I've set up a website just for the two new books in the Twist of Fate series. Since I believe very much in fate it was one of the things that happened at the right time---I think.
Visit http://www.devils-dance.com/ and see what you think. It's still under construction but I wanted something that would only be about my books.
ARLISS
Showing posts with label The Devil's Due. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Devil's Due. Show all posts
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
FINALLY BACK ON TRACK
What is a writer's worst nightmare? Writers block? Rejection slips? Well for me it's having a laptop crash, Outlook go crazy and AOL dump saved messages...never to be seen again...all in one week. That is the time you want to scream. I did, but no one heard me. Fortunately I was alone, because the words I uttered weren't warm and syrupy. I would have done a sailor proud.
After spending a bit of time licking my wounds, I hustled over to Best Buy, where my salesman Jaime was wonderful. He walked me through my various options and we selected the best laptop for my needs. Then came the tedious job of resurrecting all of the files from (whew...thank goodness) my external hard drive. I also learned that Windows 7 Home Premium, while much better than Vista, doesn't support several things. To do that you have to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional providing a little more ka-ching for Microsoft.
If you find yourself in that position, don't buy the actual upgrade if you are only upgrading one computer. It is $199. You can buy a download key for $89 saving more than 50%. Better in your pocket than Microsoft's. Of course you don't get a CD, only a nice piece of cardboard with the number, but who cares? It works. Know what it does? It let's you run some programs and support on XP. Yep. Back to what we had before, but we had to pay Microsoft to get it.
Okay, after a week of fiddling, swearing, transferring, learning and more, I'm finally back on track. Devil's Dance and The Devil's Due are being typeset for the galleys and I'm a happy camper. I actually have the time to write again, and am getting on with "Welcome to Paradise," a government fiasco embezzlement romp being co-authored with Meredith Holland.
By the way, I forgot to mention that the laptop that crashed was my "ailing from the day I got it" HP. The first time it crashed it was only 13 months old and it devoured it's motherboard. Fortunately I had a 3 year replacement warranty. I thought it would be replaced after three crashes. That's what the salesman told me, but no...it had to crash a fourth time for the replacement to kick in.
I bought an ACER as a backup, because there was no way I could trust the HP not to crash again. How right I was. During the next year and a half, it ate two more motherboards and a hard drive. Now all I needed was for it to crash again before May. Can you see me dancing around chanting, "Crash...Crash!"
It accommodated me, I now have a new Dell, courtest of the warranty and some additionatl money, and will never buy HP products again. Within this 2 1/2 year period I buried this laptop and two relatively new HP printers. My complaints to HP fell on deaf ears, so "Sayonara, Baby." You won't be seeing any of my dollars again.
That's all for now--
Arliss
After spending a bit of time licking my wounds, I hustled over to Best Buy, where my salesman Jaime was wonderful. He walked me through my various options and we selected the best laptop for my needs. Then came the tedious job of resurrecting all of the files from (whew...thank goodness) my external hard drive. I also learned that Windows 7 Home Premium, while much better than Vista, doesn't support several things. To do that you have to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional providing a little more ka-ching for Microsoft.
If you find yourself in that position, don't buy the actual upgrade if you are only upgrading one computer. It is $199. You can buy a download key for $89 saving more than 50%. Better in your pocket than Microsoft's. Of course you don't get a CD, only a nice piece of cardboard with the number, but who cares? It works. Know what it does? It let's you run some programs and support on XP. Yep. Back to what we had before, but we had to pay Microsoft to get it.
Okay, after a week of fiddling, swearing, transferring, learning and more, I'm finally back on track. Devil's Dance and The Devil's Due are being typeset for the galleys and I'm a happy camper. I actually have the time to write again, and am getting on with "Welcome to Paradise," a government fiasco embezzlement romp being co-authored with Meredith Holland.
