once I solved that problem with a touch of inspiration and a bit of research, I had another problem to tackle.

This new city was built one ten-square-mile sector at a time, starting with the central business district and pushing outward with surrounding sectors. Beyond this re-civilized area is the No Zone, not yet revitalized and full of danger and mystery. Anyway, the characters refer to locations by sector number. In several cases, I had already written about the proximity of No Zone perimeters in some scenes, but I had to determine how the sectors were numbered in order to reference them. I first drew a map and then built a table in a Word document to use as a guide. With that task done, I then went back through the manuscript to adjust any references to addresses by sector number, block number, and unit number. Nothing in this fictional city I'm creating has a name. It's all numbers, which is logical in a way when you think about police and firefighting services.

But now I face a new problem. There are rules for how to represent numbers in a manuscript, and here I have created uses for numbers that don't exist in the real world. How to do this properly is going to take more research, or at the very least, careful editing to make sure I do it consistently.

Now, back to writing.

Dark and Gloomy

One full reading of "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" under my belt now, and I think I will probably do one more. At first there seemed to be a lot of corrections, but actually it isn't so many, about a page and a half.

Back to work on "Resistance." Strangely, I find I am having to force myself a bit, in spite of all the pent-up ideas I have to go with. Maybe it's partly due to the situation Dee finds herself in--pretty gloomy. She's gone out on a limb to do the right thing, taking a huge risk in her entry into a different world, and suddenly she feels abandoned. Unfortunately, things will get darker before the storm is over. If that's the reason for my mood, then the best thing is to get her through it sooner rather than later. And there's this little voice inside my head telling me to use my feelings to create the emotion in the story.

So whose mood is this, anyway?

Wouldn't Ya Know It

Bursting at the seams with ideas for "Resistance" and guess what happens? The galleys for "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" are ready to proofread. I've already started on that. I don't think I'll be able to stop from getting down a page or two in "Resistance" at the same time because all the new ideas are really good. I keep adding notes at the end of the manuscript so I don't forget anything, but I do want to do some actual writing on it.

Over the weekend, I submitted my application for Glen Ellyn Library's Book Fest 2013, so this morning, I made up a packet with a brochure, business card, and a copy of "The Changeling Kill" along with the $25 application fee and took that over to the library. I went to this event last year, but it sounds like there'll be more indoor activities this time around. Not a bad thing for me. Once I receive confirmation, I'll post more details about the event.

One of the events they have at Book Fest is a pitch session. Last year, I didn't prepare for it but joined in anyway. The no-prep option was a bad way to go. This year, I plan to prepare, write up the text, rehearse and time myself. And hopefully, I'll have a lot of books to sell there.

Boom!

Great stroke of inspiration last night led to some frantic revisions this morning before starting back on "Resistance." Not only did the inspiration solidify a major facet of the future worldview I'm creating, it also serves as the means for Dee to contribute to the quest for the truth. Naturally, her next moves will lead her into deeper trouble.

Just as I was writing that first paragraph, I was thinking about the final big scene and how it will have to change from its original form in the old manuscript, and BOOM! Another idea came to me about how to crank it up some and utilize the features of the future. I do love it when the story takes over and invents itself with only scant thinking on my part. At this rate, I'll have a new first draft ready in another week or so.

Throwing Dirt

"Resistance" is now up to 43,000 words and counting. Having reached a turning point, where Dee's alliances and aims are shifting with her increased understanding of what's going on around her, it's time to add new conflicts.

Arline Chase has often quoted author and friend Carla Neggers on the subject of plotting, and I'll quote from Arline's blog: "...you create a character, then you put them in a big hole and throw dirt in on them. Every time they try to climb out (temporary triumph), you throw more dirt (obstacles), until the arrival of what Carla calls the 'big gloom' when it appears that there is no way out of the hole at all." 

Dee has reached a temporary triumph so now it's time to throw some dirt on her. She's feeling that triumph, a little powerful and ready to fight back, but her eagerness to do so will make the ride of the journey she's on rougher. Her budding relationship with Reese hits a few snags (which also help to define his character more) and the bad guys are about to take stronger measures to make sure Dee doesn't mess up their plans. She'll wind up longing for the good old days when she knew nothing, expected nothing, and stayed focused on her own survival. She'll question her own motives and weigh the gains and potential losses that come from her decisions, ones made already and ones to be made ahead. There's more action coming up, too. 

