I’ve been down with the flu for the last three days, which has taken me away from the twin chores I should be focused on – memorizing Brutus and finishing A FALCONER’S VOICE. Of the two, I’m closer to finishing the book. However, it has left me free to do short jobs – like blogging again.
The last two months have been frantic, because of this new novel. I had a draft completed two years ago, but I came up with a new climax that I really liked, and I was working on that when I got the contract from St. Martin’s. It said the book had to be 175,000 words or less. Which was trouble, because the new novel was already clocking in at 177,000 with several chapters to go.
So I was faced with a dilemma – do I hack and slash the novel I have, or do I split it in two? I chose the latter. It allowed me to keep many things I liked, and expand on several themes I felt were getting short shrift. But it also meant I had to find a theme and an ending for the new, shorter novel. Which I’ve been doing for the last two months.
The new book is, what, five chapters from being done? About that. Once again, I’ve enjoyed the process of discovery. As with MASTER I write and the puzzle becomes clear. Pieces that I could never have plotted in the abstract fall into place in the writing. The characters are far more in control of their destiny than they might believe. I know what has the happen in the coming chapters, but I don’t yet know the whys or hows. I’m sure they’ll tell me when the time comes.
What’s been really most fascinating are the problems cropping up in the personal relationships. People I never thought would hurt each other, are. It’s a lot of fun to experience. I can’t wait to share it – though I’ll have to, at least until July 2008.
DB
