Writing without a schedule.

In some purely artistic world, you wouldn't write to a schedule. You'd write when you were inspired. It would take as long as it takes.

I have a couple of problems with that.

First of all, under this blanket unending process, I'd probably never finish a book. I usually have a set time I try to write a book, a certain number of days, a certain number of words a day. It's this self-imposed discipline that results in a finished book.

The length of the book, the number of days I take, the number of words per day I try to write, seems to vary a lot, depending on the book, depending on my mood, depending on outside factors.

But the schedule I arrive at becomes binding, somehow, even though it is completely arbitrary. 

Secondly, there are those outside factors to take into account. If you have publishers, you have to try to fit your books into their schedule. The same thing with an editor and a book cover artist. I'm constantly juggling these factors.

I tend to stockpile my books, getting the editing and the cover art and the chance to submit to a publisher when I can. They don't usually come along at the same time.

So perforce, because my editors and my artists and my publishers all have a schedule, I too must have a schedule.

On writing days, and most of my days are scheduled as writing days, there is no particular hourly schedule. From the moment I wake up to the time I go to bed, writing is always lurking. I tend to focus around 11:00 on, until around 7:00, but allow myself to work outside that. I don't write all those 8 hours, but I'm thinking about it.

Lately, sometime in late afternoon, I go for my 5 mile walk, and that's where the ideas I've been playing with begin to coalesce and I get words on screen. (The walking--writing connection has become so strong a trigger, I'm actually a little worried about it.)

It is this freeing up of at least 5 days a week, at least 8 hours a day, which has made me so prolific. I don't run out of ideas, I just run out of time.

Once I came back to writing, I sort of vowed to say "Yes" to every decent idea that came along. One way I've accomplished that is by being so disciplined. If I write 6 days a week, and I give over the whole day to writing, 2000 words a day isn't that extraordinary. In fact, if you give it that much time and attention and can't do that many words, you're probably overthinking it.

Well, in the course of a year, that's one hell of a lot of words. Even if you take, say, 1/4 of the available time for rewriting, it still produces a bunch of stories. (For me, taking more than that much time on rewriting is overdoing it--I almost always make the book worse instead of better.)

Anyway, as you can see, I've worked out a process.

With the latest book, "Fairy Punk," I reached the point in the book where I'd usually be crafting an ending, making sure the plot all comes together.

But I've decided this time not to truncate the "quest" just because I have some artificial schedule. This time, I'm going to keep writing as long as the journey is interesting.

It also turns out, because of the scheduling with my outside factors, that I more or less have an extra month or two to write if I want to take them.

So I'm writing this book without a particular pressure to complete it within a certain amount of time. The only requirement is that I keep to my daily schedule and that I continue to enjoy writing it.

It would be kind of cool to make it an "epic." Somewhere north of 150K words. I don't think that is going to happen, but a 100K is pretty much within reach.

But that's just it. I'm leaving it open-ended. There is no schedule for finishing, and I'm sort of enjoying that freedom.

A good old-fashioned quest.

I'm 60K words into Fairy Punk and I'm still in the winding out phase, so to speak. That is, I'm not at the winding in phase where I'm bringing it home. So I don't know how long this book will be.

It's a little episodic, but on purpose. I wanted a fantasy that sort of took its time building a world, where the quest is the journey and the journey is the quest.

It has been a bit of struggle because I don't have that overall plot to guide me. I need a little idea for each new chapter, something that stirs the blood a little. So far, I've been able to find those.

Yesterday, I realized that I was building an underlying theme without intentionally meaning to.

"The End Of Fairy," in a nutshell. The events in the book are happening as Fairy is about to disappear, one way or another. Magic is leaving Mortal Realms.

That theme came out of the world building.

The world building is coming from "The Memoirs of Joseph Tindermaker," who is a half Elve/half Dwarve genius inventor who has invented a McGuffin--the "one ring" if you will--which is locked in the Vault and is the object of the "quest."  Tindermaker is already dead at the beginning of the book, but each chapter is started with a section of his memoirs, with which I build the background mythology for the events in the book.

I think that works, I hope that works, I don't know if that works.

Still trying to challenge myself.

I'm taking a different approach to Fairy Punk. More of a leisurely exploration, world building, episodic, hopefully amusing journey. Not so plot-driven.

I'm 50K words in and I'm still not completely sure where it's going. But every day, I come up with the next chapter and as long as they seem to work, I'll just keep going.

I don't have the usual time schedule for it -- it will take as long as it takes. Nor do I know how long it will be.

I'm also letting it simmer for most of the day, sometimes not even getting started until my walk, which I usually take around 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon.

I'm enjoying it, but I really don't know how it will turn out.

If it doesn't work, it was a grand experiment. I have a bunch of stories that haven't worked. Rather than go back and try to fix them, so far I've just been moving on to the next effort. Frankly, writing a new book is easier and more fun and probably even less work. Plus, whatever improvements I've made to my writing benefits the new book.

If the time ever comes when my imagination fails me--and that doesn't seem implausible that I'll hit a dry spell at some point--then I can work on the previous books.

It's interesting to me that I can have written so many stories, and the process still is different with each one. Each book is a particular book, written in different ways with different attitudes and different approaches. Kinda weird, actually. Not sure why I can't settle into a certain approach or a certain type of book.