Originally, this story was to be the start of a series, and it might still be. I had a sequel mostly finished and some thoughts on a third. I think after my effort to sell the first book via an agent fizzled, and after three or more rewrites in that effort, I just couldn't bring myself to do anything more on it right away. Recently, though, a new twist, i.e., setting it in the future, inspired me to give it another go. I hope it's worth it, because I really like these people and the concept of their ongoing quest. 

Time will tell.

Giving in to Distractions

I reached a point in "Resistance" yesterday where I knew I had to relay a lot of information between my two main characters but I wasn't sure about the order of things. After floundering around for a while, unable to make a solid decision, I chose to back off and do something else which often proves to be the remedy for these instances.

Earlier in the month, I bought a book by an author I learned of through Twitter and her blog. I started reading it after I downloaded it, but then I got distracted by my own stuff. I figured it was time to go back and finish it. After a quick run through the earlier chapters to refresh my memory of what I'd already read, I kept going. I was almost done when I stopped last night and finished up this morning. Then I wrote a review.

Reviews. An author wants them because readers often rely on them in making choices of what to read. These days, it's so much easier to get a lot of opinions about a book, and not just from big-time professional reviewers. I imagine other writers look at them the same way I do, eager to see absolutely everyone praise their work as the best they've ever read. When writing a review, I'm also plagued by the idea that if I say something too negative, the writer will turn right around and give a nasty review to one of my books out of spite. It's a throwback to a childhood fear of standing up for one's self, of being the one to cast the first stone. The adult, intellectual me understands that not everyone will like my works, and I assume everyone else understands that I may not necessarily like what they do. In short, bad reviews are gonna happen.

And then I go back to wishing someone would write a review of one of my books and post it on Goodreads or Amazon where people can see how much they loved my work, automatically assuming that they did love my work. I think it must be some kind of writer's disease.

Feeling the Pull

While progress continues on "Resistance," I feel a pull to other things as well.

Promotion. I'm still playing with the idea of a contest. People who have read, or want to read, "Two Faces, Two Faced" answer some quiz questions. Three winners would be chosen to receive a free ebook of "Game Faces," the sequel. I have the rules and the workings of it more or less laid out, but I keep hesitating to implement it. Perhaps it's just a matter of fearing that no one will enter. Anyone out there care to express interest in this? Advice?

Also on the promotion front, I've had several leads from people about doing appearances at libraries and book clubs in the area, but I have yet to follow through. I also wrote up a list of local libraries that I intend to contact with information about my books and my willingness to come and sign books or talk with people. I need to get more organized . . . or disciplined maybe.

I'm at kind of a knotty point in "Resistance" just now, having gotten past the turning point where the clues that have been piling up must now veer towards revelation and resolution. Being that I'm reworking an old manuscript, I have lots of scenes to choose from. It will just be a matter of picking the best of them to get the story told.

Time to get back to work on something . . .

"Resistance" and "Dabblers"

Back to writing "Resistance" this morning with a lot of progress made already. I also resolved some issues I had, things that were bugging me to get fixed. A good example is what to call the next generation of cell phones? Since I'm writing a few decades into the future, technology should have advanced a fair amount, and I wanted to name a device that indicated more than just a phone. Actually, what we think of as cell phones is already pretty advanced. I came up with a Universal Connection Device, referred to as a UniCon. It connects to people like a cell phone as well as to the Internet and just about anything else. People use them for everything in my future world, an idea which I know I need to embellish more in the manuscript. That's something for the editing phase, though.

In other news, as they say, a review of "Dabblers" appeared on Windy City Reviews on Friday, and a very nice review it is, too. I am humbled by the praise implied by words like "compelling," The same review should appear soon on Amazon and Goodreads, and I'm eager to find out how many stars go with it.