By the way, I forgot to mention that the laptop that crashed was my "ailing from the day I got it" HP. The first time it crashed it was only 13 months old and it devoured it's motherboard. Fortunately I had a 3 year replacement warranty. I thought it would be replaced after three crashes. That's what the salesman told me, but no...it had to crash a fourth time for the replacement to kick in.
I bought an ACER as a backup, because there was no way I could trust the HP not to crash again. How right I was. During the next year and a half, it ate two more motherboards and a hard drive. Now all I needed was for it to crash again before May. Can you see me dancing around chanting, "Crash...Crash!"
It accommodated me, I now have a new Dell, courtest of the warranty and some additionatl money, and will never buy HP products again. Within this 2 1/2 year period I buried this laptop and two relatively new HP printers. My complaints to HP fell on deaf ears, so "Sayonara, Baby." You won't be seeing any of my dollars again.
That's all for now--
Arliss
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Okay, okay, I've been really quiet for a while, but I'm back on the scene. A DREAM LOST is now entitled DEVIL'S DANCE but the second book is still THE DEVIL'S DUE.
In the middle of moving from one townhouse to another, the first edit for BOTH books came in. There I sat, surrounded by movers, boxes, more movers, more boxes, trying to work through the first half of DEVIL'S DANCE, when the second half came in.
And so it went for almost ten days. Unpack another box, crawl over one, curse not being able to find what I needed, read another of the editor's chapters, then start all over again. The first half was followed by the second half, which was followed by the second edit of both...and about forty unpacked boxes!
Okay, time for an exhale? Not on your life. THE DEVIL'S DUE came right on the heels of DEVIL'S DANCE. Latest report...all edits gone through, changes made and manuscript approved for galley for both books and only about twenty-five more boxes to go.
Today's good news...the contracts for the audio books came in, so 2010 should be an exciting year for me.
More later.
ARLISS
In the middle of moving from one townhouse to another, the first edit for BOTH books came in. There I sat, surrounded by movers, boxes, more movers, more boxes, trying to work through the first half of DEVIL'S DANCE, when the second half came in.
And so it went for almost ten days. Unpack another box, crawl over one, curse not being able to find what I needed, read another of the editor's chapters, then start all over again. The first half was followed by the second half, which was followed by the second edit of both...and about forty unpacked boxes!
Okay, time for an exhale? Not on your life. THE DEVIL'S DUE came right on the heels of DEVIL'S DANCE. Latest report...all edits gone through, changes made and manuscript approved for galley for both books and only about twenty-five more boxes to go.
Today's good news...the contracts for the audio books came in, so 2010 should be an exciting year for me.
More later.
ARLISS
Thursday, July 30, 2009
THE BENEFIT OF BELONGING TO A WRITERS' GROUP
While I'm on the subject of Jen, I think this is a good time to talk about the benefits a writer can enjoy from belonging to a good writers' group. I belong to several, but the first one I joined, and still belong to has proven invaluable.
We occasionally get speakers, but more often the program is devoted to critiques by the members present. Four or five readers can read for fifteen minutes at each meeting by signing up at least a day before the meeting...generally you allow more lead time, because the list can grow very quickly and must be limited to no more than six.
A couple of years ago, when I read the scene with Jen coming out of a drug-induced sleep while she was being held captive, one of the members was very helpful. He commented that I'd described something more like coming out of a high on LSD, not being shot up with drugs to control a young girl who had been kidnapped.
Later he took me off to a side, after the meeting, and said that years before he'd done many kinds of drugs and was speaking from experience. Then he gave me something extremely valuable that allowed me to write a convincing scene.
He asked if I'd ever had surgery that required being put under, and I said "yes". Then he said, "Well try to remember how you felt when the anesthetic began to wear off. That would be more what your character would be experiencing. She wouldn't be hallucinating or on a trip.
As I rewrote the part I realized he was so right. The next time I read for critique, I read the rewrite. He said, "Now you've got it right. Now anyone who's been there will believe she really was drugged to control her."
