Deadlines...

I have a loose deadline now on finishing Escape (at page 324 on draft one and keeping this post short so I can get back to writing). I did it to myself by agreeing to finish the book by a certain date (definition of deadline).

Is my willingness to commit, or over commit, a good thing or a bad one? I do this a lot and was actually discussing it with friends at yoga. We were saying that we think we can do it all until we realize that we can’t (by doing something such as missing a deadline).

But dates and deadlines also motivate me and focus my work. I take it more seriously and need that end date to stay on a track. So, it’s a balance between working hard and working well. Writing a book requires creativity, focus and good writing. I believe that writing is easy to force but good writing isn’t.

Most writers used to work on deadline. Many writers still do. Dickens, most of the early great film writers and I’ll stop now because too many names are tumbling into my head and writing them down will overkill the point. Some writers have come up with drafts that prove they weren’t on track to meet their deadline thus rushed to any end (celebrity autobiographies seem to specialize here).

Can I meet my deadline? Should I have committed? I left a lot of extra give time in the schedule (since I never get as much done as I think I will… the holidays are coming… deadlines scare me) so I will.

Good book or bad? Luck, skill and so many intangibles will decide that outcome. I’m not sure that all of the time in the world will help if the basic storyline doesn’t work. So far I like it, but then the ultimate product is a victim or beneficiary of the revisions. And good writing is a very subjective thing.

Deadlines do make writing blog postings harder to fit in so I’ll end this one here. Back to the book!

Chaos to clarity?

Or, is the jumble in my head leading somewhere?

I don’t have a hard time brainstorming and coming up with ideas. And they come out clearly enough that I can usually sit down, organize my thoughts and write them out coherently. My problem lies in having too many thoughts, ideas and light bulb moments. And I can seem like a disorganized (disoriented) mess when brainstorming. That glazed eyes and staring off into the distance with a smile look.

So I:
-Take my ideas for granted and not seriously

-Write them in a notebook then forget about them

-Never bother writing them down then eventually forget them

-Give them away

-Don’t have time to explore or build them all

-Make myself crazy by trying to frantically follow up on more of them than is realistic

Creativity is such a blessing. The world takes on a magical light when you dress up the realities around you. I romanticize everything and have since I was a child (also known as denial). This quality makes you an optimist (because if you don’t like something you dress it up internally and move on). It’s also a good one for a writer. I really see the beauty outside my window and how that might shape people, good or bad.

Visiting Watts last week had a profound impact on my imagination. Parts weren’t so easy to romanticize. There was beauty in the people and some of the interactions I saw, but the back drop was grim.

How do you dress up the realities that defy denial?

Busy…busy…and staying super busy I’m now sitting down to reflect on all of the people I’ve met and spoken with over the past week. Then I need to ponder what I read. Jumble up the mess with my brain storms and scrawled notes and you get chaos. But as I now just stop and search for the clarity within, pictures are taking shape.

What is magic? Wonderment or mastery? That’s part of the clarity I’m seeking in an issue still internally in chaos.



Picture from the Jet Propulsion Lab

Digital promotion highs; blank page lows

During the BitTorrent/Captive promotion I loved watching the digital download numbers soar. My Facebook and Twitter numbers jumped. I got direct emails from readers…thankfully positive... After sitting in front of a computer screen or hard copy printout for so long writing the book seeing some actual proof of readers is gratifying.

But each day, no matter how exciting or interesting an outward directed event is (even positive feedback from readers!) we are all still responsible for our own work product.

Writing is creative, very much so. But it’s also work. And unless I’m writing I’m not a writer, but a dreamer. Can you force creative work? Absolutely! A friend of mine tells me repeatedly that I should be writing X number of pages a day, even if I have to throw them out. I tune his number out since he’s much more optimistic about what I can complete in a day than I am.

But his point about the discipline is important.

I threw out almost a whole draft of Captive’s sequel. I was writing it to meet someone else’s deadline and I hadn’t done the requisite research to start writing. Clutter and mess. But know what? That first draft, now in the trash, helped me puzzle through the new book - which is so different yet clearly the next step.

All of that time writing helped the draft lead me to where it needed to go. Much as I regret those hours of typing bad fiction they made me a better writer. Now, I still need to continue researching (I need to stop writing these research heavy books) but the story line’s clarity simplifies the process.

I wrote Captive late at night, when my son was napping/daughter at school and occasionally in the car pulled over by the roadside to jot ideas down. Now, sometimes I’ll sit inside my house and stare at the beautiful Santa Monica weather all Sunday afternoon, even when friends have invited me to do something fun, writing. I hate that part. But I do feel proud of what I finish by the time the sun goes down.

The blogs are easy. Tip tap and they’re done. The books are a true commitment of attention and time. Yet when I finish one it contains a whole new world of my creation.

Thank you to my new and old readers, BitTorrent and all of those who listened to me jabber on and on.

Do you remember The Shining?

Writing is easy but the editing will drive you (me) nuts! I’ve been comparing myself to Jack Nicholson in The Shining after the impending doom is no longer impending but a full horror. Sitting in a room looking at the same material over and trying to make the real decisions about its direction can drive you (me) nuts. I love writing but the editing gets laborious and that is when I start to feel the pressure of, “what if it’s no good?”

The phone, candy, cats and even getting the mail can be welcome distractions. Ultimately, I need to face the computer screen and just do it. I’ve been writing less on this blog because I’ve been so busy with the writing and editing of Escape, Captive’s sequel.

It has undergone major revisions and moved to Cairo (and part stays in NY).

I like Cairo but visited it so long ago. Would I recognize it if I went back? Most probably yes but as with so many places I’ve re-visted, things do change.

I have a lunch appointment today but then will be back at the computer editing this afternoon. Oh, and I need to pay bills (or will have no power to keep the computer running).

The book is finally making sense. How long will it take for me to finish a full draft? We’ll see.

The photo is frost on my patio furniture this morning (in sunny Santa Monica).

Captive “liked” by over 300 people on Facebook

Not everyone has read the book and not everyone will. But thank you for “liking” Captive!

The numbers keep growing…

When I first sat down to write a book I didn’t consider the marketing side of things. Had I done so I might not have written it! Writing is a private and very internal process. It can be lonely and is definitely introspective. It even ventures into obsessive and exacting as you work through the harder and less distinct parts of a story.

And much time is spent pondering how your characters get themselves in and out of trouble; this perfecting is key in all fiction but especially so with thrillers. Last weekend I made it a social affair when I met with a screen writer who has written a terrorist related script. We kept our voices down as we discussed how his characters should best create havoc. Not the type of thoughts you want to broadcast.

Yet when the book is done the writer is expected to become a promoter. Solitary no more!

When I first showed people my book I did it bashfully. Somehow I never realized until I held the actual book in my hands that people I knew might read it. Imagine being asked by your friends why you decided to write a few scenes that ventured on soft porn. Some people won’t and don’t like the book; a few will make you listen to why (note: I don’t really want to hear it unless it’s constructive).

All of this somehow I never thought through as I was writing. You write to create not to sell. And the book world has evolved along with other media sectors in that distribution and marketing isn’t working exactly as it did before. Book sales are falling; marketing is increasingly online (especially with my budget) and you are selling yourself along with the book.

Facebook, the blog, Twitter and trying to juggle it all.

The picture is from CalTech last weekend and I just like it.