Tag: novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m not quite there yet, but no later than July 4th Weekend, I’m going to start writing again on the first novel in this project. It may be before then, but July 4th is the latest.

I plan on doing a lot of reading in the next few weeks in the lead up to writing again. I really want to have a better handle on the mechanics of how to write a novel so it’s at the top of my mind when I get around to doing the hard work of writing scenes.

I still have five other novels to work on, but I just want to finish ONE novel before I turn a certain age very, very soon. Then I’m going to query the novel and see if I can get a literary agent interested. If I can’t I’m going to re-assess things. Either I’m going to just self publish or I’m going to turn my attention to a screenplay or a maybe a sci-fi novel.

But the point is — things are moving fast.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Music has always been important to this writing project. I know enough about music that I can integrate it very easily to the plot. It will be interesting if people “get” what I’m trying to do with all the musical references in the novel, given that the medium is the message and all that.

But things are going really well, so far, with the musical part of the novel. If I get what I want, and I sell these novels, I could see people making Spotify playlists that allow them to listen to all the music I reference in these novels.

In fact, I could see the music of these novels being something people take note of.

But I have to, like, finish the damn things. Absolutely no one reads this blog.

Ugh.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’ve decided to add a touch of science fiction to this novel writing project. It was probably inevitable that I would do this given how much I love scifi. But here we are.

I have a lot of reading to do, still.

But things are going ok-ish at the moment. I still have a huge, gaping hole in the second half of the novel when it comes to the outline. I have to continue to distract myself by thinking up new and innovative angles for the universe I’ve come up with.

I’m beginning to think I should only write on this blog when I need to let off some steam. Given how few people read this blog, my time would probably be better served simply working on the novels or even, if I have to do no-novel writing, tweeting.

But as I mentioned — there will be some speculative fiction in universe of these novels. And it will grow as the series proceeds, according to my current vision of things.

We’ll see.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

For some reason, I can’t seem to get literary consultant types to give me the time of day — even if I’m willing to pay them. It’s enough to give me a complex. What’s wrong with me? Is there something about who I am — or my social media footprint — that causes such people to not to interact with me?

It’s very curious.

I am well aware that I’m colorful and larger-than-life, but the idea that that, by definition, would be enough to scare off people who might otherwise help me. It’s all very curious. What the what?

It makes me wonder, again, if maybe I have the wrong personality for an aspiring novelist and it would be better if I was an aspiring screenwriter. I’m not quiet and I don’t keep to myself. I’m not a lone wolf like your typical novelist, I’m quite sociable and enjoy schmoozing a great deal.

It makes me wonder if maybe I should mull, to some respect, the idea of working on a screenplay.

Then I remember how fucking old I am and how, all things considered, it’s probably for the best if I just work on a novel or six.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Let me be clear, at the moment, I ‘m just developing and writing one thriller. But I have mapped out in my mind two thematically connected trilogies. One has our planned for focus of a whole series of books as a baby and the other trilogy has her in a sort of the beginning of her journey as an American Lisbeth Salander.

Or something.

Something like that.

I got to this point most recently when I finished a first draft of one novel and realized there was just way too much going on. It’s kind of like how the original screenplay for The Blues Brothers was like 300 pages long. It’s just too long and too unfocused.

So, I cut it two.

I did this after cutting ANOTHER version of this same book in two. This gave me three novels. I already had three other novels that I’m working on, so there you go.

It will be interesting to see what happens next.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The issue at the moment is time and honing my skills. I know at last how *I* develop and write a novel. So, for the time being, things are smooth sailing. Everything could change in a heart beat — that goes without saying — but I’m please with what I’ve managed to come up with right now.

My life could literally change at any moment the context of my working on these two trilogies would change in a very, very dramatic fashion. But I really enjoy working on this project.

Every once in a while, I lean back and think, “Uh, I’m pretty good.”

But only time will tell. I have a huge amount of work to do — most of it development related reading. I really need to understand the nuts and bults of motivation, character building, so forth better.

Sometimes I fear I’m being too half-assed about shit like that.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So. Now what. I’m now on the process of working on the second draft of my first novel. I call it “second draft” because things are stable enough that I can, for the most part, follow the outline I have already established.

One problem is, of course, I have a huge hole in my outline.

But, other than that, I can just follow the outline I have all the way through and wrap up this “second draft” pretty quick. I also need to work on the other novels in this project. The dream would be, of course, that I can sell three novels like Stieg Larsson did without the whole dying of a hearttack problem.

We’ll see, I guess.

Yet I’m feeling pretty good. I still have a huge amount of reading to do.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So, now that I’ve split the first novel in this series into two AGAIN, I now have six novels that made up to thematically connected trilogies. I constantly struggle with the idea of working on a “second track” novel or screenplay and just can’t — to date — manage to get myself to do it.

I have the whole universe thought out rather extensively, why go through the trouble of thinking up a whole new universe with characters when I can just bounce around six novels in development as need be?

If I had a wife or a girlfriend, then, of course, this would be a lot simpler. She would help me organize what I’m doing to the point that I could, indeed, separate my attention on something else.

Sadly, I’m alone.

So, I’m going to throw myself into these six novels (really just the first three and really, even more so, just the first novel). I’ve got to get a second draft of something done SOON. I’m nervous that I’m going to slip into the fall 2023 querying season with no assurance I’ll ever get published traditionally even if I do get an agent.

I’m just nervous that we’re going to have a civil war — or I’m going to drop dead of windowmaker heart attack like Stieg Larsson — before I get any of these novels published.

Pray.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I don’t get people who are interested in my efforts to write a novel, only to turn around and do everything in their power to discourage me or make me feel bad. What’s the point? If you care all that much, then offer to be a Beta Reader or to help me achieve my goal, rather than tell me “it should be done by now.”

Who says, you fucking cocksucker dickhead?

There is no reveled truth about how to develop a novel and there’s no reveled truth about how long it should take to finish one.

So, there, fuck you. And I being very heartfelt about this — if you just want to hate on my efforts to write a novel instead of in any way being supportive: fuck off. I don’t want you in my life. And, come to think of it, why are you in my life to begin with?

Anyway,

I’ve decided that I’m splitting the first book into two and, as such, I have six novels not five to work on. This is going to require a LOT more work on my part, but I’m going to try to focus on just the first novel for the time being. Try to make it a calling card of sorts that I can use for the other books.

Though, I find myself thinking about a pandemic-themed scifi novel that I might work on should the mood strike me.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The only thing saving this novel series at the moment is I’ve both invested so much in it and know the general universe so well that it makes no sense to start from scratch.

I guess, if anything, I have to overcome my embarrassment about how big this thing has grown. I mean, six novels, come on. But I think if I just focus on the first three novels and much more specifically just the first novel, then I think — I know — I’ll be ok.

Some of all of this comes from me simply not knowing what I’m doing. No matter what story I was writing, I would face the same type of problems. As such, I just have to keep going. I might have to delay my timeline a little bit, but as long as I’m moving forward, I’m ok.

And, I’m moving forward.

I have a huge portion of this first novel’s outline finished. All I have to do is plug the new holes in it and move forward. I also have to come up with a second book out of whole cloth, but I’m creative, I can do that. But the key issue is — not only are each of these books devoted to one thing and far more simple than they were, they are all thematically connected.

The first three books share a themed, the last three books share a theme.

I continue to be idly interested in working on some scifi, but it’s difficult for me to go down that path because of how much time I would have to spend thinking up a universe and characters to populate it. AND, there would be the aforementioned problems with basic storytelling that I continue to have.

Anyway, wish me luck.