Tag: Thrillers

NaNoWriMo Day Twenty Five

Having reached the milestone of writing 50,000 words plus, it’s not the time to hang up the pen and think the job’s done.

It isn’t.

I still have a few more chapters to write, to bring the story to a satisfying conclusion.

That I’m still not quite sure about, but I have one conclusion I’ll write and then later if I think of something better I’ll substitute it.

That isn’t to say the end won’t change when it’s time to make a second pass at the manuscript.

Other than that things are going according to plan. This means, I guess, that writing to a plan can work even for someone who doesn’t usually use that method

I will be considering this to plan the sequels for the two series I’m writing at the moment.

But, not to get ahead of myself, I have this project to finish.

Do you do any armchair travelling?

Once upon a time…

It was impossible to travel to any destination you would like to go to in the world.

Except perhaps if you had a travel guide, a book about a particular place, or watch a geographical documentary, which was limited to one person’s point of view.

Now, with the internet it’s possible to go anywhere, read up on any place, and even see what it looks like.

I have been along many a street in several towns or cities, over 12,000 miles away, as if I was actually there.

I can construct a path from one part of a city to another, and know exactly what there will be along the way.

The thing is, I can be thoroughly at home in a place I’ve never been to, and this is invaluable for writers.

And travellers.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve researched my way around a city long before I got there, and then know exactly where to go and what to do, even how much it costs.

It’s why I’ve never been lost in New York, London, Paris, or any of the cities, and it was particularly invaluable in Philadelphia when we only had an afternoon to see the sights.

Now, whenever I have a part of a story to write, I hit the internet.

In a story im currently writing, I’m flying from Djoubuti to an airstrip in Northern Uganda, where I’ll be leading a team along a river that is the defacto border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to a possible plantation that was once an airfield.

Or that might change, but in this particular case I know exactly what the terrain is like where the river is navigable, and where I need to go and how long it will take.

Certain you would have to agree that’s better than having to go there in person and run the risk of being killed or worse.

“Echoes From The Past”, buried, but not deep enough

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What happens when your past finally catches up with you?

Christmas is just around the corner, a time to be with family. For Will Mason, an orphan since he was fourteen, it is a time for reflection on what his life could have been, and what it could be.

Until a chance encounter brings back to life the reasons for his twenty years of self-imposed exile from a life only normal people could have. From that moment Will’s life slowly starts to unravel and it’s obvious to him it’s time to move on.

This time, however, there is more at stake.

Will has broken his number one rule, don’t get involved.

With his nemesis, Eddie Jamieson, suddenly within reach, and a blossoming relationship with an office colleague, Maria, about to change everything, Will has to make a choice. Quietly leave, or finally, make a stand.

But as Will soon discovers, when other people are involved there is going to be terrible consequences no matter what choice he makes.

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NANOWRIMO Day Twenty Four

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I was writing Chapter 29 and suddenly I had a bad feeling.  You know the sort of feeling you get, you’ve forgotten something, or there wasn’t a lead into an event which will feel like it came from nowhere…

I’m having one of those moments.

Damn.

I’ve forgotten something.

So, I stop writing and bring up the last eight chapters and start reading.

No, nothing I’ve forgotten.  But there is something.

No point going on.  This has to run around in my mind for a bit while doing something completely different, like painting a ceiling.

True, I’m in the middle of painting the dining room ceiling and put it off to get on with the project.  The project has hit a speed hump, so it’s back to the painting.

Halfway through the roof, it comes to me.

A basic error, of not making sure all of the points are covered in the story otherwise the reader will say, ok, you said that back in Chapter 18 and now, why haven’t you realised that something’s going to happen because of your negligence.

I know what it is.

And it will require another chapter.

But first, I have to finish the painting.

 

NANOWRIMO Day Twenty Three

The story continues.

Chapters 23 through 28 are done and we are on the home stretch.

There are seven days and hopefully seven more chapters.

I have finally decided on how it’s going to end, and he’s not going to finish up with the one he thought he would.

And another twist that no one will see coming, even though there are hints.

I have in mind how this will play out in one of the last three chapters, and there is a devastating truth that comes with it, one that is going to be hard to understand for one of the two main protagonists.

Such is as it should be.

And then, there’s the James Bond type ending.

“The Devil You Don’t”, be careful what you wish for

John Pennington’s life is in the doldrums.  Looking for new opportunities, prevaricating about getting married, the only joy on the horizon was an upcoming visit to his grandmother in Sorrento, Italy.

Suddenly he is left at the check-in counter with a message on his phone telling him the marriage is off, and the relationship is over.