That reading produced another unexpected critique from personal experience. One of the members said, "You describe her confusion when she realized she wasn't in her own bed. Here's what you don't know. I do. I was kidnapped."
Wow. You can't just say, "Hey, I need to speak to someone who was kidnapped and woke up bound and gagged, " then expect to get people who will tell you what it was like. That's information that could be pretty hard to get.
This woman proceeded to tell me that she found herself taking inventory...fingers, toes, what could move, what couldn't, things like that. And, once again, I rewrote what was happening to Jen, who was Katherine at the time, so that it also had a ring of reality from the point of view of someone who had been there.
Reader interest depends upon creating characters that the reader cares about...not one-dimensional cardboard cutouts. Writer's groups are great for feedback, and I also learned to start asking around. Now if I have a question about what something would be like, besides internet research, I talk to people to see if I can find someone who went through it. Then, like an actress, I prepare for the part and feel it as I write.
--ARLISS ADAMS
We occasionally get speakers, but more often the program is devoted to critiques by the members present. Four or five readers can read for fifteen minutes at each meeting by signing up at least a day before the meeting...generally you allow more lead time, because the list can grow very quickly and must be limited to no more than six.
A couple of years ago, when I read the scene with Jen coming out of a drug-induced sleep while she was being held captive, one of the members was very helpful. He commented that I'd described something more like coming out of a high on LSD, not being shot up with drugs to control a young girl who had been kidnapped.
Later he took me off to a side, after the meeting, and said that years before he'd done many kinds of drugs and was speaking from experience. Then he gave me something extremely valuable that allowed me to write a convincing scene.
He asked if I'd ever had surgery that required being put under, and I said "yes". Then he said, "Well try to remember how you felt when the anesthetic began to wear off. That would be more what your character would be experiencing. She wouldn't be hallucinating or on a trip.
As I rewrote the part I realized he was so right. The next time I read for critique, I read the rewrite. He said, "Now you've got it right. Now anyone who's been there will believe she really was drugged to control her."
That reading produced another unexpected critique from personal experience. One of the members said, "You describe her confusion when she realized she wasn't in her own bed. Here's what you don't know. I do. I was kidnapped."
Wow. You can't just say, "Hey, I need to speak to someone who was kidnapped and woke up bound and gagged, " then expect to get people who will tell you what it was like. That's information that could be pretty hard to get.
This woman proceeded to tell me that she found herself taking inventory...fingers, toes, what could move, what couldn't, things like that. And, once again, I rewrote what was happening to Jen, who was Katherine at the time, so that it also had a ring of reality from the point of view of someone who had been there.
Reader interest depends upon creating characters that the reader cares about...not one-dimensional cardboard cutouts. Writer's groups are great for feedback, and I also learned to start asking around. Now if I have a question about what something would be like, besides internet research, I talk to people to see if I can find someone who went through it. Then, like an actress, I prepare for the part and feel it as I write.
--ARLISS ADAMS
Friday, July 24, 2009
WHERE DID THE WEEK GO?
My goodness. In only twenty minutes it will be Saturday. Where did the time go? It seems like it was Monday a day or so ago. It's been one of those weeks when a lot was accomplished, and nothing was accomplished. One day fully wasted, trying to figure out what was going on with AOL, only to discover that once again they made a change without really letting subscribers know. Oh well, all's well that ends well, but they stole one of my days.
When I was writing the first draft of what was then "Dance Ballerina Dance," (now A DREAM LOST and THE DEVIL'S DUE) I didn't worry about the internet. It was around 1995, and e-mail was still something most people didn't have. The fax was the big thing. Right about that time, I was pulling together the pieces of a puzzle that would eventually become my first attempt at fiction.
