I can see the end of the tunnel!

I think that it is rather appropriate that today is thanksgiving. The time when families all across this great nation of ours gather together to show thanks for all that they have. I am thankful everyday for my family, my job and my life. Today I'm especially thankful that I have reached the 1/2 way point in my novel! Just today I passed the 35,000 word mark.

It took me longer than expected, but I attribute this fact to only getting 2 hours of sleep last night and getting up at 2:30 a.m. to begin smoking a turkey for thanksgiving. For those of you who have never smoked a turkey, I HIGHLY recommend it. The meat was tender, juicy and just falling off the bone.

We celebrated today with friends and made phone calls to our families who live on the opposite coast. I hope that everyone was able to share this thanksgiving day with their families and loved ones.

Who is writing this story again?

Okay, I'm just shy of 30,000 words and I had an unexpected visitor pop up. I was wrapping up paragraph that would bridge two portions I had already written, when a supporting character decided to stop on by. Great...company. Now I have to write an interaction between him and the main character that will be meaningful and live up to how it would be for their friendship.

I just wish that these characters would be patient and wait for me to get to them! Can't they read the outline?!? Don't they know they're going to give me an aneurysm with all these additions and changes?!? This guy wasn't supposed to show up for at least another 2 chapters, but NOOO he just had to stop bye and talk. *Sigh...* I guess I can't really fault him, it is in his nature. I never knew that having to "expect the unexpected" would apply so much in my writing.

I'm really looking forward to thanksgiving this week for two reasons:

1.) Time off from work and being able to sleep in a bit more
2.)I will be half way done with my novel

I know that when this novel is over, it will be bitter sweet for me. As I'm writing, I've come to know the people I'm writing better and I've started to feel for them. I was getting choked up just the other night while writing an argument between two of my characters. I could feel the pain in their voices and the anger that spurned the comments. It was a rather surreal experience. (Those of you that haven't written anything before probably think I'm crazy!)

I think I can understand now why some authors enjoy carrying certain characters from one book to the next. There are a few characters in this book that I think could carry a story on their own, but we'll have to see where my muse leads me next.

Back to writing...

26.5K and counting

Wow...It's hard to believe that I've been writing on one novel for so long! I normally wrap up a short story around 5-7K words, but I have to admit I'm enjoying writing the novel. It's great to be able to cover more areas of the story how I want them to be covered and really show some character growth.

At times I do still worry that I won't be able to meet my self-imposed deadline, but then I'll write over 3K words in a single sitting and I think "Maybe I can do it!" I try to have more of those moments than any others!!

I am currently only 3.5K words behind schedule, but that will jump to 4.5K behind schedule at 7:00 pm PST on Friday. Of course, I am planning to write alot in the morning and get myself ahead of schedule in the coming week, so I'm not THAT concerned.

Well, time for me to pass out on my bed for a few hours!

An interesting twist

I must say that when something I'm writing takes on a life of it's own it becomes glaringly obvious! Just the other night I was writing part of a chapter, when for some reason out of nowhere I started writing about a character that I had never thought up before. I'm talking about physical characteristics, mannerisms, habits. It was just crazy! I went back and gave a quick look to my outline and sure enough, this guy wasn't in it!

However, knowing enough to bring the story back up, I proceeded to write several pages of interactions with this character and the main character. Not only that, but this guy will also make an appearance again later in the novel! Wow... Sometimes it seems like I'm not really the one in control of writing this story, more like it's just waiting to be written how it wants itself to be.

I'm a "little" bit behind schedule.... ok...ok, like 5,000 words behind schedule, BUT I'm doing about 2,000 - 3,000 words a day now, so I'll be back on schedule before you know it! (Provided no other unexpected characters decide to pop into my story!!)

I was talking the other day with a guy that I know and he was telling me about a conversation he had with Ashton Kutcher while he was making "The Guardian". Ashton said that the best thing he likes about being a movie actor is the fact that he gets to try out so many different jobs, things that he would never have the opportunity to do otherwise.

I think it can be the same for authors out there. To be honest, working on this novel I've met some really cool people that I would have never had the opportunity to meet otherwise. I've also done some things that I never would have planned on doing. Touring San Quentin prison for one was pretty cool and when I go back to walk death row it will be another cool experience. I will be touring the town that I'm basing the novel in probably later this month or early next month. I will also be hiking in the Diablo mountain range while I'm up there.

This coming summer as I begin work on my 2nd set of series I will be going scuba diving off the coast of California quite a bit. I will also be speaking to several oceanographers, making boating voyages out to locations and researching aquatic life in general. I REALLY hope that in the future I'm able to look back on all this as the starting point of my life as a published (and wildly succesful) author.