If only he hadn’t promised a friend he would do a favour for him in Rome.

At the first stop, Geneva, he has a chance encounter with Zoe, an intriguing woman who captures his imagination from the moment she boards the Savoire, and his life ventures into uncharted territory in more ways than one.

That ‘favour’ for his friend suddenly becomes a life-changing event, and when Zoe, the woman who he knows is too good to be true, reappears, danger and death follows.

Shot at, lied to, seduced, and drawn into a world where nothing is what it seems, John is dragged into an adrenaline-charged undertaking, where he may have been wiser to stay with the ‘devil you know’ rather than opt for the ‘devil you don’t’.

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NANOWRIMO Day Twenty Two

I’m still working on two back chapters which might become three,

But…

I’ve been steadily working on chapters 24 through 29 which were dependent on the framework set up in the two back chapters.

It actually has made it easier to see where the story is going, and make changes in both parts as I go along.

That now leaves me at Chapter 30, which is a major turning point for the story.

In the outline I had the two protagonists doing one thing, and now I’ve pulled the plug on them, and they are doing something else.

The problem was, to me, it was too predictable.

Still, now I’m at chapter 30, anything can happen.

NaNoWriMo Day Twenty One

I’m currently working of some back chapters because they impact from the point where I’m currently up to, chapters 24/24, and with a little twerking this part is coming together and will serve it’s purpose as a lead in to what happens later on, and make sense where it before it was a little out of the bluish.

I’ve got a new character, but what her role will be beyond this part of the story is yet to be determined, but I think it might end up being a walk on walk off but part with lines.

Other than that, the novel is proceeding, and the end, three or four chapters long is sitting at the back of my mind, and after a few more days, as we get closer to the end, it will become clear.

There is the plan, but as we are all fully aware, something things don’t go according to plan.

NANOWRIMO Day Twenty

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It’s now two-thirds of the way through and I’m making great progress.

The consequences of the twist that happened yesterday did not have much of an effect on the planned storyline, so it’s full steam ahead.

This story is going to be longer than 50,000 words as, at the moment, the count is just under 40,000 words.

So far I have 8 chapters in Part 1

9 chapters in Part 2, with one to be written (outline is written)

24 chapters in Part 3, with 2 to be written, (also have outlines written)

Looking at the plan, there are approximately 9 more chapters to be written, and then,

3 or 4 chapters in Part 4 to wrap it up

Best guess, this story will come in at around 70,000 words.

 

 

 

Plots ripped from newspaper front pages

Sometimes the headlines are ripped from the blurb of an international best-selling novel

Take for instance the latest event generated from the election interference by the Russians scandal in the United States.

Of course, that’s not the only country interested in having an influence in elections, there’s the Chinese in Australia, though in our case it might see some improvement in the childing behaviour of our politicians.

But in the first instance, how would it read?

Take what appears to be an ordinary student in an American University, who has the ability to find and seduce various men with apparent political clout for the purpose of subverting election results. 

This would be rather startling if it was not in the United States because everyone from the national rifle association down knows any politician, federal state or local, can be bought.  There’s also the fact the femme fatale is not all that good looking, but on the other hand, men can always be seduced.

In fact, you would have to question the legitimacy of any elected official in that country because anything to do with politics is susceptible to bribery and corruption from any number of lobby groups, the doyen of which is the NRA.

Just look what they’ve managed to achieve.  Any madman and his dog can now print a gun without restriction and go on a killing rampage.

The Russians are the least of US citizens problems.

I don’t think the stacking of the Supreme Court with conservatives is the main objective unless you want to keep your tax returns under wraps and keep out legitimate immigrants, called ‘dreamers’, but it might have far wider ramifications.

I sat this, 50% of the population is female, and I don’t think they’ve lost the right to vote, yet!

But I digress.

The blurb reads on.

The president, recently elected in what could only have been described as an impossible result, suddenly realizes that the American people are now waking up to the possibility of his election victory was not as impossible or legitimate as originally thought, and has his closest aides scrambling for anything to grab the people attention away from the truth.

A person who is suspected of being a Russian spy has been dragged out of the shadows and put on display.  Fearing that is not enough, a plan is hatched to go to war with the rest of the world on trade and military fronts, so everyone’s attention will be diverted by what seems senseless tariffs and endless attacks on those who were once allies.

But what’s really going on?

Has the president been bought by the Russians, or does he have a darker and more sinister plan afoot?  Are his battles with Russia, China, and North Korea merely diversions?

The balance of power is on a knife-edge and only one man [or woman] can save a world on the brink of nuclear annihilation.

You have to admit it’s a hell of a plotline.