I had the story of the kidnapped ballerina, I had some of what happened to her afterwards, but there were so many directions it could go. I just didn't know which fork in the road to follow. Finally I decided that I would use those first bits as the nucleus of the story. From there it could go anywhere my mind wanted it to, unlike writing magazine articles about specific things. I wouldn't have to adhere to the truth. I could create places, people, scenes, obstacles, triumphs and all of the other elements that make up a good fiction novel.
The problem was I'd never written fiction. I was an avid reader, but all of the nuances that I should have picked up from wonderful writers, skipped right past me. Oh, was I ever off base. First of all I thought it had to be big in order to sell it to an agent or publisher. How does 600 pages sound? Ridiculous for a first time fiction author--that's how it sounds to me now. But that was then. Use an outline, a time line, plotting sheets? Why? Just start to write. Let those creative juices flow.
Anyone reading this who is a seasoned writer, probably senses big problems on the horizon right about now. But did I know I was starting down a fourteen year road? You bet I didn't. "Probably knock it out in six months or so."--that's what I told myself, and told myself and told myself as months turned into years.
Over the next several posts, I'll talk about how Shawn (can't even remember the last name I gave her) became Jen Connor. And, how very much I learned from Jen.
That's it for tonight.
--Arliss Adams
When I was writing the first draft of what was then "Dance Ballerina Dance," (now A DREAM LOST and THE DEVIL'S DUE) I didn't worry about the internet. It was around 1995, and e-mail was still something most people didn't have. The fax was the big thing. Right about that time, I was pulling together the pieces of a puzzle that would eventually become my first attempt at fiction.
I had the story of the kidnapped ballerina, I had some of what happened to her afterwards, but there were so many directions it could go. I just didn't know which fork in the road to follow. Finally I decided that I would use those first bits as the nucleus of the story. From there it could go anywhere my mind wanted it to, unlike writing magazine articles about specific things. I wouldn't have to adhere to the truth. I could create places, people, scenes, obstacles, triumphs and all of the other elements that make up a good fiction novel.
The problem was I'd never written fiction. I was an avid reader, but all of the nuances that I should have picked up from wonderful writers, skipped right past me. Oh, was I ever off base. First of all I thought it had to be big in order to sell it to an agent or publisher. How does 600 pages sound? Ridiculous for a first time fiction author--that's how it sounds to me now. But that was then. Use an outline, a time line, plotting sheets? Why? Just start to write. Let those creative juices flow.
Anyone reading this who is a seasoned writer, probably senses big problems on the horizon right about now. But did I know I was starting down a fourteen year road? You bet I didn't. "Probably knock it out in six months or so."--that's what I told myself, and told myself and told myself as months turned into years.
Over the next several posts, I'll talk about how Shawn (can't even remember the last name I gave her) became Jen Connor. And, how very much I learned from Jen.
That's it for tonight.
--Arliss Adams
Thursday, July 23, 2009
THANKS FOR ALL THE CONGRATULATIONS
Well, I posted my news about L&L Dreamspell picking up both A DREAM LOST and THE DEVIL'S DUE, and decided to toot my horn on Murder Must Advertise and Reader's Express.
This morning I was delighted to open up many responses. When you work on something so long, it is a real feeling of both closure and accomplishment to see it coming to fruition.
However, there are some unexpected parts to this as well.
When I originally conceived the character Vince DeLuca, I knew what I wanted him to be, but like many of the other characters he went through a real metamorphasis as the writing went on and on and on.
One day, several years ago, as I read through the most recent draft, complete with several "Vince" scenes, I realized that his original personality had disappeared. He had become someone who was very close to me in the 80's--someone I loved who lived in Seattle. Aha. With that realization, came an understanding. That was why Jen Connor moved to Kirkland, Washington. So I could use him as a model for Vince in surroundings that were intimately familiar to me. That way, every time I wrote a scene with Vince, the person was with me. He owned a restaurant, just like Vince. Had been a hair stylist, had and incredible spirit and called it like it was---just like Vince.
