The other day I received, unsolicited, a Kindle copy of a book currently available through Amazon.com.  The reason the author (or his representatives) sent out the book to me was not because he/they knew I was an author but because I reviewed a book on Amazon that they thought was similar enough to their book that it would appeal to me.  They were hoping I’d read and write a review for their book and post it to the book’s listing on Amazon.

I can understand the reasons for him/them sending me the book.  The more reviews a book has, and especially if the reviews are positive, the more “popular” it appears to the casual book buyer and, hopefully, the better the chance more people will purchase said book.

I looked at the offered book but found it not all that interesting to me.  There was nothing wrong with the book’s plot, per se, its just that the story wasn’t my proverbial “cup of tea”.  I checked its listing on Amazon and sure enough it had quite a few reviews and, for the most part, they were positive.  I must admit, sending out copies of your book to people who have offered written reviews is something to consider and may well be helpful in getting a boost on your review numbers (By the way, thus far I’ve gotten more reviews on Goodreads than through Amazon.  The six books in my Corrosive Knights series are currently clocking in at -and I’m very proud of this fact- 4 stars out of 5).

Anyway, out of politeness to the author I decided to give the first chapter of this book a try.  Alas, it solidified the fact that this book wasn’t for me.  Further, having written as much as I have, certain technical aspects of the author’s work stuck out…negatively.

Out of deference to the author, I will neither name him or the book he was writing but I will provide some examples of things I found bothersome.

To begin, the book is advertised as a James Patterson-like thriller.  In reading the first chapter, which is a setup for what follows, the author presented an action scenario that took place in a famous location and one he took pains in describing.  Some authors like to do this.  If a book is set, say, in a particular neighborhood in London an author may go out of their way to provide readers a detailed geography of the land.  To some this may be quite fun but to me there is a fine line between offering this type of information and getting a little too focused on geography to the point where one loses the steam an exciting action scene should have.

While this author didn’t go overboard with descriptions he got, IMHO, awfully close.  Again, this is a matter of personal opinion: I like my stories to move and I don’t like to dwell too much on ancillary things or too much description.

When writing, one of the things I’ve learned is that you should constantly be focusing on telling the story as best as you can.  Each sentence and, indeed, word builds your story because every word counts.

Let me offer one sentence from this first chapter of the book and offer a critique of it.  Please note the sentence is just one sentence and does not represent the bulk of hte chapter I read (though to be fair, there were other things I found to be bothersome here and there).  Finally, this sentence is NOT presented completely verbatum as, again, I’m keeping the author and the novel secret.  Nonetheless, the below sentence is very, very close to an actual sentence in the book:

“Stop or we’ll be forced to use stronger measures!” yelled the senior officer in Spanish, who sported a five-o’clock shadow on his chiseled face.

This sentence, as written, is very clunky.  A better way to state the same information is:

“Stop or we’ll be forced to use stronger measures!” the senior officer, who sported a five-o’clock shadow on his chiseled face, yelled in Spanish.

While better this sentence is still not all that good.  By the time we read this passage, we already knows the country this part of the story takes place in and therefore should know the language spoken by the “senior officer”.  Thus, in the interests of brevity, the sentence could have gone like this:

“Stop of we’ll be forced to use stronger measures!” the senior officer, who sported a five-o’clock shadow on his chiseled face, yelled.

Better yet still not great.  I strongly suspect the “senior officer” presented here is a very small character whose only appearance in this novel is right here (I can only suspect this because I haven’t read the rest of the novel).  I know and can appreciate the author wanting to give this small character some kind of “life” in this brief appearance but the “five o’clock shadow” and “chiseled face” is at best a rather obvious descriptor and at worst a very cliched one.

Given the likelihood this is the only appearance of this character, his facial description isn’t as important as his purpose, which is to be a menace to the one he’s shouting at.  That being the case, instead of focusing on the character’s face perhaps it would have be better to focus on the threat he conveys.  How about this:

“Stop or we’ll use stronger measures!” the senior officer shouted as his right hand reached for and gripped the gun strapped to his side.