I've noticed that when I'm going to write a novel or any kind of story I want to get as much accuracy as I can, while keeping the more scientific aspect of it easy to read. For those of you that have seen "Redemption" starring Jamie Foxx, don't believe what you see in the movie, they took a LOT of artistic license there (according to several of the guards from San Quentin).

Now, after my visit to San Quentin, the first thing I did was perform some major rewrites on my opening chapter and make copious notes about what I need to change in the final chapter as well. I want prison guards to be able to read the novel and agree with everything that's in there. I also want the residents of the town where I'm basing the book in to be able to say, "Whoa, this is where it all took place. Right here is where she was taken."

I want the reader who has never before been to either of these places to be able to accurately see it in their mind. If one day they find themselves in either of the locations I want it to be a sense of Deja Vu for them.

Well, I can feel my novel pulling me back, so I'd better heed it and get back to work. I wonder where it will take me today?

At long last, the pictures!

Here is the final walk for visitors into the gas chamber area the "Green Monster" as it's called.









A view of the prison from the visitors area.
















This building is the area that family members go to visit inmates









The visitors parking lot






The front gate at the prison

How do I rein in my muse?!?!?!

Alright, this is getting RIDICULOUS!! Seriously I've gotta rein in my muse. I was sitting there watching a tv show with my sons and an idea for a story popped into my head. The title is "The river's end" and I've already got a couple of pages of ideas for it and plot points. The funny thing is that the only thing the show and my new novel idea have in common is that there is water in both of them!!

Honestly, I've gotta lock my muse to the stake in the ground that I've driven right next to "Feint Impressions"!! Well... I guess if keeping my muse supplying me with pages for the current novel, means I have to allow it to run rampant and provide me with ideas for future novels I really shouldn't complain.

I've decided that I will now be setting aside at least an hour a day with NO outside distractions to sit and focus on my writing. I'm glad that my job right now allows me time during the day to work on the novel while I'm in the office. It would be great if I'm able to build a steady reader base and make writing my sole day job!!

Where does the time go?

Wow. I've been so busy writing the novel that I haven't been on here much posting anything. Thankfully I'm right on track to be complete with the novel and editing by the end of the year. I must admit that when I began writing this novel, getting it to 70,000 words seemed like an insurmountable task. Now at times it seems like I'll have a problem keeping it under 80,000 words!

What really drove that point home is when I was writing the third chapter of the novel. I was already 10 pages into it and had only covered less than one third of what I wanted to cover. I'm trying to keep the chapters around 20 pages long, so the flow is maintained and the reader wants to keep on turning the pages to find out what happens next.

I think the biggest thing that has happened for the novel is I'm contemplating a minor change in the story that will have a MAJOR affect on the reader. As most of you know, I wrote out the ending while on a flight back several months ago. I got the reaction that I was hoping for from the readers and now I wonder if this minor change will be just to far. I can see where it will help the story, but I wonder if it's to dark for me to write that in now...

On a different note, I'll have the pictures posted from San Quentin tomorrow. I also have to go back up there and take some interior shots of the death row area, if they'll let me that is. I'm sorta dragging my feet on going back up there, because I've got an idea in my head for a novel tentatively titled "22 Hours" and I'd like to sketch out a rough outline so I'll have some questions to ask the police officers I met up there last time.

In other writing news, "The Burning Plea" seems to be somewhat satiated with the writing that I have done on the outline and some of the areas/animals/people so I've been able to focus on "Feint Impressions". I am considering moving the writing of the trilogy to before the next novel I have plans for. I guess we'll wait and see where the chips fall when I'm done with this current novel.

Man I'm sleepy...

When it rains, it pours and when the writing flows it FLOWS!

Work continues...

Wow... I've had to do a MAJOR change in how I'm writing out the story. The reason for this major change is I was trying to write the story as it would be read, chapter 1 then 2 and so on. Unfortunately, taking this path often lead me to writer's block.

Now, I've created a page for each chapter and as I type, if I get blocked in one area of the story then I just look over the outline I have and jump to another chapter. I'm almost at the point where I'll have to do at least 1,000 words a day too! It's kind of nerve wracking to say the least.

I'm excited about next month when I will travel up to the town I'm using for inspiration. Thankfully it's only a 4 hour drive to this location. I've already checked out the area, and it fit perfectly into that "small town" feel that I was looking for. I actually passed it on the way to San Quentin and on the way back home I knew that I had to stop there and check it out.

A few of the pictures will be posted here from that trip later on today, I've just been to busy/tired to post them sooner. I'll be glad when I've hit 35,000 words since I look at that as my half way point.

Back to writing...