The real person, died way too soon, a victim of cancer. Since I lived in Los Angeles at the time I found out in an awful way. I'd spoken to him a few days before he died, but I'd introduced him to another friend who wanted him involved in a restaurant he was opening in Northern California. As I held a conversation with my friend in California, she suddenly said, "I was so sorry to hear about it." Confused, I answered, "About what?"
Then my interest turned to shock as she said, "About Peter's death." It turned out that he died not long after I talked to him. My friend tried to contact him about the restaurant, and couldn't. So she called a mutual contact and was told that he had passed away.
I never got to say goodbye, so I guess Vince was my way of doing that. It's been many years and I'm still misty writing this. With the publication of these books, it will also be closure of a wound that's been open for many years.
More tomrorrow.
--ARLISS ADAMS
This morning I was delighted to open up many responses. When you work on something so long, it is a real feeling of both closure and accomplishment to see it coming to fruition.
However, there are some unexpected parts to this as well.
When I originally conceived the character Vince DeLuca, I knew what I wanted him to be, but like many of the other characters he went through a real metamorphasis as the writing went on and on and on.
One day, several years ago, as I read through the most recent draft, complete with several "Vince" scenes, I realized that his original personality had disappeared. He had become someone who was very close to me in the 80's--someone I loved who lived in Seattle. Aha. With that realization, came an understanding. That was why Jen Connor moved to Kirkland, Washington. So I could use him as a model for Vince in surroundings that were intimately familiar to me. That way, every time I wrote a scene with Vince, the person was with me. He owned a restaurant, just like Vince. Had been a hair stylist, had and incredible spirit and called it like it was---just like Vince.
The real person, died way too soon, a victim of cancer. Since I lived in Los Angeles at the time I found out in an awful way. I'd spoken to him a few days before he died, but I'd introduced him to another friend who wanted him involved in a restaurant he was opening in Northern California. As I held a conversation with my friend in California, she suddenly said, "I was so sorry to hear about it." Confused, I answered, "About what?"
Then my interest turned to shock as she said, "About Peter's death." It turned out that he died not long after I talked to him. My friend tried to contact him about the restaurant, and couldn't. So she called a mutual contact and was told that he had passed away.
I never got to say goodbye, so I guess Vince was my way of doing that. It's been many years and I'm still misty writing this. With the publication of these books, it will also be closure of a wound that's been open for many years.
More tomrorrow.
--ARLISS ADAMS
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
ARE YOU EVER DONE EDITING?
Here's the thing about today's post--Are you ever done editing? -- I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that the answer is a resounding NO.
It was with great pleasure that I sent off what I thought was a final submission manuscript for THE DEVIL'S DUE. I'd been working on read-throughs, critiques and edits with an author friend so it had to be ready. In turn, I do the same for his manuscripts when he asks me to.
Well, we went through THE DEVIL'S DUE with what we thought was the proverbial "fine tooth comb", but I guess there were gaps in the teeth, because after the manuscript was on it's way, my friend decided to skate through the first few chapters again. Maybe it was for old times sake. Or, maybe to see what a great job we'd done by finding glitches and errors and fixing them before submission.
Instead, he found more things that we missed. One thing led to another, and before you knew it we were making our way through the manuscript again, with changes or corrections in almost every chapter. Well, since he really liked the story and didn't mind going through it again, it was sort of fun. This time we were really careful. We were going to catch every errant comma, every typographical transposition, and anything else that dared slip past our astute eyes the first time. There. It was done! I resubmitted the manuscript to my publisher, confident that every single thing had been ferreted out.
But no--now my friend was suffering withdrawal symptoms. He needed to look for commas. He missed the story. Begin round three. It was bound to be boring, because there was nothing left to find--or was there?