I make absolutely no pretenses about literary mastery here and acknowledge what I wrote ain’t quite Shakespeare or Hemingway but on the other hand this sentence is better at getting to the heart of what this character’s purpose is:  To impart a sense of threat/danger to the character he’s yelling at.

Writing a story, whether it be short or long or massive involves an incredible amount of thought on the part of the author.  Every word counts and you should try to maximize what you write.

This is not an easy task!

I’ve mentioned before that it took me 12 drafts before I was happy enough with my last two novels to release them.  The reason for these drafts is because I too struggle with making sure what I’m writing is as good as is possible.

I took great pains to not point out who this author is or what book he’s promoting and the reason for that is because it is unfair to do so.  I’m just as guilty as he is, perhaps even more so, of writing clunky sentences or not focusing on elements that should be focused on as I made an example of above.

Not every time you go to bat do you hit a home run.  Sometimes, you’re lucky to just get to first base without striking out.

Yesterday was a particularly good day for my work on the latest Corrosive Knights novel (this will be book #7 and will conclude the main story I’ve been working on for nearly a decade now).

Why was it a particularly good day?  Because as I was thinking the novel’s plot over (something I tend to do with my latest works all hours of the day), the synapses in my brain figured out a way to bring various elements of the beginning and end of the novel together and in a matter of a half-hour and while on the computer I created a beautiful, exciting outline of the bridge linking the two ends of the book.

Mind you, I came up with some far rougher general ideas as to what was going to happen in the middle of the book before but those thoughts were far less complete than what I came up with yesterday.  Indeed, yesterday I filled almost all of the gaps of that middle section of the novel and this will obviously be a tremendous help.

I’ve written about this before but it bears repeating: Authors, like all working people, have their strengths and weaknesses and likes and dislikes.  I’ve heard of authors who have a tough time “beginning” a novel.  I’ve heard of authors who have difficulties wrapping things up.  Indeed, one of the greatest complaints I’ve read against Stephen King’s work (I only wish I could write as much as he does!) is that his novel endings tend to be weak.

For me personally, starting and ending a novel hasn’t, to date, been all that much of a problem.  In fact, whenever I start a new novel I tend to have strong opening and closing ideas.

Where my problem lies is in providing the tissue connecting those two elements.  Further frustrating me is the fact that I strive to make my novels as original as I can and want readers to be surprised by the twists and turns leading to my novels’ endings yet everything must come together by that ending.

Trust me, that’s not an easy task!

Throughout my life I’ve sought out interviews with noted authors about what motivates them and how they work.  Some authors revel in what I consider a “mythological” take on their writing.  To them, writing may be described as akin to creating “magic.”  I’ve read more than one author talk about how their fictional characters take charge of the story and dictate its direction, as if this fictional character the author’s created has taken hold of the story being told.

I think a lot of that is bunk.

I know I’ve said it before but writing is, first and foremost, work.  Plain and simply.  In my case this work can be very hard and mentally exhausting.

On TV, shows like Murder She Wrote and Castle present a fiction of an author who seems to do their writing in their spare time, creating their “best sellers” in a matter of a few hours while otherwise living a fabulous, carefree life.

The reality, at least for me, is one of almost obsessive mental concentration.  Though you may not believe it, I do indeed spend almost every waking hour thinking of my latest novel/story.  I don’t think a minute passes where some part of my brain isn’t obsessing over some detail, big or small, within my latest work.

The thing is, while I tend to get the opening and closing acts of my works out of the way pretty quickly, that middle connective section requires a great deal of care and thought and, to date, I’ve yet to have a middle section of my book come to me as “easily” as my novel openings/closings.

Regardless of all the work involved, I freaking love creating stories.  As difficult and as frustrating and as time consuming and as un-sexy as the act of creation may be, when all that hard work is done and I hold in my hands my latest novel and then add it to the stack of novels I’ve already written, I’m in heaven.  It is as pure a moment of pride and unadulterated joy as I can have.

And I can’t wait to get to work on the next one.

Over on The Atlantic, John Yorke offers his analysis of stories in general and thematic similarities they all share:

All Stories Are The Same

Given the article’s title, you can be forgiven for thinking “why bother” with this article when its conclusion is right there.

