simonreadbooks

Archive for the ‘manuscript’ Category

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Writing advice from Ian Fleming

In author, manuscript, writers, Writing on January 22, 2012 at 1:13 pm


I love reading biographies of my favorite authors. Among the few books I’m reading concurrently (it’s a terrible habit) is Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond by Andrew Lycett, first published in 1995. If your exposure to Bond is limited to the movies, I highly suggest you check out Fleming’s novels. The only similarity between the books and the films are the titles and the names of characters. Fleming’s stories are far grittier than what you see on the silver screen. The writing is also superb.

Fleming wrote all fourteen Bond novels at his Jamaican retreat, Goldeneye. Here, as described by Lycett, is his writing routine:

Ian had finally decided to launch into the novel which had been rattling around in his head for so long. He was not a man to tackle such projects half-heartedly. Every morning after a swim on the reef, he breakfasted with Ann in the garden. When he had finished his scrambled eggs and Blue Mountain coffee, he kissed her and made his way across the small veranda into the main living-room. He shut the big doors, closed the jalousies, and opened his big roll-top desk. For three hours, he pounded the keys of his twenty-year-old Imperial portable typewriter. At noon he emerged from the cool of his retreat and stood blinking in the heat of the day. After lunch, he slept for an hour or so, and then, around five, he returned to his desk to look over what he had typed earlier in the day. When he had made his corrections, he placed his manuscript in the bottom left-hand drawer of his desk. Ian was a man of routine, and that writing regimen, now established, continued for the next dozen years, whenever he was at Goldeneye.

The book would eventually become Casino Royale. It’s interesting to note that Fleming edited the manuscript as he went along. I’ve tried doing this but find it to be the kiss of death, as I end up scrapping everything I’ve done. I generally try to get the whole thing down on paper before I take the red pen to it.

Fleming, needless to say, took his writing very seriously. Here is some advice he sent to a friend, who was struggling with a manuscript. It’s great and probably pertinent to every writer:

You will be constantly depressed by the progress of the opus and feel it is all nonsense and that nobody will be interested. Those are the moments when you must all the more obstinately stick to your schedule and do your daily stint . . . Never mind about the brilliant phrase or the golden word, once the typescript is there you can fiddle, correct and embellish as much as you please. So don’t be depressed if the first draft seems a bit raw, all first drafts do. Try and remember the weather and smells and sensations and pile in every kind of contemporary detail. Don’t let anyone see the manuscript until you are very well on with it and above all don’t let anything interfere with your routine. Don’t worry about what you put in, it can always be cut out on re-reading; it’s the total recall that matters.

Some interesting food for thought.

Happy scribbling!

, , , , , , , , ,

The Compulsion to Write

In books, manuscript, publishing, Uncategorized, writers, Writing on January 17, 2012 at 11:45 am

It’s been nearly two months since I shipped my latest manuscript off to my publishers in the US and UK. Today, I heard from my British editor, who gave the pages a big thumbs-up—much to my relief. Having spent three years researching and writing the book—titled Human Game (see the post dated Jan. 12, “What happens after ‘The Great Escape’)—I had lost all perspective on it by the end. After you’ve read for the sixth or seventh time something you’ve written, it becomes a challenge to determine whether it’s any good. The positive opinion of someone outside your immediate circle of friends and family goes a long way in boosting the old confidence level. Hopefully, my U.S. editor will also think kindly of what I’ve submitted!

As the book winds its way through the editing process, I find myself torn between the desire to take time off and dive right into my next project. As stated in the post below, I work a day job to pay the bills. My writing, for the most part, is done in the evenings after my wife and son are in bed. Having my evenings free to lounge about in front of the television or to catch up on my reading is always a thing—but always present in the back of my mind is that nagging urge to get cracking on the next manuscript. Human Game clocked in at almost 100,000 words—the longest thing I’ve written by far. While I definitely need time to recharge the batteries, my compulsion (and that’s what it is) to write never seems to rest.

The reason for this may have something to do with being neurotic; it definitely has something to do with how I view myself. Although my day job is in marketing, I consider myself—professionally—a writer first and foremost. My other job is what enables me to pursue my writing. If I’m not writing, then I feel I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m merely wasting time. Watching something take shape on the page is one of life’s great pleasures! I don’t possess any grand illusions about myself; I just know what I like—and want—to do. Actually, it’s what I need to do. If I put writing off for too long a period, I eventually feel like something inside of me is going to explode.

