So the first round of publicity appearances is over; I have two weeks now before Wiscon and the side trip to deal with pressing family business.
When you’re working on a book, two weeks is not as much time as it sounds. I’m hoping to use the time to get back some of the momentum on the sequel to “Thirteenth Child.” I’m currently at the stage where nothing sounds good, nothing looks good, the plot seems as if it’s either trite or non-existent, and I can’t imagine anyone ever wanting to read any of this drivel, ever, especially since it can’t possibly live up to the last book.
The advantage of having been a professional writer for getting on for 30 years now (good grief!) is that I recognize this. It’s a stage. It happens every time, with every book, and it will pass. Unfortunately, I also know that there’s no way to speed up the passing, and no amount of reassurance will make me feel any better about it. The only way out is through.
So I spent today making a list of all the various plot-like bits and pieces that I have or know about, all the potential characters who may or may not show up, and various crunchy background bits I’d like to work into the story somewhere, if I get the chance. And then I sat and sneered at the list. Tomorrow, I will try to get it worked up into a more detailed plot outline than the pathetic one I’ve been using. Once I do that, I will give the plot outline to my cats to sit on, and get on with the actual writing. I’ve tried skipping the plot-outlining stage and the cat-sitting stage, but it never works. In some mysterious way, they are necessary to my writing process.
Creativity is a mysterious thing. Or maybe it’s just the cats that are mysterious.
Don’t forget we want /more rattlesnakes/
And are there any n*t*v* Americans on the Pacific Coast ?
whew! sounds tough, all that work! hang in there!
#1, Mike:
No, there aren’t; I hope the reasons will become clearer over the next two books. The prehistoric people who, in our world, emigrated across the land bridge and through the Arctic Circle didn’t even try to get past the ice dragons; their descendants are all still back on the eastern Pacific rim, and the history of Asia is far less recognizable than that of the Mediterranian area. Unfortunately, my narrator is not particularly interested in global history or politics, so most of that is only present in the text by implication.
There may well be opportunities for more rattlesnakes in the sequel; I will keep an eye out for them.
The cats – every cat that’s ever lived! – are always mysterious. It’s why they’re so appealing.
Now that comments are finally open (I’ve been watching your blog for the past month or so, but whenever I’ve tried to comment it’s refused to allow me!) I just wanted to say how enjoyable and interesting I’m finding your posts.
When is the next book coming out? Is it EVER coming out? I love the first book sooooo much! Don’t forget to write the second! Pedal to the…pen.