May 26th, 2010 by Neal

May 19th, 2010 by Neal

Two songs profoundly informed the new novel. “No Surprises” by Radiohead, and “The Genius Next Door” by Regina Spektor. This in turn was informed by Ben Folds’ “Hiroshima” song, which inspired the title for the book (among other things), and through Folds I found Spektor.

Today, fishing around the net, I found this, recorded the week I finished the book.

Creepy, man. I love extraordinary coincidence (or dare I say with an air of presumption, great minds thinking alike?):

God damn, is it beautiful.

May 18th, 2010 by Neal

Hal 3 is done.

This is exactly what the process is like. You start out finding some interesting someone or something concept you don’t know or understand (suicide, plural marriage, child molestation, and SHRIMP!), fully explore it to the point that makes you feel stupid, and then:

That’s… that’s about it.

Nothing to do but look up and go…. Okaaaaay.

May 17th, 2010 by Neal

Work continues apace, which is nothing new.

I’m trying to decide if I should read one more time through or just let it fly away. I think I’ll probably read through again, because I’m a nut. Mostly it’s the beginning. It’s fine by any standard, but I love making little tweaks.

I’m tired, though. 44 pages of editing today. Ten hours. I want to be done, as much as I know that the minute I’m done, I will wish I had it back. Catch-a 22.

99,710 words, so far. Probably the most tiring book I’ve ever written, despite its relatively short time frame. But, I hope, a good one.

May 12th, 2010 by Neal

I’m very tired, but work progresses. The book is at almost 98,000 words, and will probably top out at 100K ish.

I’m doing about thirty pages a day, which puts me at completion at roughly the end of next week or the beginning of the following week, but either way, I should be done by the end of May. Then I’m gonna take a well-earned bloody break for a few.

Today I had a strange scene where I went into a 7-11 and saw the clerk being accosted. I was in perfect position to utterly ruin the day of the potential assailant, but he decided to leave. Had he taken a swipe at the clerk, I would have taken him down. It was literally a hair away from a really crazy scene. Instead he left, and now I have gummy worms and half a day of work.

In another universe, though, I karate chopped a bum today.

Sigh.

May 12th, 2010 by Neal

Happiness is playing with the word count function and realizing that the word “Just” appears 450 times in a 98,000 word document. It makes the pulse quicken, and you begin to excise the “just” from your book. Sometimes “only” will substitute. Usually it’s a character doing what people do when they talk in real life, just doing this, just doing that, I was just using just to just, I don’t know, Justify something.

There’s that old maxim that good dialogue sounds how people really talk. I disagree, as do some of my writer pals I’ve talked to about it. Good dialogue makes you think you’re reading how people really talk while still showing craft.

Nonetheless, it’s when you’re talking and you realize you say “like”, “All right?” or “Right?” all the time. You realize that it’s damned near impossible to remove your personal habits, no matter how practiced you are. For instance, the last sentence read “it’s just damned near impossible” until I saw it and went back before I made an ass of myself.

Point remains, after looking at the word “just” for an hour, I doubt I’ll be less conscious of it in the future. If only to avoid going mad.

May 10th, 2010 by Neal

I just got a letter addressed to the previous occupants of this house.

The name of the gal on the address is “Lora.” Laura wouldn’t make me queasy, but that exact spelling… wacky improbable.

For those of you familiar with the books, that is exceedingly coincidental in a crazy way. Dig it, just don’t deify it. Heh. Life is strange.

May 7th, 2010 by Neal

I am now 55 in to the fourth draft, my hope is to finish it next week, do another quick read-through for a fifth draft, then send it in by the end of the month.

I’m not changing hardly anything, which is very good, but it’s very easy to spend a last read-through skimming and making sure, all the same.

I came up with what I believe will be the murder for the next book, which is rad. I am also thoroughly intrigued by Columbo, and am considering Hal’s polar opposite, a detective that is much more formal and intelligent. Then again, many have written Sherlock Holmes, so I’ve got a lot to consider.

It’s very strange not to be changing genre every book. I used to do that. Hrm.

In other news, the pages for Nightmares of the Macabre have been coming in, and WOW. You guys will LOVE this book. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I do.

May 4th, 2010 by Neal

Merely doing something else I can’t write here about. That’s all!