You guessed it. Things we'd sailed right past now were painfully obvious. We've become THE DEVIL'S DUE junkies, making our way through it for the third time--needing our fix for the day. Gotta find commas--don't care if they're ones that are missing or ones that shouldn't be there. Quick, I need to find a glitch in the timeline. Can't find any. Oh no. Are timeline faux pax off the radar now? Okay, give me a reference that could be clearer, right name in the wrong place. Anything. As my friend e-mailed me recently, "Gotta...edit."
Seriously, this manuscript has reinforced the already proven concept that many times our eyes read what we think we see, not what is actually there. That's how those pesky errors might sneak past us. One readthrough is not enough, two might do it, but three are better, I guess. However, when three is complete, the rest will be left to my publisher's editor. That is unless my friend needs another fix of THE DEVIL'S DUE.
--ARLISS ADAMS
It was with great pleasure that I sent off what I thought was a final submission manuscript for THE DEVIL'S DUE. I'd been working on read-throughs, critiques and edits with an author friend so it had to be ready. In turn, I do the same for his manuscripts when he asks me to.
Well, we went through THE DEVIL'S DUE with what we thought was the proverbial "fine tooth comb", but I guess there were gaps in the teeth, because after the manuscript was on it's way, my friend decided to skate through the first few chapters again. Maybe it was for old times sake. Or, maybe to see what a great job we'd done by finding glitches and errors and fixing them before submission.
Instead, he found more things that we missed. One thing led to another, and before you knew it we were making our way through the manuscript again, with changes or corrections in almost every chapter. Well, since he really liked the story and didn't mind going through it again, it was sort of fun. This time we were really careful. We were going to catch every errant comma, every typographical transposition, and anything else that dared slip past our astute eyes the first time. There. It was done! I resubmitted the manuscript to my publisher, confident that every single thing had been ferreted out.
But no--now my friend was suffering withdrawal symptoms. He needed to look for commas. He missed the story. Begin round three. It was bound to be boring, because there was nothing left to find--or was there?
You guessed it. Things we'd sailed right past now were painfully obvious. We've become THE DEVIL'S DUE junkies, making our way through it for the third time--needing our fix for the day. Gotta find commas--don't care if they're ones that are missing or ones that shouldn't be there. Quick, I need to find a glitch in the timeline. Can't find any. Oh no. Are timeline faux pax off the radar now? Okay, give me a reference that could be clearer, right name in the wrong place. Anything. As my friend e-mailed me recently, "Gotta...edit."
Seriously, this manuscript has reinforced the already proven concept that many times our eyes read what we think we see, not what is actually there. That's how those pesky errors might sneak past us. One readthrough is not enough, two might do it, but three are better, I guess. However, when three is complete, the rest will be left to my publisher's editor. That is unless my friend needs another fix of THE DEVIL'S DUE.
--ARLISS ADAMS
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
SHAME ON ME - ABOUT COMMITMENTS
Well, I made a commitment to myself to post on this blog almost every day, and I blew it! Here it is the 21st, and I haven't posted anything since the 16th. Yeah, I know, things come up, other priorities, but it would be far too easy to say that and get away with it.
I have the time to read e-mails...some of them total spam; I have the time to find inconsequential things to do. So why couldn't I find the time to post for the past four days? No excuse, ma'am. I'm guilty and will try to be better in the future.
Yesterday I got the "go" signal from L&L Dreamspell for the second book, THE DEVIL'S DUE, and signed the contract. Now it's a reality. In some ways, it's sad, though. The end of something I've lived with for over fourteen years. There was always that manuscript to edit, changes to be made, errors to be discovered. From this point on, there will be a few go-arounds of the publisher's edits, reviewing the galley, and then...and then...holding both books in my hand.
Hmmm, if I had to choose between a never-ending round of rewriting and holding those books, it would be a no-brainer. Holding the books, of course. It means I can go on to other projects, knowing that I've learned so very much from the journey I started with a first-time fiction novel entitled "Dance Ballerina Dance" to the polished end result. Most of the versions exist somewhere in the stacks, file drawers, floor, and other receptacles in my office, and with each one there is a new element. A new title, a new character, a new understanding of Jen's voice, a new cruel twist...it's all there on floppy disks, CD's and DVD's. A history of how I learned to write fiction.
