by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
Every once in a while, I like to switch gears and develop some on the other four novels. It’s a way of avoiding burn out and to move the overall project forward smoothly while staying in-universe. I’ve decided to do that for these few days in the late part of January, early part of February.
Now, a brief note on nomenclature. I doubt you could strictly call these novels “thrillers.” Though, to be fair, the last two novels — the ones that are the original first two novels I worked on for a few years — are the two that are meant to be thrillers. But none of the novels are strict thrillers, I don’t think. They’re meant to be fast paced, easy readers but…thrillers? I don’t know.
Anyway, I’m going to work on the second book tonight and tomorrow. It’s the least fleshed out at the moment. But I definitely know the ending and it’s really great. It’s ending was the original ending of a much bigger book that I cut in two when I realized there was simply too much going on and it worked far better as two books.
So, that’s one of several reasons why I found myself with five novels. But here I am — five novels to work on. And I’m not getting any younger. I’ve really got to hurry up and produce something, anything before I reach the same age as Stieg Larsson and promptly drop dead.
Each one of these novels is very strong as a conceit, but the issue is fleshing them out, giving them a plot and characters with motivation. My storytelling ability continues to get better and better, so that is what I hope — hope — will get me through the struggles I have a head.
But it’s easy for people who have been paying attention — all three of you — to poo-poo this all endeavor as just talk since, well, I’ve been writing about writing — and doing videos about writing — for a looooooooooooooong time. And, yet, I do actually have something I can show you if you get up all in my grill about it.
I have, in fact, finished something akin to a first draft of the first novel and am currently working on a second draft.
