Saturday, October 16, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Don't Plan on Inspiration, Plan on Plodding Relentlessly
So...what are you going to do with your future? Imagine yourself leaving a fertile mountain range to trek across a desert plain to another mountain range, that you hope is fertile. I did that, I made some mistakes, I adjusted, I learned. I'm doing those aforemention three, seems almost by the second. I'm still trekking. The other range of mountains isn't so hazy now. I'm sure there will be some last minute pitfall, "beelzebub has a devil put aside for me." A ravine into which everything could tumble might appear beneath my feet at the moment I reach the edges of the other side.
"We don't plan to fail, we fail to plan," said Harvey MacKay. I remember thinking that the muse would compel me to the writing desk. I would walk, hypnotized to the laptop and begin typing in a stream of consciousness, a masterpiece of universal renown. At the end, I would print it, call my publisher, who would overnight a SASE for my manuscript. Okay, not really, but very early on I was deceived by moods of inspiration and held them in too high regard. I thought I had to sustain these moods, like a dopehead thinks he needs a doobie to think clear. That slowed me down for years. I would only write when inspired. That was a bad plan. I was waiting...and if you are waiting for inspiration, you're not a writer, you're a waiter. My plans kept crumbling. I stayed in the foothills of my comfort, venturing on the edges with an outburst of inspiration once in a while. You can't plan on inspirational moods to drive you across the desert.
That was a long time ago now. I'm not an inspiration junkie now. I've been sober for a while. What you have to do is plod relentlessly across the barren landscape. Very simple. That's "the plan". Write. Write some more. Then ...write again. When you're done with that, write. <repeat> Then, amazingly, what happens is that when you fathom what you've done--a 409 page MS Word manuscript!--you get inspired, really inspired. You start to think that you're really going to pull this off. That your characters really are going to intrigue people, that the story will take the readers by the throat, heart and mind.
Doing this for the money is laughable. The odds are too great. What keeps me going is thought of giving the reader the emotions I had when reading a great book, or watching a great movie, something lasting, unforgettable. If someone tells me that, it will be worth it. I heard that the odds of writing a New York Times bestseller are slightly better than dating a supermodel.
So as Jim Carrey said in Dumb and Dumber, "So, you're tellin' me there's a chance...yeah!"
ART
"We don't plan to fail, we fail to plan," said Harvey MacKay. I remember thinking that the muse would compel me to the writing desk. I would walk, hypnotized to the laptop and begin typing in a stream of consciousness, a masterpiece of universal renown. At the end, I would print it, call my publisher, who would overnight a SASE for my manuscript. Okay, not really, but very early on I was deceived by moods of inspiration and held them in too high regard. I thought I had to sustain these moods, like a dopehead thinks he needs a doobie to think clear. That slowed me down for years. I would only write when inspired. That was a bad plan. I was waiting...and if you are waiting for inspiration, you're not a writer, you're a waiter. My plans kept crumbling. I stayed in the foothills of my comfort, venturing on the edges with an outburst of inspiration once in a while. You can't plan on inspirational moods to drive you across the desert.
That was a long time ago now. I'm not an inspiration junkie now. I've been sober for a while. What you have to do is plod relentlessly across the barren landscape. Very simple. That's "the plan". Write. Write some more. Then ...write again. When you're done with that, write. <repeat> Then, amazingly, what happens is that when you fathom what you've done--a 409 page MS Word manuscript!--you get inspired, really inspired. You start to think that you're really going to pull this off. That your characters really are going to intrigue people, that the story will take the readers by the throat, heart and mind.
Doing this for the money is laughable. The odds are too great. What keeps me going is thought of giving the reader the emotions I had when reading a great book, or watching a great movie, something lasting, unforgettable. If someone tells me that, it will be worth it. I heard that the odds of writing a New York Times bestseller are slightly better than dating a supermodel.
So as Jim Carrey said in Dumb and Dumber, "So, you're tellin' me there's a chance...yeah!"
ART
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Break Time is Over
In early August I completed the first draft of Part II after thirteen months. During the break I read two excellent fiction books: The Searchers by Alan LeMay and Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell. The most time-consuming thing has been laying the ground work for my Author’s Platform. During this time, I’ve been jotting notes in my little notebook about Part III and the book as a whole. I have one more project to complete before I start writing Part III: I need to read Part I and II back to back, it’s 402 pages. I need things fresh in my mind before I lead a 50,000 word charge into the climax of Part III.
When I finish writing Part III, I’m thinking I’ll rewrite the whole book having all things in mind as I go through it. I’ll set the whole book next to my computer and place my fingers on the keys and type it out again, adding and subtracting, buffing and shining until the end. This will be like having the 30,000 ft view at that point, I’ll finally have a grasp of the scope and depth of the book’s entirety that I have dreamed of having. I can foreshadow better, say things better, hint at themes, and solidify the premise so that every character, chapter, paragraph and word rings with authenticity.
This will also help me finally write an excellent synopsis and what the book world calls a “book trailer” …next time you’re in the book store read the back of the book, that’s ‘the hook’ …and that’s what I need to write to draw in the readers out there in the net world that I’ll be reaching with my Platform.
I have not lost one ounce of passion since I started three years ago, but that doesn’t mean I’m not intimidated by the goals I’ve set and grappling with this epic saga. I’ve had to revise things a bit. Realistically, I don’t think I can be finished until Spring of 2011.
Some time around then, I’ll begin to reveal more about the characters and story by putting up a more detailed back of the book snippet.
When I finish writing Part III, I’m thinking I’ll rewrite the whole book having all things in mind as I go through it. I’ll set the whole book next to my computer and place my fingers on the keys and type it out again, adding and subtracting, buffing and shining until the end. This will be like having the 30,000 ft view at that point, I’ll finally have a grasp of the scope and depth of the book’s entirety that I have dreamed of having. I can foreshadow better, say things better, hint at themes, and solidify the premise so that every character, chapter, paragraph and word rings with authenticity.
This will also help me finally write an excellent synopsis and what the book world calls a “book trailer” …next time you’re in the book store read the back of the book, that’s ‘the hook’ …and that’s what I need to write to draw in the readers out there in the net world that I’ll be reaching with my Platform.
I have not lost one ounce of passion since I started three years ago, but that doesn’t mean I’m not intimidated by the goals I’ve set and grappling with this epic saga. I’ve had to revise things a bit. Realistically, I don’t think I can be finished until Spring of 2011.
Some time around then, I’ll begin to reveal more about the characters and story by putting up a more detailed back of the book snippet.
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