Turning Point

A pivotal scene in "Resistance" is underway, and at 38,000 plus words, the book is about half finished. I also went back to earlier sections to embellish with details that help set the scene of the story, a few decades from now in a city on its way back from desolation. While I know this sort of thing has been done before, a return to the crumbling ruins of human civilization, it's just my setting. How it got that way isn't really the issue at hand, but the fact that some of the untamed areas still exist is important, both in the plot and as a symbol. To get into that now might reveal too much, though.

In an earlier post, I pointed out a "Gotcha" in which the transposition of two letters from one sentence to the next made a huge difference of meaning but would be undetected by computer editing software. This morning, I found similar example.

The fair would cost too much.
The fare would cost too much.

The first one indicates an event would be too expensive; the second references the fee charged for transportation. Both spellings are correct, and both are grammatically correct. In the middle of a story, one or the other would be wrong. Only careful proofreading by human eyes would catch this, the right choice of fair/fare depending on the context.

This "Gotcha" almost got me today!

The Importance of Setting

Finally, a day without outside interruptions to writing! Spent most of the morning adding and reworking scenes to "Resistance," and it's approaching a major turning point. There's a lot of satisfaction in doing this, as I always did like the story line and the characters. Perhaps it will finally be published.

One problem I have encountered is the issue of creating the setting. Since it takes place in the not-too-distant future, I wonder if I have established that well enough. Enough advances in technology? Differences in society? If they are enough, are they too subtle? The set-up is what makes the conflicts possible, but if it isn't substantial enough for the reader to feel he or she is IN the story, it won't work.

An example of the importance of setting comes from a book I read long ago which did the job perfectly. "Lady," by Thomas Tryon, took place in a small New England town in the 1930's and 40's. That setting was vital to the secret the protagonist was about to uncover. When I read the novel, I was so swept up in the place and time that when the big reveal came, I was shocked. Yet if the story had been set forty or fifty years later, it wouldn't have been a shock at all. While I'm not out to deliver a shock like that in "Resistance," creating the proper setting is still crucial. Not just having the proper setting, but making sure the reader gets into it, surrounded by it, living in that world. If I can't succeed at doing that, then the story has no impact and might not even be understandable.

If there are any obstacles to this much-rewritten book seeing the light of day, it's this issue. Writing it takes long enough that it becomes difficult to gauge how I'm doing. Hopefully, all will become clear when I begin the editing process.

Who's Who

Had an appointment late this morning, so I haven't gotten a lot of work done on "Resistance" today so far. I'm eager to get back into it this afternoon, though. While pulling entire scenes from the older version of the book saves some time, I'm also dealing with the plot line changes. Some scenes are being shifted in the time line as well.

For the sake of references in future posts, I'm going to introduce the lead characters in "Resistance."

Deanna Kirkland - My first person point of view character. She's a computer tech-y, single, living alone, very unsure of herself in many ways. She invents fantasies in her head for amusement, well aware that they're not real. She longs to do something as exciting and important as she daydreams about, but there are reasons why she feels that is hopeless. Of course, the situation she gets into may lead her to reevaluate herself.

Reese Ballard - A quirky sort of guy with a highly unusual job and colorful background. It's through him that Dee's life takes dramatic changes.

Walter Wolfson - Senator Wolfson, whom Dee works for and who is at the center of a dangerous scandal.

Andy Shelborn - Wolfson's right-hand man and a handsome snake.

Teresa Santiago - Dee's best friend, also works in Wolfson's offices. She thinks Dee makes up too many fantasies and might have forgotten how to keep them separate from reality, especially in regard to Dee's unwitting involvement in a murder.

There are more, but telling about them here would require revelations of the story line and perhaps some spoilers. Besides, I want to get back to the story...

The Dreaded Gerunds

I had an early doctor's appointment today, but then I got right back to work on "Resistance" when I got home. Then I totally lost track of the clock. Yesterday, I started adding to the manuscript at page 102. It's now past 134. To be fair, I'm lifting sections out of the manuscript's previous incarnation, but since so much about the setting has changed, inserted sections must be reviewed and edited to fit.

This morning in particular, I inserted a scene and the review process made me realize how much my style has changed (improved?). I put sentences together differently now, even beyond the changes inherent in the first-person style of a different character. I noticed a lot of occurrences of "was" that could be spiffed up with better verbs that also serve to make the action more immediate and less like the telling of a story in the past. It's a subtle difference. Here's a sample:

Part of my brain was screaming warnings that this was crazy, that I was taking a terrible chance, but the other part was sort of euphoric at doing something so daring.