Then again, it makes it interesting. And I think it makes it a challenge.

Journey thru Mordor phase.

I'm in the journey thru Mordor phase of Fairy Punk. My heroes need to get from Oregon to New York, pursued by foes, helped by friends. Iggy--the punk--has to release the McGuffin (the One Ring--though I'm not completely sure what it is yet) from a Vault.

I'm trying to choose appropriate Fairy creatures, ones that feel right. So dwarves are good, gnomes are bad.  Pixies (with switchblades) for some reason are good, but I make a joke about Leprechauns "not being real." I have introduced Hellhounds.

So first stop along the way, they get to Bullhead City, Arizona. Spirit Mountain is on the horizon. They stop at a run down R.V. park outside an Indian Casino. Kerrie, the half dwarve who has magical lucky ability (hence the Leprechaun reference) goes and wins a bunch of money.

Native American operatives come after them and turn into Skinwalkers.

Our Fellowship is saved by a herd of glowing white magical horses--who in the morning turn into the wandering burros of Oatman, Arizona. (That's a real thing...)

So, you know, I have to make that seem half-believable. Heh.

Thing is...I'm having great fun.

I'm a serial Vacuum Cleaner killer.

I confess...I've murdered more vacuum cleaners than any man alive.

I get a brand new vacuum, and it works! It actually sucks stuff up! Amazing!

Two weeks later, it only manages to do some kind of snuffling stuff up.

After six months of diminishing snuffling, I give up and buy a new vacuum.

Repeat.

I've tried every kind of vacuum cleaner--big and small, simple and complicated, upright and canister, cheap and expensive. It doesn't seem to matter. I kill them.

I've tried threatening my employees. "If any of you suck up a carpet thread and murder this vacuum cleaner, I'll...I'll...Kill You."

Then, of course, I get an apologetic look when I come in the door and they tell me the vacuum cleaner isn't working and, "I don't know why."

Notice, I don't threaten to fire them, because then I'd have to follow through, right? So I back off my murder threat and sigh and buy a new vacuum cleaner.

The time before last, I decided to buy a high quality, expensive vacuum. It had a bunch of doodads attached, most of which I was never going to use. But I think it took an engineering degree to use the wand. I figured it out once, almost by accident, but could never get it to work a second time. I'd think I was completely stupid, but neither of my bright young employees ever did figure out how to use it.

Last time, I bought an average vacuum cleaner, thinking maybe I was over-thinking it.

Nope, died in three months. Just stopped working.

So last week I went out and bought a $49.99 vacuum cleaner. That's going to be it from now on. A few of those a year, I figure. I'll just have to figure out a way to ditch the bodies.

Now if Linda would just stop murdering her printers....

Yeah, I thought they were pretty good too.

I read chapters 3-5 of Deep Sea Rising at writer's group last night.

Last session I read chapters 1 and 2. I thought they were pretty good. They had nice kickers at the end, and were intriguing. A good start, which is important. Pam seemed very impressed.

Susan was the only one who made it to group this week. Anyway, as I started reading chapter 3, she made some appreciative noises. I finished the chapter, she broke in (which isn't the usual thing) and said, "That's really, really good, Duncan!"

So, encouraged, I read chapters 4 and 5. She chuckled at every beat point, just the way I'd hope a reader would. When I finished, she just raved about the book and then went through and pointed out all the subtleties I'd been hoping a reader would get.

She was so effusive in her praise, I laid my head on the table and said, "Thank god, I needed that."

Gary wasn't there. Gary always brings me down to earth.

But I do believe this is my best book. I got 30K words into the book before I ran into any clunky writing. That's a really good stretch. Most books I feel lucky if I get 2 or 3 chapters in a book that come out in a pristine form. Most of the time, I have to go back and do a lot of rewriting to get it up to snuff.

I always have my favorite chapters, and it's nice when I get confirmation.

Deep Sea Rising came out so well, I decided to send it off to the publisher without paying for the usual editing.

It may still not meet their needs for some reason. But it's very encouraging when a reader (listener) seems to pick up on exactly what I was attempting to accomplish.

As I was reading the chapters, I just thought they were really professional, and showed a level of competence that has come from a lot of hard work and practice.

If I do say so myself.

If I enjoy it, so will the reader. (?)

My idea of writing each chapter of Fairy Punk while not knowing where I was going lasted all of a day.

A full day where I couldn't come up with a thing.

Finally, I went for my late afternoon walk. I told myself to just think about the story, not worry about writing, and that seemed to free my imagination. I've got to remember that: When I pressure myself to come up with words nothing happens, but when I just think about story, the words come.

Anyway, I'm doing a lot a back filling. Lots of characters, a complex backstory. It's all clear to me, so I'm going with it. My theory is that if I enjoy what I'm doing the reader will enjoy what I'm doing.

I also figured out the way forward. The next quarter of the book is a road trip. Road warrior-like. They are making their way from Oregon to New York pursued by the Bad Guys.

Then the last quarter of the book is a lock box story, as Iggy figures out how to get the McGuffin and then springs it loose.

So I now have a rough idea of what I want. I've left the specifics open, so that should be fun. Lots of fairy creatures to spring loose.

I'm not writing this as fast as I have other books, but as long as I'm progressing, I'm not worrying about that. It's not like I'm falling behind on producing...