It's a Start
May 28, 2002
7:12 a.m.
It was a nice long weekend wherein we got a lot accomplished. I finished, for what I think is about the last time, a short story titled "Just Business." And I organized a few things. This morning I got back into the beginning of the sequel to the book that I finished a month or so ago. Yes, that's right.   I was talking to Lisa Silverthorne a little bit ago, and we commiserated about the effort of trying to decide what to write next. Personally, I think she was just humoring me, and that she has a total plan laid out. But me, I was really trying to figure out what to do. I mean, I had just finished a novel and my short story bin was depleted ... but I wasn't sure I wanted to write short stuff or long stuff or what. All I really knew was that I needed a little break from the world I had been writing in for all these many months. So I wrote a short piece, and another short piece. But still I wasn't sure what I should do. Then I picked up the issue of "Writers of the Future" I mentioned a little bit back (the one with DiChario's "The Winterberry"), and read Lois McMaster Bujold's piece on her process for breaking in. Have you ever noticed there is no guaranteed method for this? I'm sure you have. I wish there was a surefire, guaranteed way to make it happen, but unfortunately, I live in the real world and it's not all that simple here. Regardless, Bujold's piece really struck me right where I live. I think that's the ultimate thing about advice when it comes to writing. You'll hear fifteen people say fifteen different things. It's confusing as heck, you know? but in the end it's up to you to chose what pieces you're going to follow. And so I recommend that you listen to all those fifteen suggestions, and find the one that strikes you right where you live. If that doesn't work, well, then just do what I say. [grin] She said, in a nutshell: If you want to be a novelist, it's wise for you to write novels. Oh, she was a lot more persuasive than I'll be in that single sentence. I mean, she showed me persistence, and intelligence, and a general clarity of thought that is nice to run into every now and again. I work in Corporate America, after all, so that's not something I see every day. I've been thinking about her advice the past several days. I thought about it as I mowed the lawn, and pulled weeds, and piled bush clippings into garbage bags. I thought about it as I watched TV, and I thought about it as I showered ... you get the point. Somewhere along there, I found I had stopped thinking specifically about the advice, and had started thinking about the second book. It is in first draft, after all, and at something over 65,000 words I know a lot about the story. Pretty soon I saw the place where it really had to start (which is not where it started as of yesterday, BTW ... but that has been fixed as of this morning). I saw more of what the book meant in the context of the two books, and I got a better feeling where a possible third book might go. I sat down this morning and started typing. I didn't get really far. I mean, I didn't blaze through like I can. I put only a thousand words or so down. I like those thousand words, though. I think it's a pretty good start. Have a great day.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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