I thought (in addition to the political whingeing below) some of you might be interested in the progress of CAINE BLACK KNIFE.
Writing this book has been an interesting process; it's the first time since I starting actually getting paid for this shit that I've been working without a net -- that is, lacking a detailed outline that traces the chain of causation from initiating incident through climax (the technical term is Bond-movie Big Blowoff).
So I'm 60,000 words in, and I discover that there are things (and, in fact, people) Caine actually knew at the beginning of the novel that would have affected how he handles the situation.
So I have spent the last month or so re-conceptualizing the whole fucking thing. Basically, I'm back-creating an outline that will incorporate as much as possible of the work I've already done, changing only where necessary.
The good news is, it's gonna be really, really good. My word on it. The bad news is, now I'm running behind.
As usual.
*sigh*
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5 comments:
I've personally never gotten too far into a story w/o having to revamp it- usually stories formulate in my mind for a long long time before they finally solidify into something write-down-able. (Which results in my having an arseload of unwritten ideas in my head- far more than I've stuckgot down on paper, so to speak.) But my in-the-head revampings have sometimes gotten pretty thorough.
And that was an excellent, excellent analogy, Shawn.
"Writing for discovery" is easy for people who write Westerns.
Fucking easy.
For example, they don't have to explain what a horse is, figure out what their ecological relationship is to coyotes, mountain lions and Apaches, decide how a six-shooter works, or codify the metaphysical relationship between the laws of physics and Christian theology. Among a host of other things.
In other words, two-thirds of the work that a fantasy novelist does is already done FOR them.
Shit, even MYSTERY writers can't just "write for discovery," since they (at least) have to know who did what and why, and have some idea how their hero is going to figure it out.
If you're writing SFantasy, use a fucking outline. Unless you just don't really give a shit about internal consistency (which, after all, is relevant largely to my own style of SFantasy -- the more fabulous and fabulated styles are often IMPROVED by self-contradiction, but that's another story).
The only reason I thought I could get away without doing so is that I'm working in a universe in which I've already published some 500,000 words (and written nearly another 500,000).
Guess what?
I was wrong.
Hey,
I'm a really big fan of the "Caine" saga. I was just wondering, as good as the books are, you leave much in the shadows. While this adds spice to the story as readers try to figure out what happened between who and where this actually took place, you could probably get a bigger response by writing about Caine's past adventures, like Escape from the Boedeckan, or A Servent to the Empire.
We all know the outcome, but your fans want the juicy part of it, not the rewards. I was dissappointed when I read about what Berne had done to Caine when working under Hannto the Scythe, but that was only because it skimmed over the adventure. Although my internet access is limited and I have only heard a brief overlay of Caine Black Knife, but I can't hardly wait.
Could you possibly consider writing on Caine's past adventures? It would make the character of Caine just that much more interesting. Also, I'm addicted to the random acts of violence that Caine usually finds himself in. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I just know that there are many others out there who feel the same as I do concerning Caine's career. Thanks again.
Wow, Cora. You're the only person I know who's actually finished something long working without an outline. I know a lot of would-be writers; I've went to seminars and the like and met them. Most of them say the same thing you do--they simply feel outlining ruins the story. But everyone I've met who says that has never completed anything lengthier than a novella. One girls' drawer was filled with the first ten pages of novels that then died. Whereas, of the writers I know who DO outline, 9 out of 10 finish their longer works.
I'm therefore a big fan of outlining everything--I spent about 3 months detailing EVERYTHING about my fantasy trilogy I have planned. 20 pages of various character histories, 25 of world history, 20 per book of plot, and ten of various racial characteristics. That's a lot. Did it kill my desire to write the story? Temporarily. This particular story's haunted me for over 6 years, and I've already tossed two versions of the first novel. I've got a feeling it will be to me what Heroes Die was to Matt--that story you itch at for years and can't quite get. And in the meantime, I've got at least two movies to work on. So my hiatus isn't a huge deal; I've still got enough information--and passion--for this world that leaping back into it will be easy.
I'm not dissing your style--actually, I'm impressed. Writing without a net is a damn hard thing to do; I have a hell of a time doing it on short stories, let alone novel-length.
Just remember: Everyone is different. No two people are not on fire. The end.
--HaP
Hi Matthew, I was reading your blog and like the guy mentioned in the Yoda gas post I cannot find your email anywhere. I just wanted to say how much I love Star Wars Traitor. I read it back in grade 10 (about 5 years ago) when I got it out from the library. I read it twice in the period I could have it. Later around christmas that year I took it out again and read it, must have been 4 times in the period. Anyways, I bought it later that year and it's one of those books that I continually read and re-read. Probably the best part I love is finding the meaning in everything, lies we hear, supposed truths we were brought up with etc. I won't take up anymore or your time but I must say I'm pretty paranoid about how I write this as I'm sending it to an author, haha.
Thank you for writing it.
Dave
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