WIP-- the book and me

In January and February, nighttime has been a very productive time for WIP (work in progress) on which I've been working. I'd wake up and before I'd fall back asleep, I'd think what should happen next. Basically as though I was actually writing, I'd try out this or that action and see if this set of words felt right/or not for the characters. Where did that dialogue take them? What would happen if they did that? I would sometimes play out several scenarios.

By morning, I would have pretty well worked out the next steps. Research and even something in current news sometimes added to ideas. If you have ever written a book, you know how that is. It's important to give some time to allow serendipitous happenings to add to the writing.

When I write a book, I do know where it's going. I know what the ending will be, but how I get there, some of the twists along the way, that's where the muse comes in. Fleshing out a story is the fun of writing and also where a person has to be open to new ideas that suddenly come along.

I am fortunate to be able to discuss plot elements with my husband as I decide on this or that-- particularly where it comes to action scenes. He gives me different insights-- not always appreciated, of course. I can do this with him because he's not a future reader for the book. He's its publisher. I've learned not to discuss too much of the story with those who will eventually buy a book. It can ruin the story for them.

On the week-end (at 114,00 words) I wrote The End, but again if you have ever written a book, you know the end right now is not the end of the process. It means the rough draft is finished which is for me a major yahoo but certainly not all that's going to be needed.

After I had saved the words on five jump drives and one memory card (insecure much ?), I planned to let it set for a few weeks. It turned out I couldn't do it. I wanted to see how it flowed, if the action made sense, and so I reread and did a first edit over the following few days. I tweaked here and there, but the real editing I will put off for a month when I can look at it through fresh eyes.  I will do three editings with another by a man to see how it works from the male perspective. Only after that will I no longer consider it a WIP.

Right now, I feel very good about how the writing went, how the story developed and the characters. But later it could be like I experienced the other day when I was in a store and was feeling pretty good about myself until I looked in a mirror I passed and thought-- who is that old woman? I have learned that it's best to give it some emotional distance; and I have other projects to work on in the meantime.

an old map indicating some of the country where the story is set

As breaks from this kind of thinking I have been reading other blogs and several have discussed the great literary works they read. Basically they would fit under the category of uber classics for me, more for intellectuals, not someone like me who although I have read many books regarded as classics like Steinbeck,  Hemingway, Dickens, Austen, Buck, Shakespeare, etc., my favorite reading was never what intellectual elites would consider high quality. Nope, I liked pop fiction and still do when I have time to read.

While I am admitting my own more plebian tastes, I should add that I don't read stories that are negative or dark. I don't watch those kind of films either. I learned a long time ago that I needed to put positive things into my brain for both images and words. If something is going to end in a burst of violence, I am not their customer. If they look too emotionally traumatic, it won't be on my list. The only kinds of films I watch that have violence attached have it in a fantasy like the comic book movies. I like things that couldn't happen and are like a roller coaster of action say like Jurassic Park or  2012 (the latter of which critics despised). If it seems too real or is horror, you can count me out-- noteworthy or not.

I read for pleasure and although from the sounds of what others say, they do also, what gives them pleasure wouldn't me. I want a story that is easy to follow with emotional rewards. No overly challenging my brain. It's challenged enough as it is. I am not sure if that gives me an inferior brain. Maybe so.

So I've been doing some research on what 'experts' consider to be great reads. What makes a book a classic. Why would someone struggle to read something that was depressing? What do they get from it? Well, I didn't get an answer to that from my 'research' but maybe someone who comes here will have an idea and post it.

For me I read for two reasons-- one to learn things I need to know. That comes from non-fiction (including magazines and newspapers)-- as no matter whether fiction appears to be realistic or not, it's fiction. And then I read for pleasure and escapism whcih means nothing that ends with a tragedy, nothing I have to struggle to understand the why of-- I get that from non-fiction.

 Image from CanStock and photoshopped along with my own photo from Tucson.

The above is how I see the hero and heroine of this book and might end up part of a trailer if we do decide to ePub these historic novels. I know it might sound strange to put this much work into something I don't end up publishing, but I've written all my life and only recently even had to make this kind of decision. I will put it out if I can see a way to get it seen. If not, I'll put it aside until I get better at the marketing end. I have eleven books already out there to try this or that.  The last year has involved a lot of learning; but where it comes to marketing, I have a long way to go.