A Matter of Time
Fourteen years ago today, at 5 AM, I sat down at my computer with the intention of writing a fifty thousand word novel in twenty-four hours. Partially inspired by National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo, when asked why I was doing it, the only answer I had was “to see if I can.”
Looking back now, it is clear that this was something I needed to do, rather than wanted to do . . . so much of writing seems to work that way, doesn’t it? In May of the previous year my good friend Bruce Kuschner had died unexpectedly, then in September came 9/11. Writing this round-the-clock novel was, in some way, my response to those tragedies, and what followed. I recorded my effort in a short time lapse video you can see here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpafj...
Dave Reber, who appears as a central character in the novel, wrote the following jacket copy. It seems remarkably prescient given recent events.
A MATTER OF TIME is part autobiography, part political polemic, and part suspense thriller. In the very near future, a proud progressive struggles against a newly elected totalitarian regime in America --- at tremendous personal cost.
While the country moves to the far right and sacrifices freedom for security, a small cadre of “slow old guys” in a bucolic Northern California town peacefully, almost passively, take over their own local government and see their visions of peace, tolerance and harmony become the law of their small land. But even as their libertarian principles blossom in the village, dark clouds of oppression gather over their beloved nation, and soon their leader finds himself sentenced to die for the accidental, and televised, demise of a friend.
Told in the first person, this gripping tale of the last 24 hours of the condemned hero’s life is rich with reflection, incisive wit and lush narrative. As the hours pass, the reader is introduced to players, both real and fictional, woven into a seamless tapestry of character and story. Beliefs are tested, honor challenged, while the minutes inexorably tick away to the final decision, and ultimate statement of belief, as one man’s life is reduced simply to A MATTER OF TIME.
As a writer who rarely outlines, this project was a complete departure for me. My goal was to finish each chapter in no more than hour, in real time, as those same hours tick off within the story . . . Chapter One starting at 5 AM. Each chapter was mapped out on chart paper, with a target word count, main plot points, and character actions. I even had “Help” flip cards with suggestions to get me “un-stuck” if I came up against a block. For the first three hours I was able to produce the required 2,083 words per hour – 35 words per minute – but while my fingers could hold that pace, my brain could not, and I had to slow down.
I ended up with 28,000 words, finishing in just over twenty hours.
At some point I intend to publish the book, but on this day, fourteen years after its creation, I choose to remember Bruce Kuschner, who helped to inspire it, and Dave Reber, gone almost two years now, who recognized something in it. To absent friends, and to a future that, while it may not be as bright as we hope, will only be as dark as we allow.
Ed
Looking back now, it is clear that this was something I needed to do, rather than wanted to do . . . so much of writing seems to work that way, doesn’t it? In May of the previous year my good friend Bruce Kuschner had died unexpectedly, then in September came 9/11. Writing this round-the-clock novel was, in some way, my response to those tragedies, and what followed. I recorded my effort in a short time lapse video you can see here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpafj...
Dave Reber, who appears as a central character in the novel, wrote the following jacket copy. It seems remarkably prescient given recent events.
A MATTER OF TIME is part autobiography, part political polemic, and part suspense thriller. In the very near future, a proud progressive struggles against a newly elected totalitarian regime in America --- at tremendous personal cost.
While the country moves to the far right and sacrifices freedom for security, a small cadre of “slow old guys” in a bucolic Northern California town peacefully, almost passively, take over their own local government and see their visions of peace, tolerance and harmony become the law of their small land. But even as their libertarian principles blossom in the village, dark clouds of oppression gather over their beloved nation, and soon their leader finds himself sentenced to die for the accidental, and televised, demise of a friend.
Told in the first person, this gripping tale of the last 24 hours of the condemned hero’s life is rich with reflection, incisive wit and lush narrative. As the hours pass, the reader is introduced to players, both real and fictional, woven into a seamless tapestry of character and story. Beliefs are tested, honor challenged, while the minutes inexorably tick away to the final decision, and ultimate statement of belief, as one man’s life is reduced simply to A MATTER OF TIME.
As a writer who rarely outlines, this project was a complete departure for me. My goal was to finish each chapter in no more than hour, in real time, as those same hours tick off within the story . . . Chapter One starting at 5 AM. Each chapter was mapped out on chart paper, with a target word count, main plot points, and character actions. I even had “Help” flip cards with suggestions to get me “un-stuck” if I came up against a block. For the first three hours I was able to produce the required 2,083 words per hour – 35 words per minute – but while my fingers could hold that pace, my brain could not, and I had to slow down.
I ended up with 28,000 words, finishing in just over twenty hours.
At some point I intend to publish the book, but on this day, fourteen years after its creation, I choose to remember Bruce Kuschner, who helped to inspire it, and Dave Reber, gone almost two years now, who recognized something in it. To absent friends, and to a future that, while it may not be as bright as we hope, will only be as dark as we allow.
Ed
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