If you’re into telling stories, however, I strongly encourage you to check the article out.  It’s a beautifully reasoned work that explores the elements that make up a story.  Yes, all stories share a very similar thematic skeleton, but its in the telling of the tale, and the tale you present, where the differences come in and its why certain stories shine while others may not.

What I find most fascinating, and at the very real risk of stepping on the article, is the very last sentence Mr. Yorke offers in the article.  I’ll reprint it below but, again, I encourage anyone who is interested in the mechanics of storytelling to give the full article a look.

Anyway, the line is:

In stories throughout the ages there is one motif that continually recurs—the journey into the woods to find the dark but life-giving secret within.

As a writer myself, I can’t tell you how elegant and illustrative that single sentence is when related to creative writing.  All stories, mine very much included, feature a “journey into the woods” and finding that “dark but life-giving secret” within.

Beautiful sentence.  Beautiful encapsulation.

Way back in February of this year I offered an update of my latest Corrosive Knights novel and the then hope I would have the novel ready by May (obviously, I was being waaaay too optimistic).  Toward the end of that particular update, I wrote the following and felt it worth cutting and pasting here:

Back when I was in College I took a Literature course and while I don’t remember much about it, there was one particular lesson regarding author Henry James’ view of a novel that really, really stuck with me.  I’ll let Mr. James’ words speak for themselves:

A novel is a living thing, all one and continuous, like any other organism, and in proportion as it lives will it be found, that in each of the parts there is something of each of the other parts.

Mr. James’ ideas, often referred to as the view that a good/great novel presents an “organic whole”, urges authors to not waste a single word or create any scene(s) within their work that is superfluous and doesn’t contribute to the entirety of the work/story you are telling.

Thus in the “perfect” novel a reader is given a work wherein not even one single word is wasted.  Each and every one of the words and sentences and paragraphs and chapters, etc. move the story forward until it reaches its end.

I took this lesson very much to heart.

So whether you like, hate, or are indifferent to any/all of my works, it is my intention to never waste your time as a reader.  I try my best to make sure every element I insert into a novel has a reason for being there and ties into the larger story I’m telling.

And it is indeed a large story and one I couldn’t be prouder of.

I present this because this morning, as I’m going over the 12th draft of my most recent novel, Henry James’ theory on the nuts and bolts of what makes a novel remains one of the best bits of instruction about writing I can think of.  (For the record, Elmore Leonard offered what I consider my second favorite bit of advice but I can’t find the actual quote.  It went something along the lines of “When revising a novel, get rid of all the boring stuff and leave in the good stuff”.  As simple as this sounds, it is a truly profound comment on writing).

Which brings us to this, Danielle Dutton offering…

Terrible Writing Advice From Famous Writers

I wish there was more!  Oh, wait…Emily Temple offers us some more…

Bad Writing Advice From Famous Authors

One of my favorite “bad” pieces of writing advice is presented in this later link and comes from Ray Bradbury:

Quantity produces quality.  If you only write a few things, you are doomed.

On the surface, this bit of advice is something that tempts you into thinking its true.  If you release a number of books/stories, there is a good chance that some of them will touch a nerve and be viewed as “great” works.

This may work for some, but I feel there is a double edged sword here: If you are focused entirely on releasing work after work, is there not a danger you will start repeating yourself?  Is there not a danger that you will come to view your works as a commodity instead of something you aspire to make “great”?

My latest Corrosive Knights novel has taken to date 2 years to make.  It runs roughly 100,000 words and, when it is finally released (soon!), I suspect a speedy reader could read it in a day or two.

Why did it take me 2 years to make the novel?  Because that’s the length of time I needed to make it.

It sounds silly when put that way but this is the reality: This novel features an intricate plot that is not unlike the delicate machinery in a Swiss watch.  All the elements in this novel have to come together to work as a whole and, when dealing with the intricacies I’m trying to put forward, this is not an easy thing to achieve.

I don’t want to give readers something they’ve seen before.  I want to release something that surprises and, hopefully, delights them because it is unique in its own way and unique when compared to my other works.

