I'm working on my new book and have encountered an interesting issue. My previous books were set in two fantasy worlds, Anywhere USA, and a fictional school. This book is set in the not-too distant future. It starts in New Jersey and then moves to Ohio.
The issue is (which I guess isn't REALLY an issue but more of an interesting note) that setting it in a place that actually exists, with real geography (although slightly altered due to the plot) feels strange. It's odd writing about roads I drive on every day. The thing is, the book HAD to be set in America. I figured why fictionalize it when I can use the real place I know, the real roads and the real buildings? The thing is, writing about places you know brings on this weird meta-feeling, like you really SHOULDN'T be doing it because it feels like cheating almost. Then again, Stephen King sets everything in Maine which he knows well. I guess, if done right, it's just as fictional to those who don't know the area as anything I can come up with, right?
Of course, once you start, it's hard to break free from that reality. As the characters go to Ohio, so goes the geography. I simply don't know Ohio well, but it is essential for the characters to take a longish car trip. I go to OH a couple of times a year to visit my wife's family, so I'm aware of the basic geography. I know what the country looks like and I know how people are. I DON'T really know the roads like I do here.
As the book progresses, I'm finding I need to make stuff up a little bit more. I can look at a map, but I'm still kind of faking my way through it. At first I was kind of anal about getting it right, but I'm realizing it doesn't really matter all that much. The main action once they get to Ohio is in a warehouse. Do I need to find a REAL warehouse to set it in? I don't THINK so...maybe it was just built in the last few years...anyway, I'm finding that I prefer making up the geography to using reality. In a way, it's actually easier to just make it up. Still, it's an interesting challenge.
How have you dealt with this?
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Agents
Just a quick check in post. An agent I'm quite excited about has Bye Bye Connie. It's nerve wracking, waiting - but wait I must...
Is there any other job that requires so much WAITING?
Well, this week is testing week. It may not be waiting, but it is a LOT of standing around and doing nothing.
I can't wait.
Is there any other job that requires so much WAITING?
Well, this week is testing week. It may not be waiting, but it is a LOT of standing around and doing nothing.
I can't wait.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Been a while since I posted
A few things from the past couple of weeks:
1) It's spring break -- woohoo! It feels like it's been forever since our last break, and a week of sleeping late and not doing much of anything looks ridiculously appealing.
2)The new book is coming along all right. I've been busy with other things lately so haven't written much, but the ideas are still percolating.
3) I sent my latest book to a writer/critic I'm friendly with, and he LOVED the book. He gave me some great suggestions I incorporated. I then sent the book to my dream agency. I got a request for a full, so I'm on pins and needles waiting.
4) We saw Wonderland on Broadway last night. Great music, there, but the book still needs work. Still, it was definitely an enjoyable show and we both really liked it.
We also got to have lunch at Sardis which was AMAZING. I always wanted to eat there and it definitely did NOT disappoint!
5) Did I mention it's spring break??
1) It's spring break -- woohoo! It feels like it's been forever since our last break, and a week of sleeping late and not doing much of anything looks ridiculously appealing.
2)The new book is coming along all right. I've been busy with other things lately so haven't written much, but the ideas are still percolating.
3) I sent my latest book to a writer/critic I'm friendly with, and he LOVED the book. He gave me some great suggestions I incorporated. I then sent the book to my dream agency. I got a request for a full, so I'm on pins and needles waiting.
4) We saw Wonderland on Broadway last night. Great music, there, but the book still needs work. Still, it was definitely an enjoyable show and we both really liked it.
We also got to have lunch at Sardis which was AMAZING. I always wanted to eat there and it definitely did NOT disappoint!
5) Did I mention it's spring break??
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Further proof
I confirmed for myself that I have the "idea bank" to be a writer. I finished the last book so quickly, I began panicking that I didn't have something on deck to start writing.
Yesterday an Idea came to me (yes, the capital is intentional). Whether or not it goes anywhere remains to be seen - after all, my mystery crashed and burned - but so far I think it's pretty solid. It's a little more mature than my other books - I was going back and forth between whether or not to approach it as an adult book or a YA, and Caitie persuaded me to go with YA. It's semi-dystopian, with a definite influence from one of my favorite writers, Stephen King. I find when I go into many details early on I dilute the idea too much, so I don't want to say much more than that right now.
As for the other book - Caitie is going to look it over next week and then out it goes. Fingers crossed!
Yesterday an Idea came to me (yes, the capital is intentional). Whether or not it goes anywhere remains to be seen - after all, my mystery crashed and burned - but so far I think it's pretty solid. It's a little more mature than my other books - I was going back and forth between whether or not to approach it as an adult book or a YA, and Caitie persuaded me to go with YA. It's semi-dystopian, with a definite influence from one of my favorite writers, Stephen King. I find when I go into many details early on I dilute the idea too much, so I don't want to say much more than that right now.
As for the other book - Caitie is going to look it over next week and then out it goes. Fingers crossed!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wow
I started on 2/11/11 -- and finished tonight - 3/25/11. I wrote an entire book in 42 days (it's a Lost number and the meaning of life, coincidence?).
Let me get this straight - I didn't intend a rush job - nor do I think it is one. I didn't think, when I began, I would EVER get a book written in a little over a month. And I have to say (sort of echoing one of my characters and not without a bit of shameless self-promotion), it's pretty darn good. I'm pretty critical of myself, and I think this is some of the best stuff I've written. I know for sure it is the most FUN I've ever had writing a book.
