Jonathan Dyer's Blog: The Nick Temple Files, page 12
August 18, 2020
A Cold War March with Greek Communists
The political season, while never far away, is officially upon us here in the U.S. with the opening of the Democratic Party’s national convention last night. The quadrennial event is virtual due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, so the usual camera shots and stories about convention floor antics will be missing, as will the sight of cheering partisan crowds, all part of the pageantry of politics in a democracy. This custom we go through every four years alw...
August 12, 2020
The Genesis of Nick Temple File no. 6, The Heidelberg Gap
The process of starting to write another book is never the same. Last night and this morning I was mentally paging through the typical spy novel plots and titles just for the hell of it. None of the results were particularly surprising. Plots included a rogue nation/group stealing a nuclear device; a weak nation trying to get strong through the development of a formula for synthetic oil or gasoline; destabilization of a major economy with...
August 9, 2020
What’s the Sweet Spot for the Number of Deaths in a Spy Action Thriller?
Death. It’s the great mystery, right? Lots of ideas out there about what happens, what it’s like, whether it’s permanent, whether it’s just another phase, etc. Those are all broad metaphysical questions that humans have been pondering since just about forever, I suppose. My inquiry on the subject of death is narrow by comparison. How many dead bodies are needed for a self-respecting spy action thriller? How do you tell when...
August 5, 2020
The Shadow Chamber is Available on Amazon!
The Shadow Chamber, as of about noon today, is available on Amazon as an ebook. This never gets old, at least not for me. As an independent author, I have complete control over the release process. I don’t have to wait on anyone else’s timetable. I don’t have to urge anyone else to make my work a priority. I don’t have to tread lightly lest someone take offense and either consciously or not adjust how they approach moving my project along. I’m well awar...
July 27, 2020
Once a First Draft is Done
Finishing a first draft of a novel is immensely satisfying. Getting all of those thoughts connected in a meaningful way and then getting them down on paper, or more likely in some sort of electronic document format, is like coming out into the light at the end of a long, arduous tunnel. Besides the emotional benefit of finishing, there’s the added benefit of being in a productive groove, of being accustomed to spending many hours each day working exclusively on writing...
July 23, 2020
A Tale of Two Triples
(Author’s note: This is an article I wrote for a fantasy baseball blog back in 2012. I’m posting it as the Major League Baseball season opens in truncated fashion due to covid-19.)
During a night game on April 20th, the Oakland A’s Jemile Weeks hit a triple against the Cleveland Indians. I watched and rooted from the comfort of my couch. During spring training Weeks found some power in his stroke – nothing phenomenal, but more than last year. It looks like it’s carried over...
July 21, 2020
Writing Backwards
The first chapter I wrote in The Shadow Chamber was one of the last chapters in the book. And I recently wrote what will be the last chapter in the book with only about half of the 1st draft finished. Since then I have found that much of what I’m doing is writing backwards. I’ve picked a point and now I’m figuring out how to get there. That actually makes sense in a physical way. For instance, when I get in the car to go someplace I’ve never been before, I obviously know where ...
July 13, 2020
Description, Dialog and Development
Creating a believable character is harder than it sounds. Unlike a play, a novel doesn’t have a list of the characters the reader will eventually encounter. The novelist introduces them throughout the story using a variety of methods to flesh out just who they are. At least that’s an approach I prefer.
A physical description obviously gives the reader an immediate mental picture to associate with a particular character. In addition to a static picture, the des...
July 8, 2020
A Different Theory of Evolution
One of the things that has surprised me most about writing is how characters can change as a story unfolds. In spite of having a rough idea of what role a character is going to play and what are the primary attributes of that character, I’ve had characters change in ways I hadn’t anticipated as I work through a book. I’m not talking about deliberately mapping out a character’s growth. I’m talking about something unplanned and unanticipated. Sometimes the change st...
June 22, 2020
Sources of Inspiration
It may go without saying that, experimental forms of writing notwithstanding, a good story is at the heart of good fiction. And I assumed for many years that knowing what the story will be is a prerequisite to putting pen to paper. I saw no chicken or egg quandary; story first, writing to follow. My experience leads me to conclude otherwise. A basic story can, and often does, develop, take shape, emerge, reemerge, or simply hide for thousands of words while writing. It can...
The Nick Temple Files
- Jonathan Dyer's profile
- 19 followers