Understand, I don’t want to sound obnoxious. Just as I know there are those who like my works I also know there are others who don’t care for them.

This is the way things go.

I could literally “bust my ass” while scaling back my ambitions and write one novel after the other and release them every few months.

I could do that but I know the quality of the works will be inferior…at least to my eyes.

Writing, for me, is not an easy thing to do.  I love doing so dearly and know I will do so until the day I die.  At times the process is incredibly frustrating.  Even infuriating.

Yet I will continue to do so.

There’s nothing as beautiful as finishing your latest novel and realizing you’ve created something you can be proud of.  Something that will live long past your days on this planet and will, hopefully, give joy to others.

I’ve babbled enough.  Back to the 12th draft of my novel!

Rainy days have a way of making me reflect on my life and passions and one of the biggest ones is writing.

As of today, I’m knee deep in my 10th (!) draft of the latest Corrosive Knights novel and as of this month, its been two full years since I first began writing it.  The fact that I’ve been working on this material as long as I have and remain as laser focused on getting this book cleaned up and released is proof of my love for this work and my love, in general for writing.

After this book is released?

I’ll do like I usually do, take a day or two to pat myself on the back and admire the fact that the bookshelf devoted to my works has filled up just a little bit more.  After that day or two is over, I return to my computer and begin writing my next novel.

Getting back to the topic on hand, my guess is it takes approximately three months (give or take) for me to write the first draft of a novel but, obviously, much, much more time revising and rewriting it before I feel its ready for release,

I’m not the only one.  While googling the topic of rewriting, I was struck by many of the quotes I found.  For instance,

“I have rewritten — often several times — every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.” Vladimir Nabokov

Another one:

“Writing a first draft is like groping one’s way into a dark room, or overhearing a faint conversation, or telling a joke whose punchline you’ve forgotten. As someone said, one writes mainly to rewrite, for rewriting and revising are how one’s mind comes to inhabit the material fully.”  Ted Solotaroff

Perhaps the most succinct and to the point quote I found regarding this topic comes from author Truman Capote:

Good writing is re-writing.

It is also, needless to say, a lot of work and someone like me, as passionate as I am about writing, would find it far harder to work on a novel if I still had to use a typewriter as opposed to a computer.

Mind you, I have used both.

When I was much younger and computers and word processing programs didn’t yet exist, I wrote a few stories (none good, trust me!) and found it an incredibly frustrating process.  The process of writing those works on a typewriter was slowed considerably every time you hit the wrong key or realized, mid sentence or mid-paragraph or mid-thought, you could write whatever it is you were writing a lot better better if you did this or that.  With a typewriter, you’re stuck.  You could either tear the page out or draw a line through the “bad” sentence/paragraph or you could keep going and make a note on the page that when you re-wrote it, you needed to change x or w or z.

Regardless, if I were using a typewriter today rather than a computer my latest novel, now two years in the making, would easily take twice as long if not more to finish off.

And I would have done it.

Mind you, it would not have been easy and my level of frustration would be far greater but I would have done it.

I love writing that much.

Why point all this out?

As the cliche goes, the best thing in the world is to find your passion and make something positive out of it.

Having said that, one should look oneself in the mirror and see if their passions, whatever they may be, are something that can be realized.

If your great passion is to be an Olympic swimmer but you have neither the long, lean body, the physical strength, and/or patience to spend hour after hour in a pool exercising, then chances are you’ll never accomplish that which you desire.

Similarly, if you want to be a writer and have this extraordinary idea you think would make for a great book yet day after day put off writing that book to spend time watching TV shows or playing video games or taking a walk, then chances are you’ll never get that book done.

Put in the work.  The sad fact is that even if you work extremely hard, nothing may come of it.

However, if you’re anything like me and the day comes for you to look back on your life and your accomplishments, you’ll find yourself thankful for many things.  For me, I’ll be thankful for my family.  I’ll be thankful for the friends I found along the way.  I’ll remember the good times and try hard not to dwell on the bad.

