Tag: Millennium Series

The Vision Thing: Novel Edition

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Barring something I can’t predict, I feel as though I’m going to zoom through the new version of my first novel. This is story I want to tell. What’s unexpected about it is it’s more of a publishing thriller than murder mystery. The second book in the universe I’ve constructed will be a murder mystery.

I hope my heroine is as interesting as Lisbeth Salander.

But I’m really content with this novel.

It seems as though I should be able to wrap up the first novel by no later than, say, July 23. In fact, there’s a chance I could have TWO 100,000 word novels done by that date the way things are going.

And, what’s more, I hope to write a third novel, a scifi western.

I have to accept that I’m just not going to have the type of success that I hoped to have. I may get some success, but it’s going to be the success of a late bloomer who has been a fuck up for decades.

It all sucks, but there’s nothing I can do to change the situation.

A Risky Decision

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have a number of reasons for splitting the novel I’ve been working on into two stories. The now two different stories can be written faster. The two of them now are a lot more coherent. And, what’s more, each story will be about ~100,000 words if things work out the way I hope.

I hope my heroine is as interesting and compelling as Lisbeth Salander.

But there are risks.

One is, who wants to read a novel that is, for the most part, a story about a woman struggling to own a newspaper? So, in a sense, my first novel would be if The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was about a power struggle over the Millennium magazine, rather than solving a decade’s old murder.

But I do think that because the story will be really interesting, character driven — and does have a murder in the third act — that it could be interesting enough to be successfully queried. And, what’s more, because of how I’m splitting the novel, I have the original murder mystery story that I can write out pretty quickly.

(L to R, foreground) DANIEL CRAIG as a stranger with no memory of his past and director/executive producer JON FAVREAU on the set of an event film for summer 2011 that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: “Cowboys & Aliens.”

So, rather than one novel done this year, I could have two.

And, given that I want to write a third novel, a scifi western, I could soon have three novels to pitch in some capacity within the next year.

That, at least, is the plan.

The Name Game

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I try to do what is right, I really do. And when it comes to developing and writing a novel, there are all the unexpected landmines floating around that you have to avoid.

Lisbeth Salander is the type of name that is so great I wish I could think of something as strong.

One is the subject of names.

In general, I feel pretty safe with all of my character names. And YET it is inevitable that somehow, someway along the process there might be a hitch. There is one character — a huge character in the project six book series, in fact — who has a surname that MIGHT be a problem.

S1-D13-_-Pang-_-mysterious-postcard-RCL-work-day-1Download

But I’m really, really being paranoid, all things considered.

And I’m not attached to that specific name. If I have to, I have a few backup names I’m willing to switch to. I’m very pragmatic about such things, I just want to be a published author and if it requires a significant rethinking of some element of the six novel project to become one, so be it.

In general, things are going pretty well with this first novel. I’m rather pleased. I just have to press forward. I can’t keep just driving towards my goal. I have to give my life focus and structure if I’m going to wrap this thing up by no later than around July 22th.

I Have A Pretty Great Novel On My Hands

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have very, very high standards for myself when it comes to storytelling. To the point that it’s very, very difficult for me to consume anyone else’s storytelling if it doesn’t meet what I believe is the quality worth my consumption. I’ve just started watching House of Cards and it is one of the few TV shows that actually DOES meet what I think is the “right way” to tell a story.

My heroine looks like Nathalie Emmanuel as I write her.

It joins TV shows like Mad Men, 30 Rock, Mare of Easttown and Fleabag as TV shows that linger in my mind as I struggle to write my novel.

Having said all that, I’ve finally reached a point in the development and writing of the third draft of this novel where I feel I’m coming into my own. This novel is really fast paced and accessible. While there are some obvious issues — it’s still not dark enough and there’s probably too much sex in the first act — the actual characters and what their motivations are really strong, interesting and intriguing.

Now, for me to sprint to the end of the first act, beginning of the second act which was the first act of the second draft of the novel. I’ve been re-writing a lot of the novel as I’ve transition from the second to third drafts and that has slowed me down.

But I’ve gamed out the entirety of the fourth chapter of the third draft and I think I’m going to cool it for about a day so I can throw myself into writing it all as quickly as I can with fresh eyes. I don’t want to “run hot” and overheat and over extend myself.

In general, however, this novel is beginning to shape up in a way that I feel I won’t embarrass myself when I try to query it later this year.

A lot is going to depend on luck now, I think. Given my vision for the total of six novels in this project if ding-dong Trump becomes POTUS again and we turn into an autocracy, then, lulz, I think this is going to be a very successful series of novels.

Ah ha! I’ve Finally Figured Out What Hollywood Star My Heroine Looks Like — Nathalie Emmanuel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’ve finally found who I’m thinking of in my mind as I write my heroine and her adventures in my first novel — Nathalie Emmanuel.

Nathalie Emmanuel

My hope is, of course, that I will write a heroine who is as interesting as Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander. It will be interesting to see how things ultimately work out. A lot of writing a successful novel is just dumb luck. So, lulz, I could write The Bible and because I’m a smelly CIS white male writing from a female POV at times….the woke cancel culture mob will pillory me.

The dream is to write a character as interesting as Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander.

I’ve Tentatively Locked Down The First Chapter Of The Third Draft Of The Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have handed out the first chapter of the third draft of the novel in an effort to sort of force my hand. I have to lock down things sooner rather than later or I’ll wake up in a year an be exactly where I am now.

My goal is to write a novel as popular as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

So, I am going to chill out for a little bit today then sit down and see if I can flesh out chapters two and three. Then, I can use the first three chapters as a cornerstone for the rest of the novel and things will go really, really fast. That’s the hope.

