Finished the last page of this book on Tuesday, May 31. I started it January 1 so it came in 5 months exactly. At about 97,500 words it turned out a lot longer than I expected. I'm very happy with it, I think it works quite well, but I have to admit it may actually be a script in disguise.
It was really an experiment in writing when it comes right down to it. I wanted to do something different from Starpoint Mountain in every way. Instead of doing it in chapters I just kept going and did it non-stop. Maybe that's why it feels like a script.
The other big difference is it's a smaller canvas, on the space station, with a set number of locations and characters. I was really constricted and couldn't add anything like I could in Starpoint. I spent a full month before writing just working on the characters, creating more than I needed then scratching them. Also spent a lot of time giving each of them their own back story so I knew exactly when they were born, family, where they went to school, etc. Working this way there really ended up being no surprises in characters. They ended up exactly the way I intended them to be. I like them, I think they are original and distinct characters but, at the same time, they didn't surprise me that much. Doing Starpoint I had always expected Jakobus to be a comic relief character but he refused to be written in any way other than a noble dwarf. I ended up totally rethinking him and giving him a name that felt better for the character.
Something else I kept in mind was that this was a one spot story. That was it. A beginning, middle and end and no loose ends to go back to. It's really the first time I've ever done that. I knew Starpoint was going to be an epic when I started and left loos threads to go back too. Time Web Tremors was originally going to be a trilogy but it just didn't work out that way. Even the Doctor Who novel was supposed to be part of a trilogy. Perhaps, had it actually sold, I would have followed through on it, but it's going to stay a one shot forever as long as I can tell.
I think I need to change my writing habits for a while. Doing this by hand is fun and it gives me lots of time but it's harder to concentrate on two completely different worlds. I'm way behind on the 3rd Starpoint book and it should have been out by now but I've got a long way to go. Need to concentrate on that a while.
It's a pity cause I have so many ideas bubbling around wanting to be told. The strongest one, the next one I will eventually write, is called November Girl. The way it's shaping up I'll be going back to the fly-by-night writing I did for Starpoint. Toying with the idea of doing it first person,
It was really an experiment in writing when it comes right down to it. I wanted to do something different from Starpoint Mountain in every way. Instead of doing it in chapters I just kept going and did it non-stop. Maybe that's why it feels like a script.
The other big difference is it's a smaller canvas, on the space station, with a set number of locations and characters. I was really constricted and couldn't add anything like I could in Starpoint. I spent a full month before writing just working on the characters, creating more than I needed then scratching them. Also spent a lot of time giving each of them their own back story so I knew exactly when they were born, family, where they went to school, etc. Working this way there really ended up being no surprises in characters. They ended up exactly the way I intended them to be. I like them, I think they are original and distinct characters but, at the same time, they didn't surprise me that much. Doing Starpoint I had always expected Jakobus to be a comic relief character but he refused to be written in any way other than a noble dwarf. I ended up totally rethinking him and giving him a name that felt better for the character.
Something else I kept in mind was that this was a one spot story. That was it. A beginning, middle and end and no loose ends to go back to. It's really the first time I've ever done that. I knew Starpoint was going to be an epic when I started and left loos threads to go back too. Time Web Tremors was originally going to be a trilogy but it just didn't work out that way. Even the Doctor Who novel was supposed to be part of a trilogy. Perhaps, had it actually sold, I would have followed through on it, but it's going to stay a one shot forever as long as I can tell.
I think I need to change my writing habits for a while. Doing this by hand is fun and it gives me lots of time but it's harder to concentrate on two completely different worlds. I'm way behind on the 3rd Starpoint book and it should have been out by now but I've got a long way to go. Need to concentrate on that a while.
It's a pity cause I have so many ideas bubbling around wanting to be told. The strongest one, the next one I will eventually write, is called November Girl. The way it's shaping up I'll be going back to the fly-by-night writing I did for Starpoint. Toying with the idea of doing it first person,
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