Tag: novel

We’ll See

Shelton Bumgarner

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I have repeatedly gotten to the point I’m currently at with the novel, only to find some structural problem so severe that I feel I have to start all over. So, I don’t know. In a sense I think the go round is make or break.

I’m simply not going to start all over again at this point. I’d rather finish a flawed first draft than just keep re-writing over and over again. The premise is really, really strong. As such, the key issue is to simply finish a first draft. You can’t edit a blank page, as they say.

I am just about to finish the first act. I’m just about to enter the “fun and games” aspect of the story. I finally feel as though things are structurally good enough that all I have to do is physically put the work into writing. This has always been something of a Hail Mary pass for me creatively.

One thing that don’t tell you about writing a novel seriously is how it simply takes physical time to write a novel. Unless you’re Phillip K. Dick and on crank, you are going to have to manage your expectations about how long writing a novel roughly 185,000 words is going to take.

It’s really only because of a very specific set of circumstances that I find myself in a position to write a novel. It’s very possible things could change early next year and I will find myself with considerable obstacles. Thus, I’m shooting for Jan. 1 for finishing my first draft. So if the worst happens, at least I will have finished a first draft of a novel.

We’ll see, I guess.

The Artist’s Dilemma

Some thoughts.

Back To Work On The #Novel

Some thoughts.

Well, At Least I Know This Novel’s Universe Really Well

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

The more I think about it, the more I really like the Hobbes & Shaw screenplay. I say this because it did was a screenplay is supposed to do — be invisible. Only the greats can write a screenplay that is conspicuous enough that the average person notices it. A screenplay, in my opinion, is simply the framework for the producer, director and actors to tell the story.

The more I write this novel, the more seriously I take structure, character and plot. Your job as a storyteller is to get out of the way. You lay out a universe with interesting characters and then smash them against each other in a way where you have increasing tension. If shit blows up and people have sex, all the better.

But the main point is that the audience cares about the characters. I cared about what was going on with the characters in Hobbes & Shaw, even though it was meant to be mindless summer fun. I thought there were some pretty big plot holes, but the overall effect was interesting and entertaining.

As I said, I liked the screenplay because I did not find myself thinking about it. Things moved along at a brisk pace. You meant interesting people with believable rationales. I did not want to walk out once, which is saying something for me.

Compare this to Booksmart. I walked out with the inciting incident occurred. Way too much screeching over things I did not want to sit through two hours worth of hero’s journey. I understand you’re supposed to give the Hero room to grow, but when all the screeching happened, I bounced. I had better things to do with my time.

But, again, I was not the audience. The audience seemed to be bi curious girls seniors in high school. Or something. Something I’m not. The thing about Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood was I really, really cared about the characters even though for much of the film they didn’t do all that much. That’s a testament to good writing, if ever there was one.

Anyway. I need to read more. And watch more movies. I need to hurry up and finish the first draft, if nothing else.

Struggling With The Romantic Aspect of The Novel

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I am cruising towards having my Hero and Heroine hook up. I have a really cool way for this to happen. And, yet, I worry no one will believe it’s possible. I say this knowing that the scene I’m going to write is very possible because it happened to ME.

I have debated at length with myself as to when to have my two leads hook up. If I don’t do it right, women will be turned off. Since I want this at least _try_ to be a tentpole, I have to be careful of just that. I have already worked the plot some to tone down the male sex fantasy aspect of the introduction of the female lead.

But given that this is just a first draft, I’m going to just write it. If I don’t like it long-term, I’ll change it when I come around to the second draft. The key issue is to just keep writing.

As I have said before, you can’t edit a blank page.

Storytelling During Trump Time

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

As I’ve said repeatedly, the thing about trying to write the type of novel I’m writing is how up-in-the-air everything is. I have no idea what the mood of the nation will be whenever I try to sell it much less whenever it might be actually in bookshelves.

The story is meant to be timeless and yet timely, just like the movie Network. I want people to nod their head as they explore this fantastical world I’ve thought up. I want them to, in the back of their head, see the allegorical nature of the plot and universe.

Of course, there is a good chance this will piss MAGA people off. So much so, I continue to stress out about someone like Don Jr. telling his followers to hate read it. (Though that would be cool for the bottomline.)

But, really, I have to do the hard work. I have to flesh out the plot I have. I have to create a universe people will want to spend a few days in. It’s a lot of work. A whole lot of work.

And this novel is very autobiographical in a macro sense. I am using a lot of my personal life and personal history to tell this story. The better you know me personally, the more this will be obvious to you. I’m using a lot of my experiences in Seoul to tell this story. That is making telling this story a lot easier, believe you me.

I just have to keep writing. I just have to keep believing. I can’t get weighed down with insecurities. I do need to read more and watch more movies. I will admit that. I find myself studying popular movies to figure out what makes them a good tale and how I can improve my story from what I learn.

As I have mentioned, I found Hobbes & Shaw touched all the right bases of storytelling. And it doesn’t too much thought to see that through the use of subject, a lot of issues of the day were addressed. It was because of the complete lack of subtext that I absolutely hated Booksmart. That movie enraged me because I felt it was so eager to suck its own ideological dick that it miss the point of the whole endeavor: tell a great story.

