A Writer's Notebook, Day Sixty-Nine
First, I am over 50,000 words, a few days behind schedule, but feeling quite energized about the rest of the book. It is happening and each scene seems to be winding closer to the climax. As well, I can feel that elements from early in the book are going to return, things I hadn't thought about (indeed, I think I might need to add them in as touches throughout. I already believe that I need to add some scenes with a character who was in the beginning of the book, as I can sense that he will return, and that will only make sense if he has been seen again).
I really believe that I will have a reasonably good draft on my hands, and one that I can do a lot to shape up, without really too much trouble, as what I think is really needed in order for it to work is just a bit more. I have a lot of it dialed in, I think, but I need to keep some more action going, and that might mean adding in some bits with this character that also can serve to add some action sequences.
There is, of course, a great deal of work still to be done in finishing, but I feel very good about that, too. The end is in sight, and things are quickening in terms of that. Indeed, it is only because I recognized certain things already in the book that would imply, in some way, that the climax was not immediate, that it did not start in the scene today. A bit more is happening, and that will require a scene or two to unwrap and develop things.
A lot was hinted at in the direction of what is to come, and I know so many things that are about to churn out from the book, in a way that is really quite amusing to me. I feel really strange about it, since many of the things I like best now, are resulting from what seemed like a complete misstep at one point. A lot of writer's may think it best to get those mistakes out of the way, revising as they go, and a part of me felt that yearning, but I also see, now, that some of that is just fear, or lack of trust in one's own capacity as a writer. Not only in terms of writing out of a corner, but also in the question of whether a thing was actually planned.
This can happen in shorter work, of course, but in a long piece of this sort, well, it seems to really come out, as it is easy to just let things fly. The nature of a novel is such that it requires a lot to be included, and so this also means more that shows up in the book, and there is also a long enough ark that it can be surprising how those things are all folded together in the end. Part of what is to be considered and questioned, for me, in this, is the issue of what is truly random and what has been thought out, if only on a level I am not entirely sure of.
I also had a thought for my next novel, which I am hoping to write in November as a part of nanowrimo. The central idea is about a mashup of some current technology ideas with a sort of superhero universe, but not in the usual way where it is about the tech creating superpowers or something. It is possible that it has been done in some way, but I think this may just be part of the whole story. I have a feeling that it might just be that this is a book in which this is only a small aspect of a larger world, but I am not yet certain about that.
It feels quite good to be past 50,000 words, and I am eager to get through a lot more of it as soon as I can. Really, I am still excited because of the fact that I don't know exactly what is about to shake out. I have a sense of all the things that have been behind the scenes and what is about to be revealed to the characters and the reader, but I also don't know precisely where it will end up leading. Some things are inevitable, at this point, but they could happen in different ways and at different points. It is exciting, even though a bit daunting, but at the end of the day, I trust that it is all going to come together.
There are certainly scenes that will have to happen, and the climax has a number of clear and important elements, and landing it in a way that truly satisfies can be hard, but I am looking at this from a perspective where I know that bringing together so many strange threads in a way that is cohesive will be, itself, exciting and thrilling, and the end that it will lead to is going to build on that energy, using it to create a dramatic climax with a satisfying resolution. I just am not sure what those will be, even if I have a sense of the outline. Some things will have to be less straightforward than I can imagine them being, but I think that once I get there, those possibilities will not be available any longer. I am getting into another corner, with it, and that, it seems, can be a great place to be.
Calling it a bit early, tonight, thankfully, as I do have that meeting in the morning. I am looking forwards to that, and hope that some of you might be keeping your fingers crossed that I do catch what I know is a highly unlikely lucky break. I may well have some thoughts to share on my experience tomorrow.
I really believe that I will have a reasonably good draft on my hands, and one that I can do a lot to shape up, without really too much trouble, as what I think is really needed in order for it to work is just a bit more. I have a lot of it dialed in, I think, but I need to keep some more action going, and that might mean adding in some bits with this character that also can serve to add some action sequences.
There is, of course, a great deal of work still to be done in finishing, but I feel very good about that, too. The end is in sight, and things are quickening in terms of that. Indeed, it is only because I recognized certain things already in the book that would imply, in some way, that the climax was not immediate, that it did not start in the scene today. A bit more is happening, and that will require a scene or two to unwrap and develop things.
A lot was hinted at in the direction of what is to come, and I know so many things that are about to churn out from the book, in a way that is really quite amusing to me. I feel really strange about it, since many of the things I like best now, are resulting from what seemed like a complete misstep at one point. A lot of writer's may think it best to get those mistakes out of the way, revising as they go, and a part of me felt that yearning, but I also see, now, that some of that is just fear, or lack of trust in one's own capacity as a writer. Not only in terms of writing out of a corner, but also in the question of whether a thing was actually planned.
This can happen in shorter work, of course, but in a long piece of this sort, well, it seems to really come out, as it is easy to just let things fly. The nature of a novel is such that it requires a lot to be included, and so this also means more that shows up in the book, and there is also a long enough ark that it can be surprising how those things are all folded together in the end. Part of what is to be considered and questioned, for me, in this, is the issue of what is truly random and what has been thought out, if only on a level I am not entirely sure of.
I also had a thought for my next novel, which I am hoping to write in November as a part of nanowrimo. The central idea is about a mashup of some current technology ideas with a sort of superhero universe, but not in the usual way where it is about the tech creating superpowers or something. It is possible that it has been done in some way, but I think this may just be part of the whole story. I have a feeling that it might just be that this is a book in which this is only a small aspect of a larger world, but I am not yet certain about that.
It feels quite good to be past 50,000 words, and I am eager to get through a lot more of it as soon as I can. Really, I am still excited because of the fact that I don't know exactly what is about to shake out. I have a sense of all the things that have been behind the scenes and what is about to be revealed to the characters and the reader, but I also don't know precisely where it will end up leading. Some things are inevitable, at this point, but they could happen in different ways and at different points. It is exciting, even though a bit daunting, but at the end of the day, I trust that it is all going to come together.
There are certainly scenes that will have to happen, and the climax has a number of clear and important elements, and landing it in a way that truly satisfies can be hard, but I am looking at this from a perspective where I know that bringing together so many strange threads in a way that is cohesive will be, itself, exciting and thrilling, and the end that it will lead to is going to build on that energy, using it to create a dramatic climax with a satisfying resolution. I just am not sure what those will be, even if I have a sense of the outline. Some things will have to be less straightforward than I can imagine them being, but I think that once I get there, those possibilities will not be available any longer. I am getting into another corner, with it, and that, it seems, can be a great place to be.
Calling it a bit early, tonight, thankfully, as I do have that meeting in the morning. I am looking forwards to that, and hope that some of you might be keeping your fingers crossed that I do catch what I know is a highly unlikely lucky break. I may well have some thoughts to share on my experience tomorrow.
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