Gene Poschman's Blog: My Journey as a Writer, page 2

Getting into the Movies

If you are reading this because you think I am about to provide a path to turning your masterpiece into a blockbuster, I am sorry, because I hope this is my journey and I do not know how it will turn out.

If you have a contact in the film world, I suggest you connect with that person and hope they can be of assistance. In my case, I know a filmmaker whose work I admire I and I have asked her for advice. This is my first attempt in providing her with what she suggested.

She recommended the book "Save the Cat", which I will pick up when I get my next check. She also wants a brief description of the books and their genre plus "Movie like references". That is what this blog entry will be all about. So sit back and read, there is more to come as I continue writing my third novel and work towards seeing my novels "At the Movies".

The "Genre" could be categorized as light Film Noir. I write somewhere between Dashiell Hammett and Dick Francis. The Novel series I am currently working on is called "Jonas Watcher". It is a detective adventure series with some elements of mystery and humor. The stories are currently taking place in the 1930's in San Francisco, New Orleans, St Louis, and Chicago with mentions of Boston and New York.

Jonas Watcher starts out as a derelict suffering from a really bad case of the DT's The Case of the Running Bag" which starts him on the road to recovery, and, of course, finding out who tried to kill him.
on a floating pier in the San Francisco Bay. He is a "Great War" veteran who was in the military police. He is clearly damaged from the war. He is almost murdered in the first book, "

In the second book, "The Case of the Bourbon Street Hustler" Jonas goes to New Orleans, for a client who wants to know if his son was killed there. Jonas explores the French Quarter, and the Bayou surrounding New Orleans. He soon discovers that not only is he a hunter, but he is also being hunted. In the Bayou, the most deadly creature walks on two legs and doesn't have scales.
ook, "

The third book is a work in progress and is called "The Case of the Jade Dragon". Jonas is returning home from New Orleans and takes on the role of good samaritan, rescuing an elder Chinese man and his daughter. The act gets Jonas mixed up in an ancient Chinese feud, star-crossed lovers, and a task in which it doesn't matter whether he succeeds of fails, someone is going to kill him.

There are the brief descriptions of the first three books. The next three books are; "The Case of the Looking Glass Mirror", "The Case of the Laveau Curse", and "Where Evil Lurks".

As for recent film references that might pertain to my novels I have been somewhat at a loss because no one is currently feature films circa 1930. Ther are a number of TV series that fit in that genre, so here they are.

     From BBC, there is Hercule Poirot, not as much adventure and not really "light Film Noir" but the right period, wrong country.

     From Australia, Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries. A little more adventure, a little earlier time period, but very much in the style I'm looking for. She is a female detective in Australia and a bit of a fish out of water but very self-reliant.




 








 From Canada, Murdoch Mysteries. These are before "The Great War" but close in style, not quite enough adventure. Murdoch is a policeman/detective who is a Catholic in a Protestant city at the turn of the century. The focus is primarily mystery oriented with the touch of science of the time and a little bit of what if.


If you look at "The Big Sleep", The Thin Man" series with William Powel and Myrna Loy, "The Maltese Falcon" you have a better feel for the type of book and film I am looking at. Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, and Earl Stanley Gardner had a big effect on my writing and story telling. I am more about adventure story and character development and less about the "Mystery".


  "The Sting" with Paul Newman and Robert Redford also captures the look of my novels from a design view. The story is from the same period and the style is close to what I am looking for. While I am planning to write the treatments for the books, I am looking for advice and help in doing so.

I am sure I have missed the boat with this blog, but this is my first pass at providing the requested information as I understand it. I am open to criticism because I want to get on the next step.

So "Save the Cat" here I come. It is time to read.

At A Book Signing

It was my first book signing as an independent writer. In other words, there were no other writers there, just me. I had visions of a room filled with people holding sparkling conversations, drinking Champagne, and lining up to buy my book. It was right out of Castle or Murder She Wrote. The problem was it was noon on a Saturday in Hayward California. It was the Book Shop in Hayward on "B" Street, (give your local supportive bookstore a plug) and who the hell has heard of Gene Poschman. Let's face it I am not James Patterson or Stephen King. There was no line out the door of waiting fans to get the next book in the Jonas Watcher series.

