Writing while driving
Michael Haskins
I am on a book-signing road trip. I drove to North Carolina to spend a few days with my military intelligence source and then to NYC to see my daughters and their family and attend a few get togethers to sell Free Range Institution.
I drove because I no longer like flying and I am not in a hurry, so why not see some of the country. This is my third trip to NC and NYC.
I drive back to Key West for about ten days and then head to Houston for a signing at Murder by the Book, and then westward to SoCal for the LA Times Book Festival and three other signings. The signing information is posted on my website: www.michaelhaskins.net. If you are in any of the areas, please stop in and say hi.
When I left Key West, I had about 150+ pages written on my current project, Stairway to the Bottom. My friend and fellow writer Joe Moore asked me about it at a MWA luncheon last year and when I told him I was letting it write itself, he smiled – I think he wanted to pat me on the head as you would a lost child.
I used the drive time to NC and NYC to think about where the story was headed – writing in my head, I call it. I discovered some angles and twists that I hadn't thought about, created some dialogue, and finally pulled over at a rest stop and found my small recorder that was in the trunk with my laptop.
On the rest of the trip, I talked into the recorder and left myself notes of where the story was going, some twists to add to the story but still haven't come up with an ending I like. In my past three mystery novels – Car Wash Blues, being the third and due sometime in 2012 – I pretty much had the beginning, middle, and end sketched out before I started. The story never went the way I thought it would, taking turns and twists as the characters took over.
My idea for Stairway to the Bottom had a beginning and I thought it would write itself, as it seemed to have done with my other mysteries. It was going pretty well. I was 150+ pages into it when I left for my road trip.
The quiet time in the Miata let my mind wander and it didn't take long to get on the story line. I liked where I was in the story so far, so I thought ahead and saw some possibilities in the direction to go. One incident lead to another and soon dialogue was popping into my head and that's when I need the micro tape recorder.
When I get back to Key West, around the first full weekend in April, I will work from my taped notes and maybe get a chapter or two written before I leave for Houston and LA. But that's another long road trip and who knows what new twists to add to the story I might discover while driving.
If you are out driving somewhere between Florida and California, please drive carefully, the life you save might be mine.
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