But there’s one more reason . . . and that’s the hope that whatever project I may be working on will be “The One.” Years ago when I started writing, my primary goal was simply to be published. Once I achieved that benchmark, the next goal I set was to become a full-time author. It’s a lofty ambition and one that few writers are fortunate enough to achieve—but without a dream, how dull would things be?

A final note: It turns out researchers at Harvard have diagnosed a condition in some folks called Hypergraphia. In short, this is defined as the overpowering urge to write. Here’s an article from Psychology Today I found last night while cruising about the Web.

, , , , , , , , , ,

What happens after “The Great Escape” . . .

In author, manuscript, publishing, writers, Writing on January 12, 2012 at 1:49 pm

As I try to get back into the swing of blogging (and maintain the necessary discipline), I’ll also be experimenting with various designs—so please forgive me if I keep changing the appearance of the blog. I’m pretty happy with the current design, but we’ll see how long that lasts.

The past year has been spent working on the manuscript to my upcoming book, HUMAN GAME. If you’re a fan of the movie THE GREAT ESCAPE, you know how the film ends. For those of you not familiar with this Steve McQueen classic, here’s a brief synopsis: In Stalag Luft III, a prison camp for Allied airmen deep in the heart of Germany, a group of inmates decide to orchestrate the breakout of 250 prisoners. Each escapee is equipped with fake travel documents, German money, rations, identity cards, civilian clothing, compasses, etc.

The men built three tunnels, codenamed “Tom,” “Dick,” and “Harry.” To avoid the camp’s underground microphones, vertical shafts to each tunnel were dug 30 feet down before horizontal digging commenced. Construction of the tunnels continued around the clock and required the requisitioning of nearly 1,219 knifes, 582 forks, 408 spoons, 246 water cans, 1,699 blankets, 192 bed covers, 161 pillow cases, 1,212 pillows, 655 straw mattresses, thirty-four chairs, the frames of 90 bunk beds, 3,424 towels, ten single tables, fifty-two twenty-man tables, more than 1,200 bed bolsters, nearly 1,400 beaded battens, seventy-six benches, 1,000 feet of electrical wiring and 600 feet of rope. Four thousand bed boards were used to shore-up the tunnels. Lights wired into the camp’s electrical supply provided illumination underground; air pumps made of discarded kitbags, empty powdered-milk tins, wood-framing, wire mesh and tar paper supplied fresh air to those doing the digging.

Let’s jump ahead in our narrative a bit . . . The escape took place on the night of March 24/25, 1944. In the event, only seventy-six airmen got away before a guard discovered the exit to Harry—the tunnel ultimately used in the escape. Three of those seventy-six made it safely back to England; the others were recaptured. Fifty were handed over the Gestapo, taken to desolate killing fields throughout Germany, and gunned down.

The movie ends with the execution of the fifty. HUMAN GAME picks up immediately thereafter and details the Royal Air Force’s hunt for the Gestapo gunmen. It took three years of researching and writing to complete, and is based primarily on the official records kept by the RAF’s Special Investigating Branch, which handled the investigation. The Caliber imprint of Penguin will release the book in October. I’ll post more details as they become available.

In the meantime, here’s a trailer to THE GREAT ESCAPE—one of the greatest movies of all time!

, , , , ,

Dark City release pushed to November

In author, manuscript, writers, Writing on October 28, 2010 at 10:23 am

Well, DARK CITY’s release has been pushed back to November 9. There was an apparent printing delay. The publisher is planning a media blitz the first week of November, so hopefully the book will generate a bit of good press.

In the meantime, I continue banging away on my current manuscript and making good progress. I’m trying to complete a 90,000-word first draft by March. Right now, I’m closing in on the 35,000-word mark. I’d like to have 45,000 words done by Thanksgiving. My wife is pregnant with our first child (it’s a boy!) and is due in March, so I’m hoping to have a draft completed by the time the little man arrives on the scene.