One sentence and the word "was" appears four times! It also comes off as a step away from the scene, like an aside to the reader, breaking up the flow. Here's the same thing as rewritten. 

Part of my brain screamed warnings about danger and taking such a crazy risk, but the other part won out with a wild euphoria over the chance to join him in his mission.

I'm not sure if that fully illustrates the point, but at least the word "was" has been banished completely and the "-ings" reduced from six to two. Too many gerunds always catch the negative attention of editors. It might seem natural in the way people normally speak, but it can become repetitious and annoying to the reader. I think the revised sentence says the same thing but in a more lyrical way and seeming less like narration. 

Excited

Had some errands to run this morning, but now I'm back into "Resistance." I had a lot of good ideas over the weekend and can't wait to get them down in words. First, though, there's a bit of tweaking to do in what I've already written, but I expect to make HUGE forward progress then. The future world I've been creating keeps changing in subtle ways, as well as some of the motives. Each change I think of feels right, though.

I know I need to get back to the promotional arena soon, but right now, I'm just too excited about "Resistance." In fact, I want to get back to it right now!

Busy Day

I wish I had more time to write today, but I have company coming this weekend and so have to do all that housework I normally put off in favor of writing the rest of the time.

"Resistance" is coming along really well. I've started thinking of it as a futuristic murder mystery romantic suspense novel. Okay, so maybe it's hard to categorize. In its original incarnation, there was already a sequel underway, but of course, now that's all changing. Guess I'll have to see where this one leads. I've added some facets of my main character that create some conflict for her in the future world I've created, in addition to the murder mystery and her introduction to a different view of how human society functions. At the beginning, she's like every other ordinary citizen, clueless to the forces that control her world. The murder peels back the curtain for her a peek, and then she'll be swept behind it, no longer sure what's real.

In a departure from my previous style of first-person point of view, I've decided to lighten up on my rule about using conjunctions in narrative. Lately, I've read books by other authors and have noticed that maybe it's not that big of an issue. I'm still using them sparingly, mainly when doing so improves the rhythm of a particular sentence, makes it more natural. And of course, conjunctions in dialog aren't at issue. That being said, I still find it irksome when I look at a page of print and see all those apostrophes. It just looks messy to me. But I can go with the flow.

Now I'm eager to give myself a little writing time before I start getting ready for company tomorrow.

New Energy

Halting work on "The Janus Rule" to work on a different novel, working title "Resistance," has proven to be a tonic for my writing lethargy. Of course, I already have a fully-developed manuscript to start with, but a great deal of it must be changed in order to move it into the future. This creates an interesting challenge and a whole new spin in anachronisms.

Example. Characters in the original ms used modern cell phones frequently, which I had previously updated to incorporate web surfing and such as that became available in "real life." But now that the action takes place a few decades beyond today, I thought I should step that up. The idea behind this newer version is to extrapolate on current culture and trends and speculate on what the future looks like. Now, instead of cell phones, characters use Personal Palm Computers, or P.P.C.s, that do everything from make calls to surfing the Internet. In another place, the old story had a man reading a newspaper on the bus that another character noticed a story on. Newspapers don't seem to fit in my future worldview, so that required a change. I'm sure I'll run across more but I also want to retain enough of the familiar real world of today to not overwhelm the reader with explanations of what new things are.

Along with technological advances, though, there are cultural changes as well, and those lead into the central plot action. My POV character is just an ordinary citizen who discovers a crime scene, but it's no ordinary crime scene and opens the door to a new understanding of how the world really works. That's as much as I can divulge at this juncture, although I may let some hints slip out in future posts.

At this rate, I should have a completely revised manuscript rather quickly, and perhaps, finally, this story will finally find a publishing home.

My Fickle Muse

I think I might have Attention Deficit Disorder or something. I have been working on restructuring "The Janus Rule" and I thought it was going well. Then I bogged down. As I moved segments of text around and tried to maintain the proper sequence, my lack of an overall plan became a major obstacle. Where is this going? How can I determine what order events should happen in if I don't know where it all leads? Without a vision for the Big Scene, I can't make any concrete decisions. I'm an organized person by nature, and the lack of any basis for organizing offends me. Discouraged, I broke off for the day and tried to get a handle on it.

