As this blog is to be about the writing process and my experiences as a writer, it seems only reasonable to start at the beginning. I\u2019ve been telling stories my whole life, but it was only recently that I\u2019ve started thinking of it as a second career instead of a hobby, that I\u2019ve been writing for publication instead of thinking \u201csomeday I\u2019ll write a book.\u201d<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve always loved trickster characters, and I\u2019ve had this one rogue inside my head since I was a teenager: a wise-cracking scoundrel who\u2019s not entirely on the right side of the law, good with his tongue or one of his blades, expert at knowing just what you want to hear and making sure you hear it just when he needs you to. Over the years, he picked up a big, quiet partner who\u2019d be the rational anchor to his wild ideas; the one man he\u2019d trust to ride the river with. The two of them, under various names and in various incarnations, starred in quite a few tales in several genres, not all of which I\u2019ve written down.<\/p>\n

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A few years ago, the pair started showing up with regularity as a couple of Old West outlaws trying to go straight. I\u2019ve always been fascinated with stories of real-life \u201cbadmen\u201d who turned into lawmen, and I started thinking about what my lads might do with themselves if they decided to hang up their six-guns and try out the other side of the law for a change. Not become policemen, I decided, but they\u2019d need something that would use their special skill set. I hit on the idea of them starting a security firm, something that would protect the average businessmen from exactly the sort of people that the lads used to be.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m a member of an online critique group, so it was only natural to share a few of my stories with them. One of my best friends \u2013 we met through the group \u2013 picked up on the fact that these two characters were essentially the same two men. Barry challenged me to start writing seriously about them, and that November, challenged me further: to sign up for NaNoWriMo* and start on an actual novel about their struggles with this new concept of honesty. I\u2019d participated before, so I knew I could make the 50,000 word goal, and I took the challenge.<\/p>\n

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I had a basic idea, but no real plot for the lads. I knew I wanted to show their skill as outlaws somehow, and I knew I wanted them to solve some sort of mystery. Then one morning I woke up from a sound sleep with the idea of a train robbery. Now, I just had to figure out a way to tie that into the rest of the plot. I started writing the first chapter, which eventually became the preface, and thought about how they pulled off the robbery. What if they used the same technique to help them solve their mystery?<\/p>\n

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By December, I had the bones of the novel down, and was ready for some serious writing. I\u2019d imagined myself quite the polished writer, but trying to pull off a novel certainly altered my thoughts. It took a lot longer than I thought it should, for one thing, and I found myself floundering around in spots, knowing that some of what I was putting down was dull and uninspired, but not certain how to fix things. I pushed through and finished the manuscript over the spring and summer \u2013 and then I attended a local writing conference. The idea was to pitch my novel to some of the agents there, but I changed my mind after the first day\u2019s lectures. I got so many great ideas, both from the classes and from talking to agents, that my pitch sessions included the phrase \u201cand I\u2019m going to edit the hell out of it once I get back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m on the third (hopefully final) edit now, and I look back at the first draft with a rueful smile. I can only hope that the writing process becomes easier as I learn the proper techniques and keep practicing, much as any skill does. I\u2019m still working things out as I go along, so hopefully this blog will help some of you learn what I\u2019ve had to figure out the hard way.<\/p>\n

*NAtional NOvel WRiting MOnth<\/p>\n