The big issue is word count. At the moment, I’m hoping to come in at no more than 140,000 words. My fear is that I’ll be closer to 200,000 words. If that happens, then I’m going to split the novel into two.

A first novel with 200,000 words is just too fucking long. I would never be able to get a first novel of that length published. So, like I said, splitting the novel into two would probably be the best option.

And I also need to start working on the various scifi novels I have floating around in my mind. I really need to stop daydreaming about these stories and start writing them.

Once I Stabilize The First Three Chapters Of The Third Draft Of This Novel, Things Should Move Really Fast

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I am so close to stabilizing the first three chapters of this novel to the point that things might start to go really fast. One huge problem I face is I’ve so forked the story from what it was intended to be in the second draft that I have a huge amount of writing, rather than editing, ahead of me.

My dream is to write a novel as popular as Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

I’m going to have to just throw everything up in the air and reimagine a lot of the novel on a specific basis, with the third act really being something I have to work on. The third act of the second draft s u c k e d. It was horrible. So these days I spend a lot of of my time thinking in the back of my mind about how I can straighten out some serious problems in the third act.

Anyway. My storytelling and writing ability have both gotten significantly better. Some of it is I’ve being using AI some to help develop the novel — but not write it — because I’m doing everything in a vacuum and I have nothing to go on but my gut.

And sometimes my gut just doesn’t cut it.

But, in general, I’m very pleased with what I’ve managed to come up with. One key thing I have to do is stop being such an absolute perfectionist. The point is to finish a third draft THEN go back and edit it some. This business of forking the Goddamn thing all the time has got to stop.

A Day To Reflect

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I was running hot with the novel again so I’ve decided to chill out today. I’m already seeing results because when I casually looked over the novel some today I saw a number of ways to make it better that I had not thought of before.

No longer a bar fly.

I continue to be clean sober. That I am able to pull this off so abruptly is a testament to, well, my desire to live. My already know my blood is apparently sludge, which is a “Not great, Bob” situation. And I would prefer not to drop dead like Stieg Larsson did at 50.

I would prefer to live long enough to see the “cool stuff” of selling a successful novel.

I’m also watching the latest iteration of the Mr & Mrs. Smith franchise. It’s…ok? I’ve just started. It’s just so difficult for me to consume ANY media that I didn’t produce. So, so very difficult. But I’m forcing myself to go outside my comfort zone so I can get some sense of what modern audiences want, not the audiences of 20 years ago when The Girl Who Played With Fire came out.

Success equal to Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Series is my dream.

One thing I don’t like about the TV show already is it uses the “interview the characters” trope as a form of exposition. It’s cheap and often used to expedite the story because you don’t have to “show” character traits. But, so far, the story is good enough for me to continue to watch it.

I also plan on doing a lot of reading, too.

I may — MAY — expand my little creative reset to Sunday afternoon to mimic what would happen had I gone to NYC. I don’t know yet. There is a balance between recharging my batteries and losing momentum.

An Issue Of Verisimilitude

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

If I ever needed a clear sign that, in general, no one takes me seriously, it’s my overall failure to get anyone from my past life with the press industry to answer my call for help about something. (I finally got one person, but that’s really not very many given how many people I reached out to.)

The issue is, I really want to make the situation I’ve come up with for my heroine — that she owns both a strip club (where she occasionally strips to relax) and an alternative weekly — as real as possible. Like, how would that REALLY work out, especially in mid-1990s Richmond, VA?

I’m WELL AWARE that because of human nature and the needs of marketing, that there is a real risk that this novel would be reduced down to two tropes being fused together — “hooker (or sex worker) with a heart of gold” and “sexy slutty assassin” solves a murder mystery.

I think about this even more given how many men my heroine beds in the first act for the purposes of the plot. All the sexxy time is not gratuitous and definitely serves the overall plot. And, in general, I don’t even really show the spicy stuff that much. I do show it some, but it’s hopefully not so much that people get turned off.

And, what’s more, I’ve cut back the sex in the second act. I don’t know, but I think that best practices for storytelling is you delay sexxy time as much as possible. But, lulz, I never do anything the right way.

But the story is getting much, much better in general. I’m really pleased. But I have to prepare for people to attack me for how much sexxy time there is in the novel. While I’m very sex-positive and don’t see my heroine’s sexual activity as “slutty” I’m afraid there will be some people who think I’m replicating Debby Does Dallas with how my heroine seems to have so much sex on the fly.

Ugh. Anyway. Wish me luck.

Things Are Getting Really Good With The Third Draft Of My First Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

This afternoon, I plan to plunge back into editing and rewriting (as necessary) the first three chapters of the third draft of my first novel. I also hope to do some reading and watching of some TV / movies. I’m really, really pleased with what I’ve managed to come up with for this third draft.

I dream to have a level of success equal to “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.”

The issue is, of course, that I need hurry the fuck up. I can’t just keep screwing around. Any number of things could happen in the next few days and weeks that totally throw everything up in the air or, at a minimum, dramatically change the context of this project.

But, for the time being, all systems are go.

I’ve given myself a few days of pause to recalibrate things and now I’m ready to go again. I hope to wrap up the first act of this novel ASAP and get into the second act.

There remains the issue of word count. At the moment, I have a first act that is equal to the first half of the second act — which, itself, is really long. So, it’s possible that, at least on a scene basis, that I’m going to have a really long first half and the second half will be a lot shorter — which, I hope, means it will read faster.

I continue to do all of this blind — I have no idea if I’m going it right or not. I may have a “reader” of sorts now — an older man who is at my dad’s nursing home — but I don’t know yet. Just having someone to read the novel as a second pair of eyes will be great.

But I have been disappointed so often that, lulz, I just don’t know.