Along with that memory, are all of the people who had a hand in it along the way. On-line groups, conferences, writer's groups, author friends, reader friends, family...they're all there in the history of the books.
I was going to write more about how the story evolved today, but went off on a tangent again, so I guess that will be reserved for tomorrow. Today I'm just going to take the time to appreciate everyone who helped me achieve the dream of telling the story...sharing it and hopefully pulling at readers' heartstrings and their joy...their sense of protectiveness and their anger. Those are the emotions swirling around in this work. Sometimes I would be sitting at the computer crying as I wrote, because I'd gotten so into the character. When people reading the manuscript tell me they cried, too, I know I accomplished what I was aiming for.
More tomorrow, I promise.
--ARLISS ADAMS
I have the time to read e-mails...some of them total spam; I have the time to find inconsequential things to do. So why couldn't I find the time to post for the past four days? No excuse, ma'am. I'm guilty and will try to be better in the future.
Yesterday I got the "go" signal from L&L Dreamspell for the second book, THE DEVIL'S DUE, and signed the contract. Now it's a reality. In some ways, it's sad, though. The end of something I've lived with for over fourteen years. There was always that manuscript to edit, changes to be made, errors to be discovered. From this point on, there will be a few go-arounds of the publisher's edits, reviewing the galley, and then...and then...holding both books in my hand.
Hmmm, if I had to choose between a never-ending round of rewriting and holding those books, it would be a no-brainer. Holding the books, of course. It means I can go on to other projects, knowing that I've learned so very much from the journey I started with a first-time fiction novel entitled "Dance Ballerina Dance" to the polished end result. Most of the versions exist somewhere in the stacks, file drawers, floor, and other receptacles in my office, and with each one there is a new element. A new title, a new character, a new understanding of Jen's voice, a new cruel twist...it's all there on floppy disks, CD's and DVD's. A history of how I learned to write fiction.
Along with that memory, are all of the people who had a hand in it along the way. On-line groups, conferences, writer's groups, author friends, reader friends, family...they're all there in the history of the books.
I was going to write more about how the story evolved today, but went off on a tangent again, so I guess that will be reserved for tomorrow. Today I'm just going to take the time to appreciate everyone who helped me achieve the dream of telling the story...sharing it and hopefully pulling at readers' heartstrings and their joy...their sense of protectiveness and their anger. Those are the emotions swirling around in this work. Sometimes I would be sitting at the computer crying as I wrote, because I'd gotten so into the character. When people reading the manuscript tell me they cried, too, I know I accomplished what I was aiming for.
More tomorrow, I promise.
--ARLISS ADAMS
Sunday, July 12, 2009
OKAY, BACK TO WRITING THE TWO BOOKS
Sometimes when I think about how long it took to write A DREAM LOST and THE DEVIL'S DUE, I can't believe that much time has passed. During those years I've learned so much, and had so many new experiences, that I'm simply not the same person who began these two books by typing out thoughts on a word processor.
I say fourteen years, but it's actually been longer. I got my first computer around 1994 or 95. My preliminary notes were on a dinosaur called a word processor. For those of you who don't know what that it, it was basically a typewriter that had a little bit of memory. When you selected print, the keys would bang out the document automatically, like machine gun fire. I swear the next door neighbors probably thought there was murder and mayhem going on right under their noses. Well, yes, there was mayhem, but it was all on paper.
I was delighted that this Smith-Corona word processor had a little 3 1/2 inch disk that could actually store some of what I'd written. Anyway, back in those days, it was possible to save in a format that later could be read by a computer. That's how I know it was more than fourteen years, because I transferred the information on those disks to my computer when I got one. Without that, I never would have been able to rescue the original manscript after I'd put it down for two years, discouraged that it wasn't going the way I thought it would. Once it was on a computer, I was enthused again. Oh, I guess I could have retyped everything from the printed pages, but would I? It was so easy to put the disk in the computer and have it all done for me..
