A former colleague of mine and all around great guy, Josh Katzowitz, wrote a great piece on the pressure/euphoria of deadline writing. Every beat reporter has at least one hair-raising story of trying to meet a deadline under some form of duress. For me as a cub sports reporter it involved covering a game in one county and racing back to the sports desk in another county to get in two stories and a sidebar worth of stats. Somehow, someway we still made it to press.
Anyways, a good read for those interested in seeing how a story comes together.
One month into 2010 I’ve managed to write most days that I wasn’t traveling or sick, and a few days make a tremendous amount of progress. Basically the more consistently I write, the happier I am, because I get to see progress on the page and get my thoughts out there to edit and revise even more. The challenge is to be focused and prioritize what I’m writing about.
1. A sequel
Fortunately No. 1 on my list if what I’m currently doing, so I have that going for me. It’s weird revisiting characters and continuing their stories but also fulfilling, because in the back of my mind I always wanted to see where the resolution would come.
2. Fatherhood
Not a book on being an expert on fatherhood or “Try These 10 Steps To Being a Perfect Dad.” But I’m in kind of a sweet spot of fatherhood/parenthood, where Katie and I have to be hands on with our kids almost the entire day. There are so many things I want my boys to be able to know about this time, where they are becoming their own little personalities and Katie and I are being shaped by how we parent and the dynamics of our parents. It’s just – where to find the time between diaper changes and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes?
3. Supernatural thriller
I’ve been tinkering with one for a couple years and am about done with the first draft. It’s risky to try something in this genre, and especially in the setting I have it in (the Civil War), but the story has been in my head for a decade and if nothing else it needs to be purged. But if Book One finds a home I’ve sketched out about six in a series and would absolutely have a blast writing them.
4. Wilder’s Brigade
I’ve collected the main books on this Civil War colonel, the Tullahoma campaign in which his brigade played a huge role in the success of the Army of the Cumberland, and journals of soldiers in his brigade. My next step is to interview some experts who could help fill in the blanks with the geography of the battlefields and personalities of the participants. The main reason I’ve been interested in Wilder since a college term paper I did on him is that during the collapse of the Union army at Chickamauga, his brigade could have plunged into the Rebel advance and possibly changed the outcome of the battle, and the war. Or not – it could have been a huge failure. But the decisions that were made, or not made, have always fascinated me, and I enjoy exploring those subjects, and writing about them even more.
“When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?” Actors see an Oscar performance. or Athletes idolize the Michael Jordans of the sports world. Pilots watch an air show and can’t wait to fly. And writers usually have a specific book or writer who got them hooked. For me, it was reading a random science fiction book as a high school sophomore. Rather than divulge the name, here is the synopsis from Barnes & Noble’s site:
The barbarian armies of a modern-day Khan are bearing down on a weakened America. All that stands between the horde and America’s last citadel is a ragtag army of cowboys led by a tough old woman–and a renegade time traveler who rescued three heroes — George S. Patton, Stonewall Jackson, and Amelia Earhart–from their own deaths so that a doomed nation might survive.
So basically, take science fiction, mix with historical characters, time travel, western themes and a post-apocalyptic America facing off against a New Age barbarian horde, and you have yourself a book.
I read it in a day.
Seriously, I couldn’t put it down. Not because I thought it was the greatest piece of literature this side of Hemmingway. What drew me in and kept me turning the pages was the idea that, as a writer, you could write about anything. Anything – like Stonewall Jackson and Amelia Earhart fighting a war in Arizona. No subject or idea is too far out there. For a guy who spent most of middle and high school day dreaming stories in class and had an active imagination, this was a huge revelation. When I finished the book, I sat back and thought, “If that story can get published, then surely I can come up with something on my own.” That was before knowing the sheer time consumption of crafting a book, finding and agent, finding a publisher and then editing a work. But as trail heads go, it was a good one.
I don’t reach much science fiction, but I guess I should give credit where credit is due. So Stonewall, Patton, Earhart and the new age barbarians, much appreciated.
One of the best parts about having a book released has been seeing how the gears turn in this sector of publishing. I’m familiar with newspapers and magazines but until I signed the contract to get Hero’s Tribute going, had no idea what to expect in this segment. I plan on sharing some insight into the writing/editing process, but for now I wanted to post a Q&A I did for the promotional campaign for Hero’s Tribute.
1.) Where did you originally come up with the idea for a story about what defines a hero?
I just wanted to know what made them tick. You hear stories of World War II veterans who did heroic things
but never mentioned them to their families, and then their families would find a silver star hidden in a trunk
in the attic. Most heroes are like that – the medals and ribbons are significant, but they don’t define them.
2.) Is there a particular reason why the families of soldiers are near and dear to your heart?
I was born in Fayetteville, N.C. while my dad was a captain in the 82nd Airborne stationed at Fort Bragg.
I’ve always held soldiers and their families in the highest regard.
3.) In your opinion, do actions or character ultimately define a hero?
I think character comes through in the actions, ultimately. If there is failure, you can still see where a person
tried their best to do the right thing. We don’t always get to choose the battles we fight or the hardships we’ll
endure, but we can choose how we react to them, and I wanted that to resonate in “Hero’s Tribute,” especially
with Michael Gavin.
4.) What made you decide to write a novel?
Always wanted to do it. I’ve got a pretty active imagination and spent a lot of time in school daydreaming
stories. That’s sort of what led me to writing/editing as a career.
5.) What are you reading right now?
I just finished Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. My sister gave me a copy of Blue Like
Jazz a few years ago and I read it in one night.
6.) Who is your favorite author? Why?
Probably Philip Yancey. He digs deep into spiritual topics and biblical figures but doesn’t tell you what to
think about them. More like he presents the information and allows you to decide for yourself, or sets you
off on your own investigation.
7.) Do you have any advice for other aspiring authors out there?
You’ve got to write every day. When you’re not writing, turn off the TV and read. It’s like exercising – you
get what you put in. You can’t wait for the epiphany moments of a story to come to you, but rather have to
go out and work for them