As I perused the Web later, I came across a timely (for me) article on one of the blogs I follow. Author Marla Madison's article about "Summer Slump" certainly resonated. Here's the link: http://marlamadison.blogspot.com/2013/07/summer-slump-7-ways-writers-can-survive.html
While the article does not suggest as much, three items sort of combined in my head--try something new, plan the next project, and keep writing. What came out of that was to put "The Janus Rule" on a brief vacation and hit on one of the future projects I had in mind.

I'm going back to a book I wrote some time ago about a murder in political circles, a conspiracy to cover it up, and the quest to blow the whistle. The manuscript eventually found an agent willing to shop it around, but it never found a home. A comment from one publisher resonated with me. "Another corrupt politician in Chicago? Big deal." The book went through a couple of rewrites, trying to warp it into more romantic suspense or suspenseful romance or something, but no cigar. The agent and I both gave it up and went our separate ways.

Now for the reboot. The story is now going to be set in the not-too-distant future, and there is more to it than the cover-up. I came up with a sort of pitch line for it yesterday afternoon:  Change comes slowly to human society. It creeps in while no one is looking and insidiously incorporates itself into the fabric of everyday life, accepted without question or resistance, until one day, no one remembers what changed. Once I had that down, I couldn't wait to get started on it.

Which I have. Its title goes with the last incarnation of the manuscript, and I think it might still work. My one reservation is that there is a nonfiction book out with the same title. Perhaps it's not that much of a problem, but I feel uncomfortable with it. For now, I'll give it a new working title of "Resistance."

Restructuring Almost Done

Almost done with the restructuring in "The Janus Rule," and I'm feeling better about the pacing and flow of events. The way it was before, too much happened all in one day. While in some situations that might work, in this case it all hit me as somewhat improbable, even beyond what one can excuse in the name of fiction. I know I'm going to have to go over it all very carefully to check for anachronisms that may have been introduced, bits of dialog or thoughts that refer to events before they happen in the new order.

Today and tomorrow on Goodreads, I've set up a Q&A group for discussion of my books. No takers yet although two people have signed up for the group. Ah, well . . .

Still working on some library promotions, however, and waiting for a review of "Dabblers" to appear on Windy City Reviews and Amazon. I also started reading a novel which I pick up from time to time when I have time.

Getting Down and Catching Up

With the holiday weekend over, it's time to get back to it. This morning, I started looking at "The Janus Rule" to see how to fix the problem I found last week, i.e., things progressing too fast. Doing this revision now may help solidify the vision for the rest of the book too. The main problem is that, as I read over what I've written, I like some of it so much that I resist changing it. I guess it's good in a way.

On the promotional front, I received an excellent review for "Dabblers" on its Facebook page, and I've added it to pages in my Google site as well as this blog. The full review will come out on Windy City Reviews and should also appear on Amazon and Goodreads. In an exchange of emails with the reviewer, I've also got some potential appearance opportunities ahead. In addition, another Write Words author and I have been discussing joint appearances at local libraries.

Tomorrow, I'll be hosting a Q&A session on Goodreads (that's Tuesday and Wednesday, July 9 & 10). Hopefully, other members will join in and ask questions about my novels. Goodreads is a great site for readers and authors, and I heartily encourage anyone who likes books to join. It's free and full of good information about books.

Talking with my husband yesterday, I mentioned that after this project, I have three more books on deck to be written. A third entry in the Windsong Lake series has a sort of working title, "Moonstone Manor." The other two will be reworks of earlier books, both with a science fiction feel. I don't write "hard" science fiction, loaded with technology and space battles. I'm more interested in putting characters in unusual circumstances in an exploration of what it is to be human, what drives us, what motivates us. Some call this "soft" science fiction, but what's in a name?

Uh-Oh

Yesterday, in the face of issues with where the story should go next, I paused to make a timeline document, nothing more than a list by day of the major events. In so doing, it became apparent that too much was happening on each day. Maybe not a problem on its face, but my nameless killer contacted a source who contacted a hired killer and the two of them met, all in one day. It comes off as improbable.

