Snake Rises

For those of you who have followed me for the past tens years, you know that I wrote a novel manuscript, was trying to edit the first one without losing inertia on writing a sequel. Unfortunately the cost of this was neglecting this blog. Then in November last year the unthinkable happened. My computer was accessed by a group of <insert your favorite explicative here> ‘s. They succeeded in corrupting every MS document on the system. While trying to recover the computer, the Geek Squad technicians succeeded in losing 437 files. This included my manuscript and all edits made in the past year. Now some of you will say, “Well just recover the files from your OneDrive account. There backed up automatically.”

“Not so fast,” says I. I thought that as well. However, a month of making this attempt and working with MS proved to be a complete waste of time. The official response is they have no idea what happened to my files. To those of you who are relying on OneDrive, my advice is to bite the bullet and purchase an external hard drive and perform your own backups every day or at least once per week. I’m talking about your working files, not your system apps.

The good news is that after 3 months of head down computer work and some luck with flash drives. I was able to recreate my manuscript including all edits. Needless to say I now have it backed up in five different secure and separate locations. Live and learn.

The next point is that I am looking for a few beta readers. Though not required, an interest in fantasy and/or western genre’s would be beneficial. If you are interested, please contact me through the link on this site for more details.

Now my question to all of you published writers of fiction. What are your thoughts on writing shorts based in your world with your primary characters to use as “bait” or to submit to competitions in an effort to crate interest in the larger work? What potholes may appear when heading down this road?

I’m looking forward to seeing your thoughts.

 

A Taste to Honor Them

A taste of the good stuff. To remember and honor, Dad, Grandpa, and the 450,000 men and women who loved this country so much, that they gave their lives in defense of the ideals that the United States of America was founded on. Every year, I take a taste and thank them. I pray for them and their families. And, for my friends who served and lost comrades in arms. I thank you for the pain you have endured with that loss. It is the very least that I can do for strangers that paid for my freedom with their own blood. Rest in peace. I will be eternally grateful for your sacrifice.

Cheers!

“American flag” by U.S. Army/ CC0 1.0

 

Do your characters lie to you?

During one morning writing session, I caught my main character wanting to lie to the reader about a critical plot point. By lie I mean deliberately withhold information during an internalization. He obviously would know the information, but chose not to “think” about it because it might give a clue away too soon. I’ve seen this situation recently while performing critics in my writing group. It’s a form of lying by omission. A POV character keeps the reader in the dark even though the character has the information and the viewpoint 1st person . By definition, the reader should know what the POV character knows.

My main character (MC) had very good reasons for not wanting the reader to know this particular piece of information. So, we discussed our options.

I could rewrite the previous chapter to ensure that my MC didn’t know the information. That would mean a fair amount of work and would change the plot arc dramatically. Not my favorite choice, even during a first draft.

I could let him lie and have an editor call me out on it. Or worse the editor might let it go through and readers would feel cheated that they were not privy to a critical clue. Improbable, but not impossible.

Or, I could force the MC to tell the truth during the internalization. Thus, providing the clue to the reader and force the MC to react accordingly, perhaps giving away too much, too soon.

In this case I did not let the MC dictate to me. Instead I chose option three. In the end this worked well because the resulting MC actions, as usual, drove the story in a slightly different direction which created a better story, in the long run.

My question for my followers is this: Can you think of a time when writing first person when withholding information from the reader, that the MC obviously knows, works?

I’m looking forward to seeing what you all think.

 

Writing Companions

Herman is taking a break from his usual guard duties. The songbirds on the feeder just a few feet away, routinely attempt to escape the raiding sharp-shin hawks by crashing into the window. By leaping up to scare them away before they make contact, he believes that he is protecting me from the noise of them hitting the window. However, a fourteen pound cat hitting the window and shade makes much more racket than a four ounce finch. Herman also watches the drive way for visitors. He announces their arrival by launching himself from his shelf, landing with a resounding thud, and then proceeds to vocalize in the most morose way.

His antics can be a little distracting at times while I’m writing. However, they are sufficiently infrequent to make him a wonderful writing companion. He also like to make an appearance at our weekly writer’s group meetings. Often, he will sit on the floor next to my chair a vocalize so loudly that the meeting conversation is disrupted by his voice coming through my headset microphone. Of course, then I am required to lift him onto my lap and give him adequate face time on camera as well. This, in turn, has been known to spawn jealousy among the furry companions of the other writers within the group, each demanding their own five minutes of camera time. All of these writing companions are of the feline variety.

I noticed that in many of the movies that I’ve seen where writers are portrayed, they have cats as companions. It made me wonder just how many writers have something other than a feline as a writing companion. So that’s my question for you all today. What flavor of writing companion do you have?

 

Trying New Things

A few years ago a friend of mine, AnnMarie Wyncoll, suggested I try clotted cream and jam on my crumpets. It has taken me a long time to track down a source for clotted cream here in Wisconsin. Most of the store managers I asked about it, didn’t have a clue what it was. I could have made my own and probably will going forward. But, I wanted to try the commercial stuff first. Well, this week, I stumbled into a jar of the real thing!!

With much fanfare my wife warmed up the crumpets, got out my favorite black raspberry jam, the new jar of clotted cream, and a hot cuppa coffee. OMG! Heaven!

I wish I could get in touch with AnnMarie to thank her for introducing me to this tasty treat.

 

Transitions

The garden has been put to bed. A thin blanket of snow covers the crawling rocks up the hill. The hunting season for whitetails is over. Ice skims over the lakes. The wind shifts, coming out of the northeast, picking up tempo, driving the remaining leaves before it. The snowplow replaces the lawn mower at pole position in the garage. Old manuscript set aside in favor of a blank computer screen. A seemingly endless supply of decoration containers rotate into the house, only to rotate back into the garage after their contents adorns the halls of the manor. Warm fire. Hot tea. Hot shower. Flannel sheets, down comforter, heavy quilt, and purring cats await.

 

Diverging Plotlines

The scene that I just finished writing is from Book Two of my contemporary western fantasy series. The original purpose of the scene was to introduce a small group of characters who would play various roles in subplots during Book Two and become part of the major plotline in Book Three. Unfortunately, during the scene, the characters have attempted a coup of my book. It seems as though they feel that the major plotline I had planned for Book Three should run concurrently with the major plot currently running in Book Two.

Having the characters mutiny or attempt other subterfuge is not unusual. Well rounded characters often begin to do things that we writers weren’t suspecting. I normally look forward to that point in the writing process. That is where the story tends to really get interesting. The trouble with this particular hostile take-over attempt is logistical. My primary character cannot be in two places at the same time. And, for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to rationally have him deal with both plots at the same time. One occurs in California, the other in Arkansas. A secondary character could take the lead in one of the plots. however, that would take too much away from the PC’s overall role. Running the plots consecutively within the same book might be possible, though it might feel like two books within a book, and that’s not the style I’m after.

My characters are usually right when they begin to take me on a wild goose chase. But this time I think they may be handing me a burlap sack and a flashlight for a good old-fashioned snipe hunt. Been there. Done that. Oops. Sorry about that. I’ll wait here while some of you look up what a snipe hunt is…Right. Now doesn’t that sound like fun?

So, while I continue to ponder my options for dealing with my wayward characters, the existing plot will continue to “chase them up trees and into the swamp while throwing stones at them.” Perhaps, one of them will offer up and idea that we can agree upon. who knows? It has happened in the past.

Keep Writing!