Carl, the Bookstore owner, set up a table for me prominently located so that each and every patron could see that I was there on display. "See the Local Author" should have been displayed above my head with some reference to feeding or not feeding me. I may recommend that to Carl the next time I go for a book signing. Yes, there will be another book signing. Let's go back about six weeks when I first approached Carl at the Book Shop.

I knew Carl supported local authors, and I approached him about carrying my books. The Book Shop has a section on local authors and he agreed. He carries only one book title for each local writer which is fair. Sometimes people will buy a local writer but there is usually very little movement on the books of local writers unless they put out some effort on their own. When he agreed to carry my books,  I asked about a book signing. We discussed it and came to an agreement. We found a date and Carl walked me through the process, it was quite simple. The Book Shop would advertise through their normal channels, but it was up to me to get the word out beyond their normal audience.

I did a number of things. I signed up on some online advertising through online PR sites and a local notice site. I created a flyer which I then walked around to local businesses and asked if they would put them up in their windows. Small local business were more receptive to accommodating me and it gave me an opportunity to meet with locals in the area. I should note, I did not do enough of this. I believe I could have gotten a larger following if I had applied myself better and worked out some additional incentives for the other businesses. This is an area I could use additional input on from others.

I arrived just at noon, "...a little behind my time", and Carl set up a table opposite the door with a blue table cloth. I put up my two books, and Carl provided me with some easels to prop up a sign and a copy of each book. I set an easel on a stack of the related books and sat down and awaited the throngs of anxious readers to get the next book in the Joans Watcher series.
While no throng appeared, people would stop by and talk with me. I probably talked to over thirty customers in the four-plus hours I sat there. I sold a total of eleven books, which gave me about 33% hit ratio for an unknown independent author. I am certain I made mistakes, but as I didn't cost Carl any money, and I did enjoy myself, the end of the day proved profitable in that I discovered I was comfortable talking about myself as a writer, the books that I have written, and my writing process which a number of people were interested in. Since I have gotten a lot of positive feedback on my books I suspect I will pick up additional readers, who will talk about and hopefully recommend  the book. For those who bought only the first book, I can hope that they will come back for the second.

There was no champagne to toast with.  There were cookies and tea and lemonade, I'm not sure if that was a normal Saturday ritual or if the refreshments were there because I was. It didn't matter.

I now need to do two things. The first is to write book three, The Case of the Jade Dragon is due out in late Fall. Book four, The Case of the Looking Glass Mirror is nagging at me, and I need to find another bookstore who is willing to let a relatively unknown author within their walls to sell his wares. I will still make mistakes, but I am on my way.

Gene Poschman

The Outline for The Jade Dragon

I doubt anyone would be interested in the first pass of the outline I have just finished. I believe some of the details of how I built the outline and how I intend to use it in writing the novel would be of interest. Those who have already written and successfully published novels may be interested to see if there are any nuggets that they may use from my creative process. For someone starting out, to see a successful process that works should provide some support in their attempting their first book.

To be at the outline stage of developing a novel means that you as a writer have accomplished a few things. You have an idea for a story. You have at least written a couple of lines of what the story is about. You have at least a working title and you should have a hook, that is one or two lines as to what your story is about that will hook the reader.

This is what I had for my current project.

Book Title - Jonas Watcher: The Case of the Jade Dragon.

The title was somewhat easy for me, I am writing a series based upon a 1930's detective. The title comes from doing some research and expanding upon a Chinese myth involving a dragon.

Jonas Watcher is hired to bring a young Chinese woman from St. Louis to San Francisco to participate in an arranged marriage to unite two old and powerful families from China. As Jonas takes the case, he discovers that there are factions that are opposed to the marriage and are willing to go to any lengths to stop it, even murder.

