I have the story, the editor is asking for it, and I’m putting the final touches to it

…

It’s hard to know just how someone would react in real life to a situation that is not normally expected to happen.

Like, for instance, a gunman walks into a supermarket and suddenly starts shooting randomly.

But, in the USA, that seems to be a situation that could happen anywhere, anytime and does with tragic results.

What would I do in such a situation?

It’s probably impossible to tell unless it really happened.

Why do I ask this question?

There’s a lot of effort required to plan out what each character is going to do in any given situation. What he or she might do has a lot to do with how they have been previously portrayed.

If they were nervous or frightened at the little things, it’s hardly likely that they would run into a hail of bullets unless there was a very good reason like saving a child, and even then it might be stretch to believe they would.

So, I’m writing about a dangerous situation, and it’s taking a lot longer than I expected because my characters have to fit their previous profiles, and I have to remember them, or, what I should have done in the first place, create profiles from which to draw on when necessary.

Another lesson learned the hard way, that planning is necessary, even if it appears tedious.

…

Today’s word count: 4,179 words, for the running total of 58,171.

I have the story, the editor is asking for it, and I’m putting the final touches to it

…

It’s hard to know just how someone would react in real life to a situation that is not normally expected to happen.

Like, for instance, a gunman walks into a supermarket and suddenly starts shooting randomly.

But, in the USA, that seems to be a situation that could happen anywhere, anytime and does with tragic results.

What would I do in such a situation?

It’s probably impossible to tell unless it really happened.

Why do I ask this question?

There’s a lot of effort required to plan out what each character is going to do in any given situation. What he or she might do has a lot to do with how they have been previously portrayed.

If they were nervous or frightened at the little things, it’s hardly likely that they would run into a hail of bullets unless there was a very good reason like saving a child, and even then it might be stretch to believe they would.

So, I’m writing about a dangerous situation, and it’s taking a lot longer than I expected because my characters have to fit their previous profiles, and I have to remember them, or, what I should have done in the first place, create profiles from which to draw on when necessary.

Another lesson learned the hard way, that planning is necessary, even if it appears tedious.

…

Today’s word count: 4,179 words, for the running total of 58,171.

I have the story, the editor is asking for it, and I’m putting the final touches to it

…

Today, it’s viva la revolution.

I’m writing the first part of what is about to unfold as a civilian takeover. Of course, planning aside, and not reckoning on opposition from what should be allies, it fails.

So, it’s not that the rebels had the wrong plan, they just didn’t think it through, or fully understand the circumstances of the person they chose to kidnap and try to use as leverage.

Perhaps this was the moment I was waiting for, and having all of the preliminary backgrounds, and setting all of the plot elements needed to lead to this point, this part is almost writing itself.

I’ve just got to make the really bad guy, badder, if that’s possible.

I want to show a human side to a character that cannot afford to have one, and that in stepping outside their comfort zone things can go horribly wrong very quickly.

And the main character that has returned too soon after a life-changing incident, can and will have moments where the loss of focus could have devastating results.

What’s that expression? Everything could go to hell in a handbasket.

Or not.

Stay tuned.

…

Today’s word count: 3,257 words, for the running total of 50,130.

I have the story, the editor is asking for it, and I’m putting the final touches to it

…

Today, it’s viva la revolution.

I’m writing the first part of what is about to unfold as a civilian takeover. Of course, planning aside, and not reckoning on opposition from what should be allies, it fails.

So, it’s not that the rebels had the wrong plan, they just didn’t think it through, or fully understand the circumstances of the person they chose to kidnap and try to use as leverage.

Perhaps this was the moment I was waiting for, and having all of the preliminary backgrounds, and setting all of the plot elements needed to lead to this point, this part is almost writing itself.

I’ve just got to make the really bad guy, badder, if that’s possible.

I want to show a human side to a character that cannot afford to have one, and that in stepping outside their comfort zone things can go horribly wrong very quickly.

And the main character that has returned too soon after a life-changing incident, can and will have moments where the loss of focus could have devastating results.

What’s that expression? Everything could go to hell in a handbasket.

Or not.

Stay tuned.

…

Today’s word count: 3,257 words, for the running total of 50,130.

I have the story, the editor is asking for it, and I’m putting the final touches to it

…

It’s a bad day.

Nothing I start seems to work out, a bit like painting yourself into a corner.

Words are beginning to annoy me, so much so, every file I’ve started today, so far, I’ve deleted.

It’s not a matter of getting words on paper, no matter how bad they are. If I added up all the words I’ve written so far, and discarded, it would have to be close to 10,000.

Time to step away from the laptop. My head is hurting, and I’m tired, more so than usual. I think the combination of late nights and not being able to work out where this story is going, is giving me a great deal of grief.

Is this where real writers head for the drinks cabinet and make a severe dent in the single malt?

Maybe I need to go out to a restaurant and have a fancy meal.

Or go to the pizza shop and get a meat lover’s special, and a cheap bottle of merlot.

It’s the second-worst number of words for a day in the past month.

Maybe after a rest, it’ll be different.

…

Today’s word count: 1,439 words, for the running total of 46,873.

