I have to go back to the hospital this afternoon, but first I managed to crank out another four pages of Ozias, Prince Enthroned. I’ve never had so many obstacles to writing a book; but maybe I’ll finish this one by Halloween.
For the time being, I have a bonus critter video as a sanity break. Cats love us, but they also have the power to amuse us. Amazing, how much fun cats and kittens can have with a cardboard box.
I’m just not up to posting any more nooze today.
There was the sun… behind those clouds!
As if all this rainy weather weren’t enough of an obstacle–I really do need to be outside while I compose fiction–I was wrestling with a detail of the plot that looked like it could turn out to be a serious error.
During a lull in the rain today, I sat under my umbrella and wrestled with my problem–thinking is a big part of writing a novel; don’t let anyone tell you different. Was I going to have to rewrite some of these chapters, top to bottom? And then what? I didn’t have the story firmly in hand, didn’t know what would happen next.
I always ask the Lord to guide my work–and I think today He answered me.
It wasn’t an unresolvable conflict in the plot! It wasn’t really a conflict at all. Instead, it was an opportunity. A door in my mind, a door I didn’t know was there, unexpectedly swung open. I don’t know if I’m saying this right; but now I’m very happy with a plot development that daunted me for several days.
If there’s a lesson to be learned here, it’s a simple one: when you’re stuck, stop, be patient, and think! And pray.
You might be surprised by the answer that comes your way.
Not quite so time-consuming as the construction of the Great Pyramid! And cheaper, too.
My work on Ozias, Prince Enthroned, is going very, very slowly. Not that there’s really any rush to complete it–but I like to feel I’m making progress.
Yesterday a prophet came to Obann City, dressed in such rich costume that no one can remember his face. Can the royal council find him? Who sent him?
You’ve got to stay on top of stuff like that.
Well, let’s see if we can move the story forward… before the skies open. No way I can finish it this year.
And I still have some blog posts to write–well, let’s go out and work, and see how long it lasts.
The rain stopped this afternoon, the sun came out, so I set up my chair and plunged into writing the other climax of my book, The Witch Box. I have to say “the other climax” because this book has two of them.
Now I’m excited. I think this book is my most ambitious writing project yet and I can hardly wait to see how readers respond to it. That’s something an author never knows until it’s too late to do anything about it. You either fly or flop.
Uh, what’s with the picture of the bonfire? Well, I needed one to set the scene, but that’s all I’m at liberty to tell you just now. Such a temptation to drop hints! But it’s just not wise to give in to it.
And after this (if it doesn’t flop), I’m definitely leaning toward going back in time to King Ozias…
What a morning! Hand in our votes, supermarket, pay rent–and all with a cold wind blowing, with 40-mph gusts. Complete with a great big black walnut branch breaking off and falling in the yard. Fortunately it didn’t hit anything. And my leg was just killing me, too.
But all that hassle must’ve cleared out the cobwebs for me, because when we finally got home again, and I sat outside to have a cigar–voila!
I’ve got the climax for Behold! Now I’ve seen what the people in my story are going to behold. And if I can find the skill to write what I saw, as I saw it–well, it’s gonna knock your socks off.
Meanwhile the computer I normally use has gone on strike. Ain’t working.
So kick back and enjoy some dinosaur sounds: it has a bearing on the story.
Thank you, Lord Jesus!
If you’ve been following my progress, as reported here, I’ve really been sweating it, trying to come up with a climax for Bell Mountain No. 14, Behold! The question gave me no peace: “Behold what? What’s there to behold?” And I’ve been praying about it, asking the Lord to give me the story that He wants me to tell. That’s what I always ask Him; and so far, He always has.
So I was out there in the cold yesterday, too cold to write, finishing up my cigar… and the idea just sort of drifted into my head. Sometimes it comes with a bang, as when the gunslinger in a movie shoves open the doors to the saloon. Sometimes it’s like a flashbulb. Sometimes I get the climax first and have to find the way to it. But this time it just drifted quietly into my head; and when I went back indoors, I got distracted by other things and didn’t think of it.
Until I woke up this morning!
Gee, it was still there. I don’t know how to tell you how unusual that is for me. I get a lot of ideas that don’t amount to anything. But this one was not only still there: now it was much clearer. It was better. It ties together the strands of the plot that were just sort of whipping in the wind.
Hallelujah, I can finish my book! I asked the Lord to show me how, and He did. Now all I need is some friendly weather–and a lot of energy–in which to write it up.
Oh–and I still need some good ideas for cover art for No. 13, The Wind from Heaven. Kirk DouPonce is a great cover artist, but he prefers the author (which is me) to come up with the ideas. I’m still wondering how he gets my characters so real: you’d swear they posed for him.