“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
Ernest Hemingway
What’s Been Happening with Writing, so far-2023
It’s nearing mid-January, 2023, and of course, you’re wondering what’s been happening with my writing. I am nearing the end of round one edits on my debut crime fiction/thriller, the first in my new series (though, this could deftly be a stand-alone thriller, as far as I can tell). I don’t have a title for this book yet, so let’s call it “Book #1”. I am one of those writers who had chopped out my first rough draft, not in record-setting time, but in near slow motion. According to my cover, I started typing from pages upon pages of hand-written notes in August 2017. My notes also tell me I completed the first draft on February 7, 2022, after a marathon of cram-style writing, like a college kid pulling an all-nighter for a final term paper.
Then I let it sit. The first draft sat and sat, then it sat some more. I admit this was for several reasons. One, I was following other writers’ advice they had given, or that I had read somewhere or another. Take some time off from that bad boy, it’ll do ya good, they said. I think they were right.
Another, this was mid-summer, 2022. There was a large home landscaping project I had undertaken, there was fishing to be done, and bike rides and miles to crank out (pun intended). The main reason I let the draft sit was simply that it had burned me out, and I did not want to look at it for a while.
Reading, Writing, and Projects
Now, I didn’t just quit writing altogether. Far from it, actually. I read a bunch of books, more in 2022 than I had in years. I admit, I have adopted Audible, and use it daily. If you have not tried audiobooks, I would HIGHLY recommend them!
I began to work on other projects as well. I started new research on a planned historical novel (and later, a screenplay) which I have been working on since 2015. I began writing the historical fiction version, which dates back to the post-civil war era, then scrapped the entire thing. I started over with nothing, hoping to do a historical version of it. In early April 2022, I drove to Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma to conduct more research on this project, resulting in my finding some superb information, and meeting some great people along the way. I also stopped at a few Civil War battlefields along the way. This is another of my passions and interests from over the years. This historical project, tentatively titled “1872”, is next on my list. It will move to the front burner, so to speak, soon. And, I will need to decide in short order if it will be historical fiction or true non-fiction historical. I will post more on this later, so check back!
Before edits of “Book #1” began, I worked on another book in the crime fiction series. I made some genuine progress on this project, and have about ten chapters done. I have named this book, “Sniper”, but I can’t say it will be book #2 in the series. Most likely, it will be book #3 to book #5, somewhere in there. Why you’re asking yourself? Well, there’s a fair explanation.
Creating a Master Book Series Bible
Somewhere along the way, between whenever it was I started the “first” book in what is now this “crime fiction thriller series“, several things occurred. I ended up writing at least three other books first, not even realizing at the time they were further on down the road in the overall scheme of things. Another thing that changed my overall approach as a budding author of crime fiction; I started a master bible, listing all characters, backgrounds on them (to a certain degree), summaries of each book plot, and a master timeline of the entire series.
Doing this, especially creating a timeline, gave me some peace of mind during my new author writing journey. It allowed me to refocus on “Book #1”, and get the first draft framed. The walls were up, a roof was on, and the windows and doors are all in place. I might not live there yet, but I have a sound structure in place. Now it’s time to decorate and spruce it up.
Another tidbit in the “peace of mind” department was this; I had ideas falling from my mental attic, literally dozens of plots, new characters, dangers, drama, and kill boxes for main characters (come on, we’ve all read/seen/listened to Game of Thrones, you know what you can do with your darlings…). This process allowed me to develop up to eighteen (yes, 18) books that could be used in this crime fiction/thriller series, and I figure about six of them could stand on their own if I so choose. It gives me a lot to write about, and many places I could go with the cast of characters. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I have a very rough, basic beginning, middle, and end for all eighteen plots (ahem, subject to change, of course). The best part of it all? I developed a new, yet cohesive underlying storyline that will drive the characters along for years and years, and change the arcs of their purpose in this make-believe world.
Authors Wear Many Hats
So there it is. A short blog entry on my newfound, very rudimentary website. I am finding wearing the figurative “many hats” of an author to be complex. I am still trying to figure out all these online “social media” tools in order to share my work with others. It will be an ongoing effort, and I confess I will need to hone my time management for this process. Posting author website blogs, sharing to Twitter, Good Reads, and Medium, then trying to learn TikTok. Finding time for all of it will be an interesting undertaking. Thankfully, I have that time (I just need to make the best use of it).
There will be more editing on Book #1, multiple rounds more than not. I plan on getting the final “draft” out to my select small group of beta readers and hope to have their feedback by early to mid-summer this year. Also, I want to get my “1872” project roughed in during this same time frame. Not to mention, I am learning how to write in screenplay format (learning Final Draft as I go). This screenplay thing is quite a fun process, I must admit.
That’s all for now. Check back, or subscribe to my newsletter link. I will send out a monthly newsletter detailing various projects ongoing and personal triumphs. You will hear more about my prior professional background, and what I did before becoming a ‘full-time author’ (there are many good stories, to be sure!). I might eventually release some chapters of ongoing works as a preview for subscribers.
I also have some other ideas for 2023 and beyond. These include a NaNoWriMo project, and other subscriber-only special features, such as “what am I reading now”, and book review blurbs.
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Brian Keith
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