Sunday, December 28, 2008

This Week

I'm taking some time off this week to try to finish my book, A Tale of Two Kingdoms. I'm sitting at around 26,000 words as of yesterday. Contractually, they want it to come in between 30,000 - 35,000 which I think will be 150-200 pages. I have no fear of hitting the word count by January 30 (the deadline), but I am nervous about ending the story properly. As a writer, I've generally had a discovery philosophy where I much prefer to just write and see where I end up. This has it's benefits...and I'm sure it is rooted into my improvisational background, but it also has some drawbacks.

I can tend to meander and sometimes lose the throughline of the story I'm telling. I generally make up for this by constantly editing the entire story every so often to make sure I am on the right track. I have a loose outline for the last six chapters of the book that I'm writing now, but just having the outline for some reason creates some angst. Perhaps it is that, knowing this creation will be published, there is no turning back. This is the ultimate loss of creative control. I've been editing this story for nearly eleven years. Next month, others will start editing it with me...and then it will be cast in stone (or hardback) in the Library of Congress. It will be done forever. Only George Lucas can go back and have Greedo shoot first. The rest of do not have that luxury.

The big decision now really hinges on how to end this tale. The publisher and myself would love to see it become the first in a series, but that will depend on how it is received in the broader market. (I don't think they create an extended series based on an author's parents and 100 closest friends buying a book.) So, I'm trying to end it with both hope and some measure of uncertainty. If I knew for sure that there would be a second, the ending would be a bit more menacing. If I knew it was the only one, it would likely end with all the loose ends tied.

I know that I want the final chapters to have a strong eschatological emphasis. To help me prepare, I'm currently reading N.T. Wright's Surprised by Hope. I just started it, but I can tell it is going to be good - possibly mind blowing. Feel free to join me.

8 comments:

Daniel Kalbach said...

I just bought that book as well. I enjoyed him on The Daily Show? Did you see that?

Stacey said...

Joe,
you're amazing when it comes to being creative and writing, and I have no doubt in my mind that your book will turn out wonderfully.

I can't wait to read it!

Sherry said...

God has your back so don't sweat it.
Good job Joe!

zride17 said...

I say you should go BIG. Maybe the response will be huge right out of the gate. Maybe it will come off like Weezer's Pinkerton album and take few years for masses of people to realize its genius and worth.

Tease us Joe! What would we do once we got to where you are taking us? If we liked it, we would probably ask you to take us there again! But, if you kept saying, "We're not there yet, stay with me", we would all talk about how great the journey is and that is a virtue that will stay with us as we are all journeying together.

Sorry if that sounded too blowhardy. Just got excited I guess.

Josh said...

This is really cool. I'm also writing a book, so I know how it feels. Although, I'm certainly no where close to being finished. I happen to be too lazy and procrastinate all the time. But, good luck! And I fully intend on buying one.

As a minor note here, even though it is a bit late, you were utterly awesome in the {re}gifter. Sam was very lovable, and I really enjoyed the show. :]

Shannon said...

Joe... just thought I'd let you know, in case you didn't, I do a good deal of writing myself, AND EDITING... if you'd like me to take a read of your manuscript, and edit a bit, I'd be more than happy to volunteer. Yours would be the 3rd full-length book I'd helped edit to date. Anyway, just let me know... I'd be excited to help!

SaintLewisMusic.com

Ramon Avendano said...

Hey Joe,

my boss passed this along to me, it made me think of you and your pursuits.

http://www.iamsecond.com

--Ramon

tommy said...

I hope he gets the girl in the end. That would be cool. Also, if one of the characters could find a way to blow up a death star, that would be cool also.