This is what I had to start with. I have already established characters from the previous two books, that I will use in this third book, so I have the added advantage and disadvantage of using those characters. The advantage is that I have already worked up details of those characters, and I already know how they will interact in the story line. The disadvantage is that if someone is picking up this book without having read the previous two books I have to reintroduce the characters with enough information to satisfy the new reader without going over ground that will bore a person who has read the previous books. Also, I need to maintain continuity that if I misstep, trust me, readers will let me know.

My outline initially consists of  lines each representing a section of the book that tells the story. Once I have that done, then I start by writing Chapter headings. Eventually, I will use these headings as Chapter titles. I prefer titles to numbers, but that is a personal choice.

----------Chapter 1

An Incident at Union Station
The story opens in a train depot. Jonas is on the train returning from New Orleans. From his first-class compartment, he sees three men taking an older Chinese gentleman and a younger Chinese girl from the train. It is early in the morning and no one else is around to help the couple.

----------

This was the beginning of the  outline to the novel. I write the Jonas Watcher series in the first person, this lets me tell the story through Jonas Watcher. I get to include his thoughts and actions which add a richness and also lets me be less that perfect with grammar because I can write sentence fragments as he is telling the story. It has a disadvantage because everything must be from his point of view, but that just means I have to find a more creative way to insert others points of view.

The outline is not the novel. I am not looking to wordsmith here, but simply to tell the story and include notes to myself and shorthand that will remind me what I need to do when writing the story.


----------

An Incident at Union Station
Jonas is sitting in his compartment on the train, dozing. His Train has been slightly delayed before heading to San Francisco. He wakes up to sounds of distress and sees three men accosting an elderly Chinese man had a young Chinese woman across the tracks from his train. No one else has noticed and no one is coming to the Chinese couple's aid. Jonas checks his forty-four and exits his compartment to help the distressed couple. In the corridor, Jonas sees the conductor who reminds him that they will be departing in 30 minutes. As he gets off the train he notices that the three men have moved the couple from the view of the public. He runs quickly in the direction he last saw them going. He sees a storage area and hears voices. He surveys the area and gets his bearings, his opponents are unaware of their surroundings, they chose it because it was out of sight and sound of the public. (Be here as he analyzes the area for a defensive and attack positions). He approaches the group calmly almost as if he is unaware of what is going on. The Chinese man and woman try to seek help, but the trio threaten them and imply the approaching man may also be in danger. Jonas feigns innocence and then interest as if he might want to participate with whatever is about to take place. Jonas plays his part well and the trio are completely fooled, the Chinese girl is leery, but the old man recognizes Jonas for what he is, a Dragon. The ensuing altercation points out that though he is outnumbered, Jonas is much more skilled at using his environment and the elements about as weapons than his opponents. The Chinese gentleman insists that he and the woman stay out of the way and let Jonas handle the situation, which he does very effectively.

----------
This is the fully written description of the first chapter at first pass. I have little description, I have not identified or described the characters. My intent at this point is to just tell the bare bones of the story so I can get it onto paper, or, in this case, virtual where ever the data resides. In my second pass, I will add some details and may make notes on how I want to story told. I may play with a chapter scene in my head for several hours to longer before I get it down.
There is an area in parenthesis in the above excerpt that is a note to me. "Be There" is a comment that tells me I need to be more involved with the description. I need to be Jonas Watcher and witness the event with his humor, intensity, and sense of purpose. Remember this is my initial take on the story and there is not a lot of detail. There is enough information that it will guide me when I actually start writing the novel. I will add character names, and locations in the outline to have a source of information. When writing from Jonas' POV I am writing the novel, but in the outline I am just building a skeleton of the story. The outline is a tool, only a few people may see it, and that may only be if I have a road block and I need assistance.

