WHEN DO YOU CALL IT A FINISHED BOOK?
Iheard a line in a movie once that made me nod my head. The maincharacter was a writer, and he told someone, “I’m 300 pages intothis book and I still don’t know what it’s about.”
Thatprobably sounds strange to those who don’t write, but I identifiedwith it immediately. When I am half-way or even three-quarters of theway into a book I am writing, I start getting paranoid over whetherit’s really any good at all. I’m sure a lot of writers go throughthis. Sometimes I just ask myself, “What the hell are you doing? Isanybody really going to care about this story?”
ApparentlySOMEONE cares, because my books keep selling. But the story (and itscharacters) is so close to me that I begin to wonder if all I amdoing is living with the characters in daily life. Daily life doesnot consist of “plots” and “goal-motivation-conflict” in suchfast movement. All those things happen to us gradually throughout ourlives, and they keep changing, depending on our age and life’scircumstances. I am so close to the story that I don’t give anythought to the common rules of writing. Rather than acarefully-crafted beginning, middle and end, I just walk into thecharacters’ daily lives and continue their story. I never use aoutline.
Iam currently about three-quarters done with SHADOW TRAIL, which isscheduled for a June 30th release. Yikes!I have some fast writing to do! A lot of personal and emotionalthings have been going on for me since January or I would havefinished the book by now. Along with all of that, I have felt verymuch like the quote above. I don’t “plot” my stories. I justmove along in the lives of the characters. I create a problem forthem, and then they have to solve it. Very little mystery andsuspense, other than, with Jake Harkner in this series (this is book#6 for the Outlaw Hearts saga), the suspense is usually, “Will helive or die?”
Ithink I have a good story here. According to one of my beta readers,it’s the best one of the series. I hope she is right. “Life”has forced me to write this one hit-and-miss. I usually write fastand straight through, so having to stop for days, or even a week ortwo at a time, has made it difficult for me to stay coordinated withthis story, which brought to mind the above quote. Of course, I doknow what it’s about – Jake’s past has revisited him in a wholenew and surprising way, forcing Jake to admit something to his wifethat he’s kept a secret for 37 years. Now he has to take care ofsomething that is a total surprise to him, and he will face a lot ofdanger in doing so.
Iguess if I stay true to Jake’s character (and his wife’s andson’s), I can’t lose, because all of you wonderful, supportivereaders love these characters. I am working hard to get this bookdone so you can enjoy the story by the end of June. I already haveideas for a book about Lloyd and Katie, and after that, a story abouta grown-up “young Jake,” so I can promise more from this saga. Iam just venting through this blog about how, sometimes, authors begindoubting their own story and wonder if it is developing in a way thatwill keep readers coming back for more.
Beprepared! Jake is coming back into your lives the end of June!
