R. Leib's Blog: Dream State - Posts Tagged "tourist-of-infinity"

I was talking with someone who read "The Negative's Tale" a couple of days ago. One thing she said got to me. She asked me to write another Allon Wu story. I did have one in mind, but it takes place at the end of his life. I have been thinking about it, and have come up with another challenge for the central character of "The Negative's Tale". There will be a new mystery to tangle with that has twists and surprises and concealed motives. I have taken the first step on that long journey today with the first pages of "Tourist of Infinity".

Thanks Laura.

It's been four days since the beginning of my new project. Here is what has happened so far:

The major characters have been blocked out. This is not to say that they are set in stone. I might tweak their descriptions and traits to fit how the story develops, and I might add more characters, discard characters, or split or merge them.

The primary and main back stories have been summarized. Once again, these may be modified to refine or improve the flow of the narrative. This summary gives me a framework and a rough roadmap to guide me, while I construct the story. I have a plan for most of who does what and what happens to them. A list of suspects have been formed, but I have yet to decide who is the culprit, if there is one. That information will evolve on its own during the writing process.

The basic research into the science behind the events outlined in the plot summary has been done. Notes and Excel spreadsheets have been created containing the information necessary to make the details and occurrences as scientifically reasonable and as consistent with each other, as I can make them. This does not mean that I am done researching. New elements that arise during the writing of the "Tourist of Infinity" will require further checking. Things that I have not considered yet will need to be resolved. Research never ends. It outlives the writing process itself.

The first few pages have been written.

Now that the project is started and the first flush of enthusiasm has been invested in preparations, the hard, long hours of writing begin. The hardest part is getting myself to put in the writing time on a regular basis. I will not be able to finish the novel within the time limit I have set for myself, if I am not consistent in my dedication to the work. Every day, no matter how small the contribution, I must move forward. I have set a pace for myself to have the rough draft finished in four months. Then the editing and re-editing begins. I do not know about other writers, but I have a need to evaluate every word to make certain that I am confident of its contribution in telling the story, that it is the right word for the moment, and that it does not disrupt the narrative flow.

Last night, it occurred to me that an element of one of my subplots was not imaginative enough. I thought about it for a while, and came up with what I think is a much better idea. This is where writing a plot summary comes in handy. It was easy to change a bit of description in the summary, and now that concept is very different. I have started writing that part of the book, and I have to say that I am much more enthusiastic about how it is going than I would have been with the way it was originally.

Things are going well although slowly. The change to the subplot is working out well. I have written about the equivalent of a short story. Research continues. As does refinements of some of the concepts behind the story. It is important for Fantasy and Science Fiction writers to establish base concepts that delimit the circumstances and actions in their stories. Other fiction writers are bound by the realities we all share. Our genre allows us to create "realities" for our readers that are the product of our imaginations. This advantage, like all advantages, comes with responsibility. Without a logical construct to which our readers may anchor their suspension of disbelief, we lose their trust.

It happened again. As I was writing the first draft for the "Tourist of Infinity", a character that was going to be a walk-on decided that he had to be a major player. This happened when I was writing "The Negative's Tale", too. That character became intrinsic to the essence of that novel and has carried over into the sequel. Now another individual has taken independent life. In "The Negative's Tale", Mitchell Ebberhaus essentially wrote himself. All I needed to do was make certain that he had living companions, places to be, and scenes to play. Now Jim Tiesle is doing the same thing. This is part of what makes writing fun.

Progress on the new book has been off and on. I am definitely behind on the schedule I set for myself, but that was inevitable. That's the bad news. The good news is that the story is emerging better than my original imagining of it. Characters and plot elements are developing like seedlings breaking through the earth to revel in their cotyledons. This has become something that breathes on its own. All I have to do now is provide the words to feed it.

I'm just about four months into writing the first draft of "Tourist of Infinity", and I'm about half way done. It's going slow, but I'm pleased with how the plot and characters are developing. I have been somewhat side tracked by another project. Writers Worth is constructing another anthology, and I am honored to be writing one of the stories. More about this at a later date, the urge to write is on me, and I need to get to it.

To be honest, I am not having too good a time lately. I have stalled a little on my novel, "Tourist of Infinity". It is not that I do not know what to write next; it is that I am having trouble motivating myself. I have had a few personal setbacks, as well. So I am a little depressed. But I am not giving up. Tonight I am putting myself back to work. (I am nocturnal; I write at night.)

I've lost some time, but the first draft of the "Tourist of Infinity" is moving forward again. It will probably take another month to complete it. Then the reworking and editing starts. But it will be nice to have something done even if it still needs a lot of work.