The outline is 14 chapter headings and 5 pages. If there is a need I will publish it here, but the example above should be enough to get someone started. My next pass will be to fill in details and add characters names. Also, I will use the outline for research, it will give me direction for areas where I may be weak. I think of it as a map to follow, and I may deviate if something occurs to me when I am writing the novel.

Gene Poschman

Sometimes I Need to Take my Own Advice

On Saturday, I attended a "Meet The Local Authors Book Fair" at the Castro Valley Library. It was probably my first official public appearance as an author. Yes, I sold some books and no, I am not ready to retire on my laurels. While I won't get rich off my royalties from this affair, the Book Fair was a success on a number of levels. I got out of my comfort zone and met a lot of other writers, readers, and I talked about my book in terms of making it interesting. I also have a key phrase that seems to attract people.

"The series is a detective mystery and adventure circa 1930s."

That single line seemed to interest the most people. One young reader asked if I was alive then. No, I wasn't.

My intention is to look into activities that other libraries in the area are up to and see where I can be of assistance, and, of course, get myself out in front of readers. That is the first piece of advice I need to follow.

I have an event on July 18, it is a book signing. I need to publicize it. Partly I need to do it on the internet, and partly I need to find local media that will share the information. While the Book Shop in Hayward will use its usual contacts, I need to do my own advertising. I need to develop my own set of contacts and get the word out. In doing this, I also discovered that helping small local bookstores get additional business is also good for me.  That is the second piece of advice I need to follow.

While I was at the local book fair, I noticed a number of writers who had a single book. At first I was puzzled, but then I noticed that for them the book was part of their other career. They were using the book fair and their book as an additional means to a secondary goal. It was brilliant, they may or may not write another book, but it didn't matter they were using a public forum to shine a light on who they were. An excellent idea.

But there was a writer who was following that particular process, but I do not believe that was the author's desire. When I returned home I took business cards that I had accumulated and proceeded to add people to my Google Circles. A piece of advice I am following, increase my network. I also googled the various authors to see what they were doing. This one author had achieved a certain amount of recognition, but it seemed to have stalled, and I was curious as to why, and after only a little research I discovered what I believe the problem is. And that leads me to my third piece of advice. Write! The author seemed to have stopped writing.

So my third piece of advice, which I do follow, but I need to do it more, Write. I repeated the advice I was given on a facebook response and I repeat it here. "If you want to sell more books, write more books". I was recently impressed by the upcoming releases of James Patterson, he clearly takes this mantra to heart.

Gene Poschman

When is an Outline Not an Outline?

When it is a novel. And when is a novel not a novel? When it is an outline.

We were all taught how to outline. You started with roman numerals, and subheadings were capital letters and the next subheading...

Enough already, outlining is about telling a story. For me it is writing fiction, though it used to be about documentation. I need to tell a story, not build a structure. I write a chapter heading, I don't care for chapter numbers, but you do what makes it work for you. Then you tell a story.

