by Shelt Garner
@shelgarner
I am toying with the idea of having a num de plume. For me, it’s proof to myself that I’m taking the development and writing of this novel seriously. If I’m able to think up a new, better name — inspired by my legal name — then there’s not more can I can do.
I’ve been in development hell for about a year now. I am giving myself the deadline of Jan 1st, 2020. Whatever I have done in development at that point I’m going to use to either start working on a serious first draft or turn my attention elsewhere. I’ve learned a lot over the last year and could easily use the skillset I’ve developed to write a much simpler novel far quicker. And, yet, I’ve invested a year of my time into this — and I’ve actually reached the point where the framework exists on a structural level to tell my “Apocalypse Now” for the Trump Era that it really doesn’t make any sense to stop at this point.
Two things stick out. One, I simply did not think through this novel very well when I started. In fact, it was so poorly conceived a year ago that had I had anyone in my life to talk with about it, they would have either told me to not do it, or they would have had to have been very active in the development process. As it stands, I had no one to tell me “no” and so I spun my wheels for a year because I have a very brutal self-editor and I my hatred of MAGA is so intense that whenever I felt like dropping the novel I realized there was so much I could do with it that I kept going.
But I am going to make some changes in an effort to be more “serious” with this project. I have half a dozen novel writing “how to” books to read next to my computer. I need to start reading them in earnest. I also need to start thinking outside the box. I’ve already had to change some major structural aspects of the story in the last few days simply to get past the inciting incident.
One issue with this novel is it’s too grounded in reality for it’s own good. I never mention Trump in the novel, simply saying it’s “a” president, not “the” president. But, really, anyone who reads the novel will check when it’s set and know who “Individual #1” is. So, in a sense, that’s my Fleabag risk. I’m taking a pretty big risk that since I’m essentially attacking a real administration that could still be in office when I try to sell it that anyone will take it seriously. If someone had written a political thriller during the Obama Administration that made it clear he was the president in question, people would think the author was a nut.
And, yet, I think if I am careful that there might be “serious” Verified Liberals who might at least give me a page or two to make my case. I could probably strip the direct attack on Trump out of the story, and, yet, given that was the whole point of writing a novel to begin with — and, well, I’m not that smart — I guess that’s a risk I’m willing to take going forward. Though there is still a chance that if I do really well with the first and second draft that a Beta Reader my take pity on me and suggest how I could do that very thing and still stay true to my original vision.
I really love several of the characters I’ve thought up. I love them so much that I’m willing to keep going, to give them a chance to at least stand on their own in the marketplace of ideas.