Immediately after completing Beltrunner II: Aftermath, I'm getting to work on my next project. What's funny is that this other project (working title The Reality Corps,) was one I have started TWICE now and abandoned about 50,000 words in each time. In fact, I was so blocked writing this damn thing that I followed some old advice and put it away while I looked for another project to distract me. That other project was Beltrunner II, which became its OWN project with its own blocks. So, in other words, in order to avoid confronting the story problems with Reality Corps I went and wrote a WHOLE 'NOTHER BOOK by way of escaping.
If THAT'S not the world's greatest example of avoidance, I don't know what is.
Anyway.
The good news is the previous two attempts--the two 50,000 word attempts--fleshed out the main character's backstory and origin extremely well. Oh, that's not where the story is, I found out (I figured that out while writing Beltrunner II) but all that writing was helpful in understanding my main gal.
Before you ask--no, I don't know precisely what the story is. I have the ending and the beginning, which is a start (and, I suppose, a finish) but no idea how to get from one place to another. I need to plot it out--since this will have elements of mystery to it, I have to plot very tightly. I also need quite a bit of world-building, since this will be taking place not in the future (like all of my other books) but on...shall we say, a "different" Earth.
I'm excited to begin, and I've already amassed quite a few pages of notes. My main character, a woman named Toska, is shaping up nicely (like so many of my mains, she's an amalgam of many of the women I've known in life, but drawn heavily from my own wife's character. Who knew I would marry not only a life partner who would walk side by side with me but someone who would give me so much inspiration?) and I am starting to be able to hear her, which is always my first move. When I can hear her, I know I've got her. Seeing her comes next. I need to be able to hear her, both her diction and her intonation--when she's witty, when she's cruel (she has a cruel streak, my Toska) when she's afraid but can't show it, when she's in repose, and all the other times I will listen to her. As soon as she starts talking and moving around without me, I can start.
I'll try to keep you posted so you can see how the process works. Until then...
Be seeing you!
If THAT'S not the world's greatest example of avoidance, I don't know what is.
Anyway.
The good news is the previous two attempts--the two 50,000 word attempts--fleshed out the main character's backstory and origin extremely well. Oh, that's not where the story is, I found out (I figured that out while writing Beltrunner II) but all that writing was helpful in understanding my main gal.
Before you ask--no, I don't know precisely what the story is. I have the ending and the beginning, which is a start (and, I suppose, a finish) but no idea how to get from one place to another. I need to plot it out--since this will have elements of mystery to it, I have to plot very tightly. I also need quite a bit of world-building, since this will be taking place not in the future (like all of my other books) but on...shall we say, a "different" Earth.
I'm excited to begin, and I've already amassed quite a few pages of notes. My main character, a woman named Toska, is shaping up nicely (like so many of my mains, she's an amalgam of many of the women I've known in life, but drawn heavily from my own wife's character. Who knew I would marry not only a life partner who would walk side by side with me but someone who would give me so much inspiration?) and I am starting to be able to hear her, which is always my first move. When I can hear her, I know I've got her. Seeing her comes next. I need to be able to hear her, both her diction and her intonation--when she's witty, when she's cruel (she has a cruel streak, my Toska) when she's afraid but can't show it, when she's in repose, and all the other times I will listen to her. As soon as she starts talking and moving around without me, I can start.
I'll try to keep you posted so you can see how the process works. Until then...
Be seeing you!
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