The notorious fanged demon bunny

A Sucker Born Every Minute

When Aaron and I were discussing in what way I would be contributing to this blog, I told him he was allowed to give me one (1) assignment. He acknowledged this, seemed to agree to my terms–and then proceeded to give me assignments numbering two. That’s (2), if you were wondering. If I weren’t a sucker for invitations to (a) share openly about my work and (b) talk up books I enjoy reading, I would have stuck to my guns and picked only one of the two.

But I’m a reader and a writer. I love books, and I derive great satisfaction from acquainting others with these rectangular worlds I so adore. If my recommendation sparks someone’s interest in a certain book, it’s like introducing a new friend to an old friend and seeing them hit it off. And I also love writing. We writers don’t often get the chance to ramble on and on about the people and worlds that exist nowhere but in our own heads. Generally, our fellow writers are the only ones who’re interested…and even they tend to get the glazed-donut-look in their eyes after we’ve monologued for half an hour. Or less. So when Aaron informed me that one of my assignments was to update the world at large about how my current novel is going…you’d better believe I jumped at that chance like a kangaroo at a sock hop.*

But no worries, Gentle Reader. Though I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to tell you about my work-in-progress, I promise not to push you to the donut point. Prudence, thy name is brevity; I shall endeavor to abide by that.

I also promise to keep the ( ) and the … and the — to a minimum. Onward!

The Working Title

Until several days ago, the working title of the work-in-progress was the grammatically incorrect SHADOWS BURNING DARK. Thanks to a Facebook status update, in which I invited friends to compare several titles and vote on their favorites, the working title changed to THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT, which in turn changed to SHADOWS AFTER MIDNIGHT. Working titles are funny things: They can feel rather set-in-stone; they are, in fact, quite susceptible to weather (i.e. the writer’s mood); and, as far as editors are concerned, they are frequently moot. No matter how attached we writers might become to our working titles, we must bow to the authority of marketing departments and editors, who can predict the salability of a particular title far better than we can. ‘Tis a sad state of affairs, but ’tis the reality with which we must deal.

The Work-In-Progress

So, as of now, my working title is SHADOWS AFTER MIDNIGHT (henceforth, SHADOWS, in this post). SHADOWS is a paranormal (young?) adult novel about a demon-hunting college student named Peter. Peter belongs to a supernaturally gifted family that has spent millennia protecting humanity from–you guessed it–demons. His girlfriend, Holly, had a run-in with a demon last year, and now that same demon is back. Peter’s not sure if the demon is after Holly again, or if there’s a new target; either way, he has to get Holly and her friends out of reach as quickly as possible. There’s jealousy drama with his older brother, there’s a cousin who holds a grudge because Peter was responsible for her twin’s death ten years ago, and there’s a demon that manifests both as a horde of zombies and as a cartoon bunny with stiletto fangs. Great fun.

As of this posting, SHADOWS consists of approximately 58,000 words. My guess is that I’ll wrap up the first draft somewhere in the neighborhood of 80k. I’m working from an outline that tells me I’ll have fifteen chapters when I’m finished. So far, eight chapters are complete, four chapters are partially complete, and three chapters consist of nothing more than summary headings. Of the eight completed chapters, three are at the beginning, and two reside somewhere toward the middle. The other three, Chapters 12, 13, and 14, lead up to and contain the novel’s climax. Currently, I’m trying to finish Chapter 14, which involves extricating Our Hero from zombie clutches. And he has to rescue the girl and his brother and his friends. Or maybe the brother rescues him. I’m really not clear on that point yet. Furthermore, I suspect that one of the main players is about to die, but I don’t know who. Will it be the damsel in distress? The heavy metal drummer? The snarky kid sister? Or the Tragic Representative Of Redemption from Book One? (Ah, yes, there’s a Book One. SHADOWS, Gentle Reader, happens to be Book Two. Have I not mentioned that?) And what if I don’t want them to die, but they do anyway?

The Confusion

Such is the beauty of the work-in-progress. You get it all worked out in the outline. You know exactly who’s going to do what, and when, and where, and especially why. And then you start writing the first draft…and if you’re doing your job as a writer, you won’t “keep your feet” (thank you, Bilbo), and your characters will take over your story without so much as a by-your-leave. This is the reason I must doubt the prognosticative powers of my outline. Peter and Holly, the demons and their friends–their ideas are often different from mine. Their voices don’t always sound like what I imagined. They often say things I didn’t expect them to say, and they react to each other in ways I didn’t predict. In this, my first draft, I’m trying to listen to their voices, sort out who’s who, and follow where they lead me.

The most fun is when they take me where I never thought I could go. Where am I bound next? I haven’t a clue…but I’ll keep you posted!

*Kangaroo at a sock hop? Did I actually say that? Oy vey.

(But wait! There’s more! If you click on the link above–and here it is again for good measure–and if you buy a product, This Starving Artist will get a few bucks. Consider it your small contribution to The Arts. ;o)

Photo credit Courtney Cantrell.