I was a workaholic back then, (as if I'm not now) and I'd sit down to write this "great American novel" after working fourteen or fifteen hours at my "real job". I'd tap away into the wee hours of the morning. The next day I'd read what I'd written, thinking it was brilliant. Oh yes, when I was done, the publishers would be bidding against each other to get their hands on this heart-wrenching novel. Except, they weren't. Why? Well, I gave you the answer before. I simply didn't know how to write fiction. The story premise was good...the author sucked. Better stick to magazine articles.
Still, I always say there is a benefit in most things. Sure, I'd written published magazine articles, but I definitely knew nothing about writing fiction. The work was professional in its presentation, but filled with information dumps and devices that work in articles, but have no place in fiction. It was not one of those books that grab you by the throat and won't let go until you've read all night, because you just had to find out what happened.
So what was the benefit? I got those thoughts out of my mind--down on paper. They became something tangible...something that I could tweak, cut, expand, edit and use as a training ground over many years. If I had never made that first step, it would still be in my mind. If I hadn't made that first step, I never would have studied my craft until I learned how to find the voice for my characters, learned to do a "machete edit", and make people care what happened.
It doesn't come overnight. But it can come. That's where I leave off tonight. Not exactly a cliffhanger, but there is so much more to tell...so much more to talk about...that every time I post I also have to decide when to stop.
Arliss
I say fourteen years, but it's actually been longer. I got my first computer around 1994 or 95. My preliminary notes were on a dinosaur called a word processor. For those of you who don't know what that it, it was basically a typewriter that had a little bit of memory. When you selected print, the keys would bang out the document automatically, like machine gun fire. I swear the next door neighbors probably thought there was murder and mayhem going on right under their noses. Well, yes, there was mayhem, but it was all on paper.
I was delighted that this Smith-Corona word processor had a little 3 1/2 inch disk that could actually store some of what I'd written. Anyway, back in those days, it was possible to save in a format that later could be read by a computer. That's how I know it was more than fourteen years, because I transferred the information on those disks to my computer when I got one. Without that, I never would have been able to rescue the original manscript after I'd put it down for two years, discouraged that it wasn't going the way I thought it would. Once it was on a computer, I was enthused again. Oh, I guess I could have retyped everything from the printed pages, but would I? It was so easy to put the disk in the computer and have it all done for me..
I was a workaholic back then, (as if I'm not now) and I'd sit down to write this "great American novel" after working fourteen or fifteen hours at my "real job". I'd tap away into the wee hours of the morning. The next day I'd read what I'd written, thinking it was brilliant. Oh yes, when I was done, the publishers would be bidding against each other to get their hands on this heart-wrenching novel. Except, they weren't. Why? Well, I gave you the answer before. I simply didn't know how to write fiction. The story premise was good...the author sucked. Better stick to magazine articles.
Still, I always say there is a benefit in most things. Sure, I'd written published magazine articles, but I definitely knew nothing about writing fiction. The work was professional in its presentation, but filled with information dumps and devices that work in articles, but have no place in fiction. It was not one of those books that grab you by the throat and won't let go until you've read all night, because you just had to find out what happened.
So what was the benefit? I got those thoughts out of my mind--down on paper. They became something tangible...something that I could tweak, cut, expand, edit and use as a training ground over many years. If I had never made that first step, it would still be in my mind. If I hadn't made that first step, I never would have studied my craft until I learned how to find the voice for my characters, learned to do a "machete edit", and make people care what happened.
It doesn't come overnight. But it can come. That's where I leave off tonight. Not exactly a cliffhanger, but there is so much more to tell...so much more to talk about...that every time I post I also have to decide when to stop.
Arliss
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