Jonas Watcher: The Case of the Jade Dragon.
An Incident at Union Station
Jonas sees a Chinese couple attacked outside the Train. He Grabs hi colt and exits his cabin for the corridor. He meets the conductor in the corridor who reminds him he needs to be back on the train in half an hour. He exits the train. No one to be seen.
Jason searches and finds the couple and three attackers. (Be There)
The last item, "Be There" in parenthesis is  from the "Writers Master Class" from James Paterson. It is a note to me to remind me that I need to bring the reader into Jason's mind, there is going to be a lot of shit going on here and I need to convey it to the reader. That and TBD are shortcuts to me so I can get the damn story told. I'm not writing it yet, I am telling it.   
Jason deals with the attackers (Be There) and escorts the Chinese couple, a father and a daughter back to the train. He is invited to lunch, the father is very interested in Jonas' occupation. The daughter is concerned about the father's interest.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Back in his office Jason gets back to business, Betty is not at planned get away because her husband's vacation was canceled due to recent gang activity in San Francisco. (It is the 1930s) . There is a bit of detail information about his PI business to quickly bring the reader up to date and demonstrate Jonas' relationships with his receptionist and her husband.
Jonas gives Betty the afternoon off and catches up on business. Toward the evening two oriental men insist Jonas come with them. He refuses and an altercation occurs (Be There). He binds up the two men and prepares to call the police. There is a knock at the door and he cautiously answers. It is the woman from the day before. Her cousins were supposed to extend an invitation to Jonas for dinner as a thank you and to let her Great Uncle meet him...oops.
All Roads Lead To China Town
Jonas arrives to find he is an early guest to a function for which he is inappropriately attired. A room has been arranged for him, and clothes have been set out for him. While he is preparing to get dressed, a woman opens his door and looks in on him.
This next part is actually a piece of the story that goes here. The outline usually won't carry such segments, but sometimes I have to break the story telling and do a little real writing.
     I had just gotten undressed. I was reaching for a shirt laid out on the bed when the door opened. Xifeng stuck her head in.     “May I help you?” I ask.     “I just wanted to see what a dragon looks like,” she said.     While I wasn't naked, I was in my underwear and I really wasn't interested in putting on a show.     “How about you wait until I come downstairs. You'll get to see me all decked out.”     “No,” she replied. “Downstairs you will be dressed as a civilized man among others who are dressed as civilized men. I can wait to see you as you really are.”     She smiled shyly and quietly closed the door.

Jonas comes downstairs, unarmed in more ways than one and is escorted into a parlor with about forty people, all dressed in formal attire. He recognizes the Uncle and his daughter, the two cousins and the woman who looked in on him. No matter how hard he tries to find out why he is there, the conversations always shift to another subject. A gong sounds, dinner is served.
A Princess, an Emperor, Two Thieves and a Dragon
After dinner the men and women separate, the granddaughter maneuvers Jonas into a smaller room away from the others. At first, Jonas suspects this is for an amorous occasion, but then The Great Uncle enters the room and the granddaughter disappears. The Great Uncle explains why he wished to see Jonas when he heard of the events of the day before. He is the head of a powerful family in China Town, and there has been a feud with one other powerful family for over 200 hundred years. They have agreed to a truce and a solution for peace which include an arranged marriage. Jonas gets the history and some details of why he was sent for. The bride is in St. Louis and must be escorted to San Francisco for the wedding. She needs a bodyguard and a chaperone. They want Jonas to be the bodyguard. The Great Uncle's Granddaughter will be the chaperone. She has been present during the discussion to the objections of other members of the family. (Be There) there is a lot of dynamics and characters that Jonas must meet. This is an overnight meeting and Jonas is a guest in the house. He begins to learn more about the family then they want him to know about. Conflict between Jonas and the Granddaughter. (names really important in this story). TBD
There Might Be Dragons
Later in his room, Jonas is visited by two women, the first is a handmaiden who offers herself to Jonas. He reluctantly refuses and uses all his gentlemanly charm to try and get the girl to leave his room. The granddaughter reappears and she helps Jason get rid of the girl. She gives him more information on the family business and why the marriage must take place. The Great Uncle has slowly been going legit and the other family and his have an odd symbiotic relationship in the underworld. They rely on each other in the illegal part of business and if the great uncle does not stay the current course the other family may go under. He is proposing a way to grow and reinforce the legit end while getting rid of the illegal end. There are factions in both families that do not want this to happen.
Then There are the mean Streets of San Francisco
I am breaking here this should give you a feel how I outline, though it is probably arrogant of me to think you might be interested, but if it helps anyone, then it was worth my putting this in.
When I finish the outline, then I will print it out and use it to write the novel. In the outline I will have characters names, I will have details about characters that will never get into the book but by having them at my fingertips I will be able to tell a better story. I am currently working on chapter building  in the Writers Master Class, and although I have already been able to do this, there have been a number items I have been able to glean from the course and James Patterson that have already improved my writing and my writing process.
There is more to come, the next section is on Writing Suspense, I can hardly wait, unfortunately, it will be a little longer before you get to hear,...  read what I have to write.