Writing the final book

[ksmith]

A recent discussion in aireon's group about seat-of-the-pants plotting, outlining, and the transmutation that occurs when converting thought to written word led me to comment about the difficulties I'm having writing the (AFAIK) last book in the Jani series.



I'm required to turn in an outline and sample chapters as part of my contract, but while the money received for this is a good thing, the process is about as much fun as a sharp stick in the eye. The sample chapters aren't horrible--I'm usually certain that they will change by the time the book is finished, but they consist of actual writing that if nothing else allows me to purge some of the garbage that I need to get out of the way as I work my way to the final form of the book. It's a variation of that (apocryphal?) tale about Michaelangelo, in which a patron supposedly asked him how he set about carving David from a block of marble, and he replied that he simply
chipped away everything that didn't look like David. The book is like a big block in my mind (get your blockhead comments out of the way now thankyou), and in the process of yorking it out, a lot of stuff gets on the page that isn't the final book. A little bit may simply require smoothing and polishing, but for the most part, it's hammers, chisels, and the occasional carefully-placed explosive. Extruded block from brain through hands to keyboard and display, with all the inefficiency, irritation, occasional pain, and thick layers of dust that this implies.

The outline had up to this point not served the same function. Every time I've written an outline, I've felt fairly comfortable with it, certain that I could make most of it work. Then I would try to write the story as outlined, and I would find myself running up against barrier after barrier that would eventually lead me to tossing the first 200 pages of the wip and starting over from scratch as the process ground to a halt and I couldn't for love or money or deadlines get it started again until I realized that the story I had written up to that point wasn't the story at all. Wrong plot, sometimes. Wrong antagonist, other times. Sometimes, the realization that I was trying to get Jani to do something she wouldn't do. The act of writing the outline didn't trigger the uh-ohs and wait-a-minutes that the actual writing of the scenes did. It was a forced storyline from the conscious part of my brain, constructed sans percolation, meditation, and steeping in the subconscious brain brew that only occurred for me during the 5 pages a day process of actually writing the story. Because I needed to work through this process, the story that developed always seemed fairly fresh to me. I usually had a good idea of the ending, but the beginning and middle was pretty much up in the air. At this point, I would set aside the outline and pretty much never look at it again, then get on with the business of writing the second-kinda-sorta draft, which would then be rewritten either wholly or in part. By the end of this inefficient, frustrating, and utterly wasteful process, I had the Book, which in some ways was very new all the way to the end.

Then we get to the wip, Jani 5, tentative-and-*will*-be-changed-so-help-me title ENDGAME. I was in an odd frame of mind when I wrote this outline, the details of which I can't discuss mostly because I'll give away major sections of plot by doing so. Suffice it to say that said frame of mind informed my plot. Add to that the fact that as the last book in the series, story arcs that have coursed along through four books will be coming to an end. In order to end in a satisfactory manner, these arcs will end in certain ways that I was able to determine even at the outline stage. It's like this series was a *very* big block, 80% of it has been chipped away by the writing of the first four books, and what remains, even though it is in outline form, is pretty much as the statue it is meant to be. Which means that there's not a whole lot of birthing/discovery/uncovery left to experience, which in turn has taken the edge off my desire to keeping plugging away.

In many ways, for me, this story is completed, and as a consequence I'm having a devil of a time applying myself to the polishing, chipping, and grinding.

Comments

[hoosier-red.livejournal.com]

Actually, I understand this perfectly. So obviously, you need to have screaming ninjas drop through the ceiling, ideally when Jani and John are fooling around -- that should provide enough of a surprise to perk your interest, and you can always cut the scene later.

What?

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

*buttermilk sticks*

(a carryover from Mel's LJ)

[hoosier-red.livejournal.com]

It's not nice to be a doughnut tease, Kris.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

So this is why you keep changing the design of your journal?

Hop a plane and come see me. The guest room has been excavated and is a cat-free zone--you can even have your own HEPA filter during your stay. We can unpack boxes and argue about where our books are going.