Had Olivia Wilde leaned more into it being a homage of, say, Heathers, then I think it would have been a more popular film. And, yet, as I keep saying, I was obviously NOT the audience of that movie so I don’t really have much room to talk. But I felt it failed a story because of how ideological it was.

That’s a real risk for telling stories under Trump. Trump has made the political divide in America so taunt that it’s difficult to both tell a tentpole story AND use subtext to tell the audience what’s on your mind.

A New Era For The Novel

By Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I have sent the first part of the novel — 20 scenes — to a few people and now I’m waiting for some sense from them if the conceit is as good as I believe it to be.

Last night was kind of rough. I have thrown my whole life into this novel and people simply were not giving me the turn-around on what I sent them in the way I expected.

But in a sense, I guess it is better I realize that dynamic now. If I waited until the second draft was finished it would be a real let down if people acted this way then.

Today is going to be development day for the novel. I’m going to sketch out the second part of the novel — which the story really begins — and then probably start writing again no later this tomorrow, this Sunday. I believe this novel is really strong. Really strong. But the tough part is getting someone, anyone to be willing to take a look at it in the first place.

Anyway, I just have to keep believing in myself. I have to keep going. No one will help you while you’re struggling. It’s only after you’re a success that anyone gives a shit.

It’s All Been Done

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I continue to think about the movie Network as I write this novel. It’s Network more than anything else that inspires me. I really like how that movie is so timeless and yet is a snapshot of America just after Watergate.

The novel I’m writing has the potential to be something of a Network for the Trump Era. That’s the absolutely best best case scenario. But I really have leaned into every possible zeitgeisty thing I can possibly think of while I develop this work.

But I do have pretty low expectations. I’ll be pleased if I simply finish something, anything that I can show people who think I suck. One interesting thing is I got as far as the second act a few weeks ago and the entire story fell apart on a tactical level. Strategically, it still works.

It really boils down to simply believing in myself. The thing is I really feel like I’m adrift in the middle of the Atlantic. I believe in my gut that if I just keep going I’ll reach the New World. But I have nothing my own ambition to guide me at this point.

I just feel like the Trump Era needs an easily accessible tale that explains to people who are as frustrated as I am. I still don’t have a canon for the work. And I still haven’t done character studies. Even when I do finally do those two things, I’m probably going to do it in longhand. What I need is a typewriter.

Anyway. I’ve finally managed to right myself after a few days of struggle. I’m feeling pretty good about what I’ve managed to come up with. Now, it’s just a matter of putting in the hard work.

Some Idle Rambling About The State Of The Novel I’m Writing

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Insta: WriterShelt

I’m doing a lot of little videos using Instagram about the novel I’m writing. But here are some general thoughts. I’m about 40,000 words in right now and I’ve hit a moment in the early part of the second act where the sheer size of this project has begun to kick in.

I’m giving myself between 165,000 to 185,000 word to tell this story because I’ve been told anything past 200,000 won’t get published. The interesting thing is I finally am at a point in the novel where I rant about the Trump Era.

The entire novel is meant to be an indictment of the Trump Era disguised as a spy thriller. I’m really enjoying writing this novel. It’s just managing dates, characters and themes is tough when you’re doing it all in your head. I think once I finally finish the first draft things should move a lot faster. I’ll have the first draft to use as a stepping stone.

I have come up with a lot of ad hoc ways to manage development and writing, but none of them has come into any formal role yet. Again, I’m hoping it’s just a matter of time. In a sense, the novel is kind of Network if it was written as an homage to the Millennium series by way of James Bond.

Sorta.

There’s also a lot of Being There in this novel because it’s meant to be a snapshot in time. A time capsule of the few first years of the Trump Administration. Or, if you want to get rather dystopian — of the first Trump Administration.

I just have a lot — a lot — of work to do. A huge amount. It doesn’t help that I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m probably doing everything wrong. But the point is to finish something, anything that I can edit.

I have to believe in myself. That’s the chief thing at this point. I have to keep going. I have a really great conceit. It’s just a matter of fleshing it out over the course of nearly 200,000 words.

Wish me luck.

Identity Politics & The Destruction Of Storytelling

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Instagram: WriterShelt

I’m trying to write a pretty breezy, accessible “thriller” that deals with some pretty deep concepts as subtext. And, yet, I’m a little — ok, a lot — nervous that because the story deals with characters who are brown, members of the LGBQ+ community and women that, well, a lot of the intended audience won’t even read it.

The reason is — dun dun dun — identity politics.

For me, identity politics is corrosive because it gives a huge pass to fuckwits like Trump to promote identity politics among white straight people. What’s worse, taken to its extreme — which is almost always is — identity politics divides the center-Left to such an extent that shithead MAGA people can walk all over them.

Is there a solution?

Probably not. Things have simply gone too far. All I can do is just write the novel I want to write and see what happens. That doesn’t stop me from being annoyed, though.