I can see I'm going to have to restructure "The Janus Rule" a bit for the sake of realism. Change the order of events, combine them, stretch out over more days, something. Not sure exactly what to do yet, so I'll be thinking about it over the long weekend.

Also anticipating galleys for "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" soon, which I will then begin to proofread. I already have some notes about errors I found in casual reading of it.

And I'm reading a novel at the same time, a mystery that came to my attention through Twitter, which I will review on Goodreads and Amazon when I'm done. I figure if I review books, maybe more people will reciprocate with reviews of my books. At least, I hope so.

Muse Takes A Holiday

At another of those spots where I'm not sure what's supposed to happen next, so I'm taking a short break, certain that if I do, it'll just come to me. That's how it usually happens at least. For some reason, the creative process can break down while seated at my computer. Then again, other times, things just start to flow.

These fits and starts can become very frustrating at times, but they have become the hallmark of the Jack Watson series. I think it's the multiple points of view that complicates it, as opposed to my other books which are first person, following a single thread. It's easier to stay in one character's head and view the story that way, but multiple POVs has its advantages too. Perhaps the problem lies in the fact that I'm not sure what the path ahead truly is. I have a few ideas for the big climactic scene but even that is still somewhat nebulous.

The long weekend will give me a good break over which to think things out. I have a lot to do in other areas besides writing, and I'd also like to enjoy some time with my husband while he's home. I've also started reading a novel which I purchased because of a Twitter post I read that sounded intriguing, which reminds me, I need to update my Goodreads book list to include it. I now keep a pad of paper at my elbow and write down stuff I need to do or check. And people told me I'd get bored without a regular day job!

Best Laid Plans

I sat down at my computer this morning with the plan to pound out a lot of pages on "The Janus Rule," but the great ideas I had in my head proved to be more difficult to put down. There are times where I will work out entire passages of dialog in my head, usually when I should be trying to get to sleep, and then forget the whole thing by morning, which can be very frustrating. I sometimes also think I have something well planned out only to realize it is still in the a formative stage. That's what happened today.

So Angel is investigating her case at the accounting firm, and my plan was for her to experience an encounter that would raise her suspicions about someone. It also involved her poking about an office of someone she already suspects, but I faced a dilemma of whether or not she should find something and if she did, would it exonerate that person or provide foundation for her suspicion? As I walked her through it, I found I kept changing my mind, mainly because it's time to get things moving, to get her onto some clues and maybe into a spot of danger. That was another of my big ideas--a little scene that will add another connection and also feature Angel's tough-as-nails side. It's got what I hope is a great line in it.

There was also the matter of doctoring earlier passages about her budding relationship to fit my new approach for her. All this added up to not producing the sort of output I thought I would. Such are the trials of being a "pantser."

Changing It Up

Generally, I don't do much "real" writing on weekends and holidays when my hubby is not at work, but I do a fair amount of thinking about it. I don't know that a serious writer can ever stop thinking about it. Anyway, an idea came to me over the weekend about "The Janus Rule" that resolved an issue I was having with the Angel Ortiz character. She's a tough lady and fiercely independent, and to have her pining over a man she just met sort of directed her character in a different direction. The idea was to have her meet this man and not be looking for a romantic entanglement. He's the one who is most worried about the rocky start of their relationship. So to incorporate this twist, I have to go back and examine anything about it that I've already written and make the necessary adjustments. 

Why not wait for the editing phase to do this, you might ask? One reason is that her character is still developing, solidifying in my mind. If I'm going to reevaluate her, the time to do it is now so that as I move forward with the plotting, it's based on who she is. The other reason is that if I wait for a full first draft to get done, there's a chance I might not address the changes carefully enough to avoid anachronisms or mixed messages. I could miss an important reference or decide her action in a scene based on her old persona must be rewritten to match up. This could cascade into other characters. 

My approach to writing is rather organic, and while I'm eager to have the story come together, I also don't want to rush it and do it badly. Editing is enough of a chore without having to keep an eye out for major elements like changing who a character is and making sure the changes all work.