I have the story, the editor is asking for it, and I’m putting the final touches to it

…

It’s a bad day.

Nothing I start seems to work out, a bit like painting yourself into a corner.

Words are beginning to annoy me, so much so, every file I’ve started today, so far, I’ve deleted.

It’s not a matter of getting words on paper, no matter how bad they are. If I added up all the words I’ve written so far, and discarded, it would have to be close to 10,000.

Time to step away from the laptop. My head is hurting, and I’m tired, more so than usual. I think the combination of late nights and not being able to work out where this story is going, is giving me a great deal of grief.

Is this where real writers head for the drinks cabinet and make a severe dent in the single malt?

Maybe I need to go out to a restaurant and have a fancy meal.

Or go to the pizza shop and get a meat lover’s special, and a cheap bottle of merlot.

It’s the second-worst number of words for a day in the past month.

Maybe after a rest, it’ll be different.

…

Today’s word count: 1,439 words, for the running total of 46,873.

I have the story, the editor is asking for it, and I’m putting the final touches to it

…

There’s only so long you can keep the real world out.

That notion that you can write for as long as you want is a myth. Aside from the fact you have to stop for coffee breaks, meals, and sleep, all entirely optional, there are other factors that come into play.

Family.

Just to name one, there is still my usual job of picking up my granddaughter from school as and when required.

And this impinging on the world that you have created for yourself, in that writing bubble that is November, it doesn’t take much to crack it, even just a little.

So, here I am, sitting in the queue waiting with the hundreds of others who have decided public transport is way too unsafe, health-wise in this world of COVID scares, that we should pick them up and deliver them safely to their homes.

My phone then becomes the principal instrument in my office, the equivalent of a computer with writing software and a cloud directory where I can work on any part of the manuscript, in the office or anywhere in the world, but today, from my car.

Toll back 40 years, and this wasn’t possible, except if you had a writing pad and a pen or pencil. Such a messy and time-consuming way of writing, but it was all we had back then, other than a typewriter that could not be used in a car.

How times have changed, and for the better.

…

Today’s word count: 2,238 words, for the running total of 45,434.

I have the story, the editor is asking for it, and I’m putting the final touches to it

…

There’s only so long you can keep the real world out.

That notion that you can write for as long as you want is a myth. Aside from the fact you have to stop for coffee breaks, meals, and sleep, all entirely optional, there are other factors that come into play.

Family.

Just to name one, there is still my usual job of picking up my granddaughter from school as and when required.

And this impinging on the world that you have created for yourself, in that writing bubble that is November, it doesn’t take much to crack it, even just a little.

So, here I am, sitting in the queue waiting with the hundreds of others who have decided public transport is way too unsafe, health-wise in this world of COVID scares, that we should pick them up and deliver them safely to their homes.

My phone then becomes the principal instrument in my office, the equivalent of a computer with writing software and a cloud directory where I can work on any part of the manuscript, in the office or anywhere in the world, but today, from my car.

Toll back 40 years, and this wasn’t possible, except if you had a writing pad and a pen or pencil. Such a messy and time-consuming way of writing, but it was all we had back then, other than a typewriter that could not be used in a car.

How times have changed, and for the better.

…

Today’s word count: 2,238 words, for the running total of 45,434.

I have the story, the editor is asking for it, and I’m putting the final touches to it

…

We’re now coming up to the start of the revolution and although the first parries by the rebels, so-called by the ruling junta because it sounds better than revolutionaries, or dissidents, will fail, it’s not because of bad management, but events they could not have foreseen.

That lethargy and periods of self-doubt have lifted like a fog, and the story is now taking shape.

Perhaps I had to get to the interesting part. Sometimes the setting of the scene and providing an introduction to the characters can be energy-draining because as the reader, it can take almost too long to get going.

Perhaps I should make a mental note of that so that in the second draft, I can remove the boring bits and get to the real story sooner.

I cannot wait for tomorrow and almost had to resist the temptation of not stopping for sleep, just in case the words stopped flowing. There are times, I have discovered, that in taking that break, the idea and word flow stops, and conjures up something like writer’s block.

Let’s hope tomorrow is the same as today.

…

Today’s word count: 2,742 words, for the running total of 43,196.

I have the story, the editor is asking for it, and I’m putting the final touches to it

…

We’re now coming up to the start of the revolution and although the first parries by the rebels, so-called by the ruling junta because it sounds better than revolutionaries, or dissidents, will fail, it’s not because of bad management, but events they could not have foreseen.

That lethargy and periods of self-doubt have lifted like a fog, and the story is now taking shape.

Perhaps I had to get to the interesting part. Sometimes the setting of the scene and providing an introduction to the characters can be energy-draining because as the reader, it can take almost too long to get going.

Perhaps I should make a mental note of that so that in the second draft, I can remove the boring bits and get to the real story sooner.

I cannot wait for tomorrow and almost had to resist the temptation of not stopping for sleep, just in case the words stopped flowing. There are times, I have discovered, that in taking that break, the idea and word flow stops, and conjures up something like writer’s block.

Let’s hope tomorrow is the same as today.

…

Today’s word count: 2,742 words, for the running total of 43,196.