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Update on The New Novel

Published by Adam on December 2, 2011

It’s been a while since I talked about Divided We Fall, the sequel to my novel We, The Watched. In fact, it’s been a while since I updated this blog. Sorry about that, guys. The good news is that the lack of posts is due to my focusing on writing the book–which is what you would want me to doing, anyway, right?

The new novel is going well and according to my outline I’m finally getting close to finishing! I know basically how the story is going to end and how the characters are going to get there. I estimate there are just a few chapters left to write. After that, I plan to go back over the novel and flesh out a few of the subplots where necessary. Then the editing process begins. I’m the kind of author who does a lot of editing while I’m writing, so I don’t expect to find the novel in complete disarray. However, when you’re writing in long form it’s absolutely imperative to comb through the whole thing from cover to cover. This ensures that everything is consistent, there are no plot holes, and you didn’t forget to tie up any loose ends (unless, of course, that was your intention all along).

I may have mentioned this before, but a writing program called Scrivener (released last month on Windows) has been absolutely key to my progress on this book. This is a much more complicated tale to tell than We, The Watched. Divided We Fall is told through two points of view and across two time periods. There’s a lot of action. It’s also a love story. And boy is it epic.

I can’t wait to share it with you all.

-Adam

P.S. Check out my new Google+ page for We, The Watched.

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How (Not) to Bore a Reader

Published by Adam on June 17, 2011

Interesting post on writing here by Dan Wilson. He was the singer of Semisonic and co-wrote top-selling songs by Adele and the Dixie Chicks.

I’ve been thinking myself lately about how two writers can have incredibly different writing styles and both be great reads. In his article, Dan talks about a writer whose talent is incredibly long-winded writing that still keeps the reader tantalized. Contrast that to someone like Kurt Vonnegut who had the talent to express some of the greatest ironies of human nature in a succinct, biting sentence like “So it goes.”

I personally tend toward the Vonnegut side of the writing scale, and it probably comes from my journalism background. I’m of the opinion you can say a lot with few words (provided you have the right words). I don’t like writing paragraphs that go on for half a page. I don’t like telling readers every minute detail. I try to give them just enough information so that they can see the scene in their heads.

But you know, that’s just what works for me. I’ve read authors who describe things in exhaustive detail and it’s brilliant (take Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness). And even the most succinct writing can be boring if nothing is happening in the plot. Then again, Franz Kafka’s whole shtick is writing stories in which the protagonist never gets anywhere, and he’s a genius too.

So what is it that makes a good book? How much of it has to do with the writing style, and how much of it is the story? What makes one book boring and another something you can’t put down?

One theory I have is that a good book (or a good song or movie) strikes an emotional chord. For example, the reader relates to how the protagonist is feeling. Going back to Kafka, maybe The Trial is so compelling because it so perfectly captures that feeling of hopelessness we feel every time we wait hours in line at the DMV.

What do you think? I’d love to read your comments below.

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Watched Around the World

Published by Adam on January 11, 2011

Praise for my novel continues to come in! Recently, I got this message from an English teacher who lives in Bolivia. To her, my portrayal of the government in WE, THE WATCHED hit almost too close to home.

I loved it. The Cold War, secrets kept by the government from the people who elect the government officials from the bottom up, and the ability to access people’s files, calls and computers makes the story believable. Here, in Bolivia, where I’ve lived for the last 30 years, it’s now illegal to use the word “indio” or to say anything against the president of the republic. It’s punishable by arrest and jail. Members of the Press who write in his contra, and politicians who stand up against his injustices, are also jailed.

–M.R.M., English teacher at a bilingual private school in South America

You can buy WE, THE WATCHED for your Kindle, Nook or other eReader from Smashwords.

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Update on Sequel to We, The Watched

Published by Adam on November 15, 2010

Work continues on the sequel to WE, THE WATCHED.

I just downloaded the Windows beta of a writing program called Scrivener. If you’re a Mac user you may have heard of it already. Up until now I had been writing the novel in MS Word, but Scrivener is already making things easier. My old system was having three separate Word documents: 1) an outline 2) the novel itself and 3) bits and pieces I cut from the novel but felt bad about deleting forever. But this program combines all of that into one working project so that I can easily navigate between scenes and chapters, move them around if I decide Chapter 8 should come before Chapter 7, and take snapshots of passages I decide to cut (just in case).

This is especially handy because, not to brag, but the novel I’m writing has a lot going going on. It alternates perspectives between two characters: Seven and…well, let’s just say it’s someone pretty important from his past (read WE, THE WATCHED and you can probably guess who). And while the new novel takes place after the events of my first book, there’s a healthy dose of flashback, too.

So I’m juggling a lot of concepts, story lines and characters. And trying to write it in a way that won’t alienate those who haven’t read the first book (Speaking of which, what are you waiting for?). It’s only been a couple days, but Scrivener’s already helping me stay focused. And it’s only in beta.

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