Coincidence, and planning

In the final chapters of Secret Spy, many loose ends must be tied up. The best way to take care of one of them was for one of the character's cars to catch fire.

Others who read the chapter said that this felt like a handy coincidence. Cars do catch fire, it's true. But when that fire drives some of the narrative in a particular direction that is desirable for the writer, and doesn't seem rooted in the story, then the reader feels manipulated.

But this problem was easy to solve: all I needed to do was weave into earlier portions of the story some hint that the car has a problem: a funny smell, a small mechanical flaw. Then, when the fire occurs, the reader will look back on the previous "hints" that something was amiss, and think, "Oh, that makes perfect sense! I should have seen that coming."

That sense that they "should have seen it coming" is a very good one to instill in the reader because it makes them feel as though they are in able hands: you as the writer have been able to insert just enough information to assure that everything feels logical, but you haven't put in so much that the plot is predictable. "Oh! I knew that car was going to blow up 60 pages ago. Finally!"

I wonder if aversion to coincidence  has a certain resonance to real life, as indicated by sayings such as  "everything works out for the best," and "there is no such thing as a coincidence." Perhaps this sense that stories all cohere is an iteration of the human drive to look at the events in one's life--or, indeed, of history or civilization itself--and be able to say, "Yes, I can see the pattern now, and it all makes sense. It couldn't have happened any other way." Of course, "it" definitely could have happened in a multitude of "other ways." There are no guarantees in life at all. Maybe the ending of a book is like the ending of a life, except you get a do-over. How nice.

I suppose this might branch into discussion of multiple dimensions, or multiple universes, or an analysis of reality, but I'll leave that to much smarter people. My goal is to avoid writing plot points that just serve my purposes, and are not sufficiently rooted in the reality of the story.

Writing is rewriting

Since last I posted here,  Inhuman has continued to sell sporadically. It is an unusual book, I know. Maybe people can't handle the gore or the weirdness of getting into a killer's head. At this point, I'll consider publishing it as a public service, await its viral sweep through the publishing universe and try not to take it personally if said infection doesn't occur. Haven't heard word one from Joel Bernstein, and I'm tempted to stick my thumbs in my ears and wiggle my fingers at him, saying "neener neener neener." But that would be immature.

Instead of obsessing about Bernstein & Co., I have done the mature thing: written a new novel! After all, I am heart a humor writer, so this new book is for me a return to familiar territory. My first published novel was Echo Valley, a comedy. After that, there was the sequel, Huttle the Hero. The novel Deadlines, though a detective story set in the Pacific Northwest, is also, well, not a comedy, but breezy and funny. All are available for Kindle and Nook.

In any event, my new book, Secret Spy (working title) is a prequel (hate that word) to Echo Valley. Set in 1982 Los Angeles, Secret Spy is based very loosely on the case of an FBI agent who fell in love with a KGB agent, and to win her affection passed along to her some classified information.
Tom Huttle, the hero of Echo Valley is swept into the plot when he gets a job writing feature stories for the corporate magazine of  a big insurance company. But, though TransCom Insurance is a legitimate insurance company, it is also a front company for the CIA, which uses it to re-introduce its compromised field agents to the real world of commerce and business. Tom has no idea that the people he's writing about are former spooks.

I won't spoil the plot, but before long the subjects of Tom's articles start being murdered, and Tom is believed to be the culprit. Meanwhile, the FBI agent becomes more and more deeply ensnared with the seductive KGB agent, both of whom suspect that Tom Huttle--completely oblivious to what is going around him--is a Master Spy.

So far, I've completed a first draft, 64,000 words and change.

I won't delve too deeply into the process of writing quite yet, but I started the book June 16, and I wrote almost every day. Weekly, with a break at Thanksgiving and Christmas, I presented a new chapter to a small group of writer friends, including the incomparable Deb Norton (www.debnortonwriting.com) who provided invaluable feedback. I incorporated all of their notes before proceeding to the next chapter.

Now is the fun part: rewriting. Secret Spy is my seventh novel. Though all of them are not published, I did learn a lot in writing them. Through the process of writing the novels, as well as many screenplays, teleplays, and short stories, I've developed a scheme for rewriting that I thought I'd share, in hopes others can benefit from what I've learned.

I didn't outline Secret Spy at all. Periodically, I'd write down some possible plot developments and such, but generally speaking I winged it and trusted--to employ a cliche--"the process." Not everyone is comfortable doing this, but I thought I had a strong enough premise, and strong enough characters, to let them take over the story. In fact, I love working this way because as the narrative develops, things start to occur that I never would have anticipated, and that keeps me interested.

The farther I got in the book, the clearer the characters and conflicts became. It was a wonderful experience.

And that leads to my first "Writing is Rewriting" Tip: Rewriting begins with the first draft.

How? Because, as you move along in the narrative, ideas will occur to you. Maybe you'll want to set your story in Dallas rather than Phoenix. But, if you go back and start changing the thousand and one references you made to Phoenix and environs, you might lose steam. It's best to simply make a note to yourself, and write it in ALL CAPS in the manuscript: "From now on, the story is set in Dallas." That helps you keep your momentum going.

Moving ahead helps you refine and develop your characters and your plot. Going back and fixing everything in the earlier portions of the work can get discouraging.

The best argument I can present for continuing to move forward is this: even if you have outlined your story to within an inch of its life, as you write, you learn more. Characters and conflicts become clearer. New ones arise. The plot unfolds. The theme emerges. Going back and revising too early is like living a life of regret. I've known too many people who wrote the first thirty pages of their book over. And over. And over. And over. They never finished because they were determined to get it right.

As the saying goes, "Don't get it right. Get it written."

Unlike in real life, fiction permits a "do-over." That's called rewriting. My step-by-step strategy in posts to follow.