Woke up in the middle of the night thinking about the book I just finished reading. It's by an author I respect and who is a Facebook friend, so I'll keep the title to myself.

Anyway, it was a very strangely plotted book. I could tell it was his first book, or close to his first book, because his later books are much better. It had lots of red herrings, dead ends, and superfluous material, it was told almost completely in flashback and more often than not in a simple narrative form instead of vivid scenes.

And yet the author's voice was enough to carry me through. It goes to show, I think, that there is no one way to tell a story.


After that, my mind turned to my own current WIP. In some ways, the story has already gone off the rails. Roughly speaking, I'm writing chapters set in the present alternating with chapters in the past, or as I may end up labeling them; "Spring" and "Fall."

I don't know if this is confusing or not. I think it is probably a matter of making sure the first paragraph of each chapter orients the reader.

But this is the way the story is being told to me. Not to get all mystical, but I'm letting my subconscious have its way.

I figured out a wrinkle to the story which may or may not be a good thing. I mean, it will complicate matters but I think it's a welcome complication. This is a straightforward Noir story. I'm trying not to be cliched about it, but it is definitely a pastiche of all the hard boiled fiction I've read.

The biggest thing is that it's engaging my attention. As long as that happens, I have a book. Complications help me keep engaged. As long as they don't stymie the book.