I’m happy so far with the way the book is turning out. The story is strong and the characters compelling—granted, my opinion is biased. Interestingly enough, the National Geographic Channel aired a documentary the other night on the very topic I’m writing about. After five books, I’ve grown accustomed to being a non-bestselling author, but I hold out hope one of them will someday take off! Perhaps this will be the one? We’ll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I’ve been reading a pretty good book. THE INDIFFERENT STARS ABOVE by Daniel James Brown details the tragedy of the Donner Party. The subject matter is utterly compelling—what those poor people went through is staggering. My one complaint with the book is the author’s tendency to derail stirring scenes with a load of filler. Why, in the midst of reading about emigrant travel across the Great Plains, do we suddenly need a history on 1840s birth control? Another gut-wrenching scene, in which the emigrants are forced to eat the flesh of their dead companions on Christmas, is sidetracked by a dissertation on the holidays in 1800s America. There are several other instances like this that really grate the nerves—but, overall, the book is definitely worth reading.

Other books on my bedside table waiting to be read include three biographies: one on Clint Eastwood titled AMERICAN REBEL and another on Hunter S. Thompson, OUTLAW JOURNALIST. The final one is STORYTELLER, an authorized biography of Roald Dahl, which I’m hoping to get to before the holidays begin.

I’m also hoping to become more disciplined and start updating this blog on a regular basis!

Back to the Grind

In author, manuscript, publishing, writers, Writing, writing rooms on August 31, 2010 at 4:13 pm

My wife and I recently purchased our first house. Now that we’re almost settled into the place, I’m hoping to no longer neglect my little blogging experiment! My writing room, minus a few pictures I need to frame, is done. The walls are a nice shade of gray, and I have new leather office chair, which is much more comfortable than the wooden chair I used previously.

On top of moving, I’ve been keeping up with my book work. I’ve nearly finished reading the page proofs for Dark City: Crime in Wartime London, which Ian Allan will publish in the next couple of months (I believe the British release date is Oct. 21). I also continue working on my manuscript for Penguin. Last week, I hit 20,000 words and am hoping to have 90,000 words of a first draft done by March.

I was in my late 20s when I wrote my first book, On the House. Back then, I easily banged out a 1,000 words a day. I worked nights on the copy desk of a Bay Area newspaper and wrote during the day. I had a lot of energy to burn in those days. Now, as I continue the slow and inexorable march towards 40 (I’m on the dark side of 35), writing has become more of a challenge. I still have the passion and drive to do it, but I’m not quite as energetic as I used to be.

I generally sit down to write late in the evening. My day job is in corporate communications, and I need several hours in the evening to decompress and clear the day’s clutter from my brain. My daily goal is 300 to 500 decent words. That might not sound like a lot, but when you’re writing nonfiction and have to sort through pages of primary source material to construct the story, it can take time!

I have two small bookshelves stocked with my favorite authors on either side of my desk. When I feel myself losing momentum, I reach for an Ian Fleming, Fred Vargas, or Steinbeck to get me back in the writing mood. William Manchester is also a personal favorite. His two-volume biography of Churchill, The Last Lion, is astounding and well worth repeated readings. When it came to writing, Manchester was not only brilliant—the guy was a machine. This is from his obituary that ran in The Washington Post on June 2, 2004:

Fueled by yogurt and brief naps in his office, the sinewy Mr. Manchester could withstand 50-hour writing sessions in his heyday.

That’s a man dedicated to the craft! I can only hope to one day possess such fire . . .

Manuscript update

In author, manuscript, publishing, writers, Writing on August 10, 2010 at 5:54 pm

I sat down last night to pound the keys, as it were, and managed to bang out 700 words. I think I might have done more had I not broken my cardinal rule. Against my better judgment, I went back and read what I’d written the night before. I immediately found myself wallowing in a pit of despair, my shoulders slumped under the heavy burden of self-doubt. I usually never go back and read what I’ve put down until the first draft is done. Last night confirmed why I do this.

At this point, I can’t worry about it. I’ll just KBO (Keep Buggering On) until the initial draft is done. As I’ve stated previously, my goal is to finish draft one by March. That will give me nine months to revise before I have to send it off to the publisher.

Total word count for the manuscript thus far is 18,100 words.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 138 other followers

%d bloggers like this: