I’ve been quiet since releasing Part 6, I know, and I’m sorry. Don’t think I’m sitting around, twiddling my thumbs, though. Not me, that’s not how I roll.
Sure, I had a couple of days of down-time to recuperate, get my head away from the checklists and shout-outs and double-checking and distribution that comes with a new book. That was fun.
But after a bit the brain gets itchy, the fingers get twitchy and it’s time to start writing again. I picked up on the next in the Paranormology Series, tentatively titled “Portsmouth Avenue Ghost” and got cracking at it. The funny part is that the first draft is almost done.
How is that funny?
It’s funny because I had the overwhelming notion to stop. Jam my foot hard on the brake. Deploy the parachute. Why? Because it was going too fast. Now that’s something you don’t hear everyday, a writer lamenting that the book is coming along too quickly, but it’ true. I wasn’t unhappy with the story, in fact I’m quite chuffed.
So why slow down? Quality, man, quality. The skeleton is there, with good fleshy bits hanging off it and some hair and skin – I’ll fill in the rest later – but stories have a need to sit and ferment, stew in their own juices as it were. If you push it too fast, you can miss out on developing subtle features like a character’s growth or a location’s description, on the bits that make the story that much more interesting. I’ve done it before – neglected to rest the story that is – and I have been unhappy with the outcome.
Not this time. This time I have forced made notes to myself in the text, parked it for future reference so that the next time I read over it, it will be like reading the story for the first time. Or, if you rather, like reading the story as someone else.
You might then think that I actually have been twiddling my thumbs. After all, I’m not writing, right? Nothing could be farther from the truth. I’m midway through another book, on a very different tangent altogether.
Running under a kind of crop-rotation theory, I figured that too much working the Paranormology angle will exhaust and weaken it. I’ve only just finished up with Sci-Fi, hence that needs a rest. So I’m going for the ‘Weird Fiction’ angle, in a similar vein to The Bullet and Atlas, Broken.
Hot Dog! What’s it about?
I’d like to tell you, but I can’t. Not yet, anyway, not until I’ve got the first draft done and I’m happy with it. I can drop a few hints, though.
First, it’s a detective novel. Think first person, film noir. “Gee. Thanks, Jez. That narrows it down some.”
Secondly, it has a distinct nautical or aquatic theme. There’s murder and mystery and good old fashioned skulduggery.
Thirdly, the characters are relatable, but certainly not ordinary.
Too much of a teaser? Sorry. Like Portsmouth, I don’t want to rush this one. Once the first draft is complete, I’ll let it rest a bit. In that time, I’ll be getting the front cover done. My plan is to use my Wacom to make the sketches and watercolouring and shading and whatnot. Come to think of it, I’m really excited about that. More on that when it comes, I guess.
In the meantime, I’m afraid you’ll just have to bear with me as I plod along. First draft has been scheduled for completion by March 30th and so far, it’s on track. Well, it would be if I wasn’t spending time writing blog posts.
Oops.