There are authors out there, at least so I've read, who have talked about books spilling out of them - writing themselves almost. I never experienced that before - but that's kind of what happened with this one. Despite working full time teaching, I managed to average a little under 1,000 words a day - a number which is pretty good for me. I tend to write in spurts - 2,000 one day, 100 another. That's pretty normal for me. Somehow, this book just was there.
I learned something about my writing from this book. With Before White I had a vague idea of where I was going. Although that book was densely plotted, it took a lot of time outside of writing to sort through my thoughts. For something like that, it worked. Goodson took me ten years to fully develop. It's hard to measure that one. Sparks took me several months to write. I had an even vaguer idea of where that was going than Before White (I had the concept, but the actual plot was kind of made up as I went). This book, which, by the way, I'm tentatively calling Bye, Bye Connie, came to me almost fully formed. I knew the characters, I knew the basic plot, I knew what the final scene would be almost immediately. Sure, details changed, but the basic plot stayed the course. The jokes and humor came as I wrote - and not to toot my own horn, but I think the book is funny - and that was more fun than almost anything else to write.
Caitie's making me wait a week to revise. I'm so gung-ho on this book, I want to jump in and do it now, but she's right. I have been penpals with a pretty well known theater columnist for years now - even met him twice - and I asked him to read the book for me when I finished. He VERY enthusiastically agreed, so the impetus to get this out is even stronger. I know of an agent already who is looking for a book along these lines.
Maybe I'm overreaching my hopes - but unlike Han Solo, I kind of have a good feeling about this.
Let me get this straight - I didn't intend a rush job - nor do I think it is one. I didn't think, when I began, I would EVER get a book written in a little over a month. And I have to say (sort of echoing one of my characters and not without a bit of shameless self-promotion), it's pretty darn good. I'm pretty critical of myself, and I think this is some of the best stuff I've written. I know for sure it is the most FUN I've ever had writing a book.
There are authors out there, at least so I've read, who have talked about books spilling out of them - writing themselves almost. I never experienced that before - but that's kind of what happened with this one. Despite working full time teaching, I managed to average a little under 1,000 words a day - a number which is pretty good for me. I tend to write in spurts - 2,000 one day, 100 another. That's pretty normal for me. Somehow, this book just was there.
I learned something about my writing from this book. With Before White I had a vague idea of where I was going. Although that book was densely plotted, it took a lot of time outside of writing to sort through my thoughts. For something like that, it worked. Goodson took me ten years to fully develop. It's hard to measure that one. Sparks took me several months to write. I had an even vaguer idea of where that was going than Before White (I had the concept, but the actual plot was kind of made up as I went). This book, which, by the way, I'm tentatively calling Bye, Bye Connie, came to me almost fully formed. I knew the characters, I knew the basic plot, I knew what the final scene would be almost immediately. Sure, details changed, but the basic plot stayed the course. The jokes and humor came as I wrote - and not to toot my own horn, but I think the book is funny - and that was more fun than almost anything else to write.
Caitie's making me wait a week to revise. I'm so gung-ho on this book, I want to jump in and do it now, but she's right. I have been penpals with a pretty well known theater columnist for years now - even met him twice - and I asked him to read the book for me when I finished. He VERY enthusiastically agreed, so the impetus to get this out is even stronger. I know of an agent already who is looking for a book along these lines.
Maybe I'm overreaching my hopes - but unlike Han Solo, I kind of have a good feeling about this.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Writing writing writing
I've been flying through my new book. I'm closing in on 25,000 words, and my goal is to keep it at a solid middle grade level of about 30-35,000. The thing that has made me happiest with it at this point is that I've been able to keep the voice light and humorous pretty much throughout. Certain chapters are a little "heavier" I suppose, but the humor has to be forsaken for plot at some point. Even then, the story itself never gets too heavy. I just hope that as I head towards the finish line I can keep that tone up. Since a lot of the humor is reliant on allusions that come naturally in dialogue (not trying to give too much away yet), when the characters are actively involved in the plot the jokes are much harder to write naturally.
It makes me admire the likes of Christopher Moore that much more.
Anyway, this book is the reason I haven't been blogging much. Between having a ton of papers to grade lately and trying to concentrate writing time on the book, I'm afraid I've neglected the blog. Sorry :)
As a side note, I've been reading "Publish This Book" by Stephen Markley. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in publishing -it's very funny and very well written. I'll probably have more to say when I finish it...
It makes me admire the likes of Christopher Moore that much more.
Anyway, this book is the reason I haven't been blogging much. Between having a ton of papers to grade lately and trying to concentrate writing time on the book, I'm afraid I've neglected the blog. Sorry :)
As a side note, I've been reading "Publish This Book" by Stephen Markley. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in publishing -it's very funny and very well written. I'll probably have more to say when I finish it...
Monday, March 7, 2011
Writeoncon
They're gearing up again - woohoo!
Writeoncon is a free writing conference given over the summer - tons of agents and writers meet virtually to discuss and share all aspects of writing and publishing. It was a great experience last year, and I'm looking forward to this year's as well!
If you haven't already (and I know several of my followers are already from writeoncon!), check out writeoncon.com.
It's worth your time!
Writeoncon is a free writing conference given over the summer - tons of agents and writers meet virtually to discuss and share all aspects of writing and publishing. It was a great experience last year, and I'm looking forward to this year's as well!
If you haven't already (and I know several of my followers are already from writeoncon!), check out writeoncon.com.
It's worth your time!
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