J. Thorn - A Documentary Part I

I would’ve put a bullet through his head. Why didn’t she take the four million and run for the border?

These kinds of thoughts run through my head as I read fiction. I read authors, not books, and I tend to search for the ones that keep me turning the pages. Masters of my favorite genre include Stephen King, Brian Lumley, Richard Laymon, Edgar Allen Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft. Even the best cannot live up to the storyline we weave in our own imaginations. Therefore, I decided to write a story for myself, one that could combine my love of history with my passion for storytelling.

I spent most of my professional career working as a historian. At night, I find the nearest phone booth (anyone remember those?) and strap on a guitar to front a hard rock band. The craft of storytelling creates a common thread between these two worlds. The nasty things humans do to each other become historical narratives, which is why dark fantasy intrigues me. I do not enjoy tales about orcs and dragons, or the boy-turned-savior via magic sword. I love the kind of story that dangles you over the precipice of reality, making you wonder if it could really happen. I offer my apologies to the orcs and dragons that read The New Author.

I wrote editorials in the college newspaper and type more emails than I care to admit. However, that is very different from writing a novel. Read On Writing, by Stephen King. You hate him, he sells cheap thrills, and he is the Big Mac of the literary world. Fine, but the guy sold a bazillion books and he knows how to tell a story. In addition, I read Novelist’s Boot Camp by Todd Stone, and although a bit more structured than I can handle, I mined some nuggets of wisdom from his work. I put the tools in my literary toolbox, but I have a profession, a wife, kids, and a mortgage. When will I write?

The answer came in the absence of a large, plastic, and glass talk box. According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than four hours of television each day. I watched two hours a day. Imagine my joy in realizing I could use half of that time to write a novel, and still be able to watch “Cities of the Underworld.”

“Write what you know” makes for boring fiction. Do you want to read about a guy cutting his grass on Saturday morning? “Write what you love to read” made more sense to me. I decided on an epic fantasy loosely based on a historical event. I spent a couple of months reading all the non-fiction I could find on this period, including major events, culture, and religion.
Adhering to the BIC (Butt in Chair) method, I typed 2000 words per day, which took anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. I began in early July of 2008 and cranked out a manuscript in excess of 175,000 words by the end of September 2008. The word count exceeded my target, but allowed me to slash and burn through the first draft, pulling out the tangents that did not contribute to the story. In those months, I skipped my daily writing session only twice. If I struggled to 1800 words one day, I refused to leave the chair until I hit 2200 the next. The compulsion to get the story out of my head helped to keep me moving forward. I typed “The End” on September 29th, 2008 and quoted John Paul Jones.
“I have not yet begun to write.” Or something like that.

I will blog at various milestones in the journey, but I must be honest with you, dear blog stalker. I do not claim to know THE way to write. People will gladly take your money and provide you with a “recipe” for writing a novel, but you must find your own way through trial and error. I hope my journal provides you insight on your journey.

As we travel together, themes will emerge, such as:
• There is no one way to write. Break the rules.
• If you do not bring 100% of your passion to the page, the reader will lose interest.
• Less is more; hack that draft until it hurts.
• Read and write everyday, no matter what.
• Resonate and originate. Rock musicians use the same three chords for most songs, and yet new artists continue to emerge and entertain. It is fine to write like your favorite author as long as you use your own voice.

Until next time,
J. Thorn