Nothing to Report

That title doesn't really give you a lot of incentive to read this blog, does it? I looked back at my previous few (okay, several) postings and discovered that I've been going on about everything except the latest novel. I suppose I could have continued to do that, but since this blog is supposed to be about the progress on my novel, I thought it was time to be honest.

I haven't done much lately. "Real" life has found a way to intrude in many ways. I've been out of town, there's been an exciting World Series, I've had other events going on. If these sound like excuses, I guess they are. I keep telling myself I have to get back to work, but it keeps not happening. I apparently either needed a break or I'm just procrastinating; I suspect it's the latter.

I can't even tell you anything about the cover art. The artist has some issues going on in her life that have prevented her from communicating with me. We both saw this coming and planned for it, so it's not that she's done anything wrong at all, it's just that maybe seeing the cover would give me the kick in the pants that I need to get going again. Since I don't have that, I'll just have to buckle down and get to it.

I do actually have the open manuscript next to the keyboard (see? even this blog is keeping me from working on it), and I've just realized that I need to make a timeline to ensure that I know where one of the characters is at all times so I know if the action makes any sense at all. Sigh. Timelines are not my favorite thing, but sometimes they're necessary so I can double-check the action.

Get to it, Diane!  (sound of whip cracking)

The Unexpected

The other evening, I found myself in front of the TV, flipping between college football, college hockey and professional soccer. Sometimes the seasons overlap and it's a bonanza for sports fans. In fact, there are few times of the year when you can't find at least one sport televised.

So what's the attraction of sports? I'm sure everyone would have a different answer: the display of teamwork, the emotion of winning or losing, the athletic skill. For me, it's simple: I like having no idea what the ending will be. Surprise me! And sports do that. I might have a vague idea of the probable winner, but I've learned many times that I can't really know, which makes it all the more exciting for me.

That's my preference in reading and writing, too. I don't want the formulaic, I want the new and unexpected. I don't want to know what's behind the door or the curtain or the fence until it's revealed. Surprise me!

I guess that's what life is like, isn't it? You never know what's coming next. I wonder if that's why some people prefer the formula: because they think life is already unpredictable enough. I can respect that, but it's not me. My life at times becomes too predictable. The alarm goes off, I get up and get ready, I go to work. I work until break, I eat a snack, I work until lunch, I eat lunch, I work until break, I eat another snack, I work until 5:00, I go home. That's when the day becomes a little more interesting: I'm in charge of my time again.

And this week, I'll choose to spend some of that time watching the World Series. I might be able to look up the odds online, I might know who I'm rooting for, but I don't really know which team will win.

Surprise me!

(To those of you who know me: you know who I'm rooting for, but I'm keeping it to myself so I don't jinx anyone. You understand, right?)

Closet Spaceship Part 10

Gwen was one of the more elusive crew members. I tried to catch her several times, but she has good peripheral vision and saw me coming. By the time I got there, she was nowhere to be seen.

I could respect that, so I tried not to let it bother me. After a while, I gave up ... so that’s when I stumbled upon her, of course.

She was in the rec room reading a book, tucked into a corner of the couch there. The book must have been good because I was able to get within a few meters of her before she looked up with an expression of dismay. Maybe fear. Or maybe dislike.

I suppose I should have built up some thick skin by now, given how some of the other crew members had reacted to me, but it stings a bit to be on the receiving end of a look like that.

“Okay, okay,” I said, raising both hands. “I’ll leave you alone. I don’t want to interrupt someone who’s reading a book anyway.”

Okay, I’ll admit it: I did check to see if it was my novel. It wasn’t.

She scowled at me for a few seconds, so I took a few steps back.

“As long as you don’t ask me that damned question,” she said.

I stopped backing up. “What question?”

She rolled her eyes. “The one about what’s it like to be a woman in a man’s world.”

I laughed. “Man’s world? What does that even mean?”

She actually smiled. “They don’t ask you that?”

“No,” I said, “but I’m not exactly famous, so they don’t really ask me anything.”

“So I’ll ask you,” she said, putting down her book.

“Wait a minute,” I said. “I don’t want to talk about myself.”

That’s right: I did it. I walked right into her trap. Not a clue.

“Exactly!” she said. “Now you know how we feel!”

Ouch. How do you respond to something like that?

First you say, “Okay, you got me.”

Then you let her smile triumphantly at you.

Then you say, “Excuse me while I go fly the ship.”

She laughed. “Good luck!”

“Well, someone has to do it while you’re asking me all these questions and writing up the results,” I said.

“Don’t oversimplify,” Gwen said. “I’ll fly the ship, you’ll write about somebody else.”

“Who?” I asked. “You think what your captain and crew do should go unnoticed?”

“Well, no, but … you don’t have to include me, though.”

“Okay,” I said. “When you come down to pick up the crew from the middle of a firefight, I’ll just say some pilot did it. Or maybe I’ll say it was Nick.”

“Don’t you dare! Nick? I’d never hear the end of it!”

“Okay, it’s settled, then,” I said.

She shook her head. “Just remember that I have a minor role, okay?”

“Try to be as boring as you can.”

She nodded as she picked up her book. “Done.”

We’ll see how long she can live up to that.

How to Write a Novel

I hope you laughed when you read that title. There isn't one correct way to write a novel any more than there's one correct way to read one. You can read it on an e-reader, on your computer or on paper. You can read it all in one sitting, one chapter a day or one page a month.

I've read some descriptions of how other authors write. Some of them have the whole thing mapped out, with timelines and character studies and everything, before they even write. Some mystery writers start at the end and work their way to the beginning. Most of them know what's going to happen before they begin.

Not me.

That shouldn't surprise you too much. After all, I write for fun and I just don't see the fun in creating a bunch of outlines and lists before I start the story. Writing should be a voyage of discovery, as exciting for the writer as it is for the reader. I use a map when I go on vacation, but not when I write a novel.

I usually start out with a compelling scene. For Outsider, it was the image of Sean floating in space alone after his ship was attacked. For Another Shot, it was the spaceship Outsider crashing. (Sorry about the spoiler, but you really should have read Another Shot by now, right?)

Once I have that scene in mind, I write it. I take the image in my head and describe it to the best of my ability. Then I sit back and wonder how this thing happened. What led up to it? So I go back and write whatever it takes to explain why Sean was in a prison ship or why the spaceship crashed.

The most important thing I do is to listen to my characters. If I stay true to them, they will lead me through what happens next. When I first started, I didn't know them very well so we took a few wrong turns, but as they became more familiar to me, they guided me through each scene and eventually through the whole story.

So believe it or not, I have no idea what's going to happen in the novel until I write it.

How's that for fun??


Please keep mentioning my novels to your friends, family and acquaintances. Sales are at a standstill and I'd like to drum up a little interest before I release In The Shadows. Thanks for your support!