In lieu of that, I suggest a formal ceremony to start weekend writing. Tea, and the lighting of a beeswax candle. After all, Jani is a prophet of sorts--mental clarity is, I would hope, her destiny....

Or you could come for ArmadilloCon in August, and get a hotel room. You need to unwind.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I need to unwind, but I'm not sure when I'll get the chance. I'm taking time off in April. Then comes Wiscon in May, and WFC in November.

One thing I'm hoping is that a possible new direction in the day job comes to pass. That will remove some of the weight, because the current situation is wearing me down.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Thinking good thoughts...

[kateelliott.livejournal.com]

That was fascinating. Thanks.

And you have my deepest compassion. I only recently completed the final part of what is to be a seven book series, and writing the last portion which turned into books six and seven was a monstrous task in part because I would periodically come up for air and realize that I had ten things that had to get done, no wait, eleven, no, twelve because I had forgotten about that plot that had to have some manner of resolution, and so on.

It was really tough.

But.

I did get through it (revising now, but that's not the same as first draft for me), and so will you.

Back to the salt mines!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Having a completed draft to rework is indeed different than the scratch part, and greatly to be anticipated.

Honestly, I don't have that many plot lines to tie up. Maybe that's part of the problem...

[kateelliott.livejournal.com]

Hmm. It is true that with a dozen (or however many) plot lines you can do more creative juggling - in fact you have to - and that keeps it interesting. With fewer lines, probably there is an increasingly fixed and fenced path down which the feet must walk.

I noticed how my options narrowed each time I tied something off.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

With fewer lines, probably there is an increasingly fixed and fenced path down which the feet must walk.

Yup, there are few untraveled roads remaining. Lots of eight-lane expressways lined with truck stops and fast food oases.

Maybe one of lines will speed or litter or something. One can hope...

[kateelliott.livejournal.com]

That makes me think of the turnpike, in terms of where you can stop to eat, and that is kind of scary.

[syntaxhorror.livejournal.com]

Does that mean no more Jani after this book? You feel the need to do something different? I believe you spoke about a possible prequel before you wrote Contact Imminent. Is this still a possibility?

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Jani 5 is the last book in the current contract, and it really does serve as a logical stopping point for the story. I used to think about writing a prequel, but the desire faded. I wrote Jani in her 40s, after she had been pummeled by experience. The idea of writing Jani in her late teens/early 20s, prior to her gaining that experience...it doesn't really interest me anymore.

I definitely feel the need to write something different.

[syntaxhorror.livejournal.com]

Yes Jani is probably more interesting with her current baggage than she would be as a teenager from a reader's point of view too.

Aha, but you might write more books in the future, in the same world, with or without Jani?

I personally would love to see a novel entirely from the Idomenis point of view.

Do you have a clear picture of what it is you want to do next?

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

The thing is, the Jani series started with the formation of this character, a woman compelled to cope with a future she would have never chosen for herself. I built the universe to suit. My only interest in the universe and the other characters in it is in how they relate to Jani or affect Jani, so anything I tried to write without Jani as a focus would, I think, fizzle out pretty quickly. Which is one way of saying that I feel no urge whatsoever to write an idomeni novel. :-/

So, IF I wrote anymore Jani books, they would feature Jani. But she's pretty much indicating to me that her story is wrapping up.

I'm noodling over a fantasy series. Also thinking about a mainstream thriller and a dark fantasy. I can't really concentrate on bringing them together, though, until I get J5 out of the way.

[syntaxhorror.livejournal.com]

Dark fantasy sounds really promising. But I'm sure I'll end up buying it no matter what genre your next project ends up in.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Magpie! Magpie!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Yup--that's what I'm thinking about. Keeping things pretty much under my hat until I finish J5, but after that will come Other Things. And if anything comes of them, you will hear the squawk from coast to coast.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Although I know that work is a drag right now, I hope for a shot of fresh energy for you, in a new area.

When writing is NOT your day job, it means you can write what you want. And winning that Campbell means editors will at least look at new stuff. (Only disadvantage about switching from SF is, not everyone reads in both genres.)

However--RA MacAvoy won for Fantasy, and now writes a lot of SF. So, it can work both ways.