For me, I’ll look at that bookshelf which houses my works.  By then, I hope it’ll be full of wonderful works I can be proud of.  They may not make me rich and famous but their existence sure fills me with satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.

Have fun at it.

Always.

Last week a video emerged showing noted authors Stephen King and George R. R. Martin doing a Q&A between themselves.  This is the video:

While it is interesting to watch the back and forth between these two very famous literary figures, one of the more fascinating bits comes at nearly the end of the video.  If you go to the 50 minute mark, Stephen King tells Mr. Martin that if he has any question for him, ask and ye shall receive.

To which Mr. Martin, with a chuckle, asks Mr. King: “How the fuck do you write so fast?!”

I’ll spoil Mr. King’s answer here but if you’re a fan of either author its worth listening to the actual statement.

Regardless, Mr. King states he writes 6 pages of material daily, seven days a week, which amounts to approximately 3-4 hours of work each day.  With 6 pages daily, he notes, he can have a 350 page book done in a matter of a few months.

A longer time ago, Mr. King released a book called On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft and, while I hadn’t read that book in a while, I recall he stated that once a novel was written, he would put it away to “mellow out”, then give it a review and it was ready to be released.

I point out both statements by Mr. King because with them one gets a decent idea of his writing habits.  I get the feeling Mr. King does precious little revising of his works and many of his novels, or at least many of his more recent novels, may be just a few steps away from being first drafts of his works.

Which boggles my mind.

Mind you, Mr. King wouldn’t be the first author to produce and release works that may be little more than first drafts of said material.  William Gibson, noted Shadow author, was able to release a new 50,000 word Shadow story during the heights of the pulp era in a matter of days and he did this for many years.  In fact, I recall reading in the reprints of the Shadow stories (still going on) that he wrote his very last Shadow story during that era in a DAY.

While an extraordinary achievement, this is certainly possible if your mind works in such a way that you have the complete story in your head before you sit down and type it out.

I admire that sort of talent…even as I lament the fact that my mind doesn’t work in that way at all.

For me, writing is a journey of discovery.  I often start a book with a reasonably clear idea of the beginning and end and work things out as I make those ends meet.  But after finishing the first full draft of any novel, I then have to do the revisions.

This stage often takes as long as it does to write the damn thing.

Why?  Because it is during the revision process that I’m like a movie editor.  Seeing which scenes make sense and that they are presented in proper order.  A couple of days ago and while revising my latest Corrosive Knights novel -the 9th draft by the way!- I realized that a neat little bit I wrote made much more sense a little earlier in the book than where it lay in all previous 8 drafts of the novel.

Think about that: I’ve read and revised the book 8 times and it didn’t take me until the 9th revision that I realized this scene worked far better a little earlier.

Now the big question: Does changing the location of one particular sequence make the book significantly better?

In my mind, I can’t help but feel it does.

Directing legend Stanley Kubrick was known to obsess over individual scenes in his features, sometimes filming many multiple takes of even the most banal activities.  I recall he stated in an interview that when he worked on a film, he wanted to give it his all.  Why release something that isn’t you’re absolute best?

While I’m certainly no Stephen King or Stanley Kubrick, if I were to compare my own work habits to either gentleman I’d probably be closer to Mr. Kubrick.

When I write a book, I immerse -perhaps obsessively!- into what I’m writing to the point where there doesn’t pass a single day, sometimes not even a single waking hour, where I don’t have at least one thought on the work I’m currently doing.  And when the first draft is done, it is not unheard of for me to go 10+ drafts into the work before I feel it is ready to be released.

Of course I’d be lying if I said I didn’t envy Mr. King’s work habits.  I truly wish I could have a novel fully fleshed out in my head before a single sentence is typed.  Even if that’s not the case with Mr. King and he’s able to break a novel down six pages at a time, that’s still far better than the anticipation I’m capable of when I write.

The point of all this is: If you’re a writer, you may fall anywhere along this spectrum.

There is little to be gained by envying the speed with which others release their works so long as you’re certain when your projects are released they represent the very best you’re capable of doing at that particular time.

Aaaaannnnndddd having said that, it’s back to the 9th draft of the latest Corrosive Knights book for me…