For those of you who have read the series, you know that the protagonist, Colonel Sparks, bit the dust in the third novel defending his family and his friends. From a personal point of view, I would have preferred to keep Fragger going because I liked the character so much. From a professional point of view, I realized I'd nearly beat him up beyond recognition and he (and the reader) wouldn't be able to take much more!
So, it was time for a new generation of the Sparks' line. After all, the future's ass needs a lot of kicking who better to do it than Fragger's son? So, the book is in slow progress.
Now, for those of you with an interest in writing, I've run up against an old but interesting problem - point of view. Basically, the POV in the first three books was that of Fragger since he was the "stranger in a strange land," and we needed to see things through his eyes.
But, now, I've got a very young character who's obviously not mature, so I can't use his POV, at least at the start of the book. So, at present, I'm doing what a lot of writers do to solve the problem - muck around until I find a solution!
That's right, I simply sit down and write it one way....throw that out and try another way...and, well, you get the idea! It's trial and error all the way.
Some writers hate that. Me, I did at first, and then I realized it was great and thrilling fun - a voyage of discovery and I'm master and commander of a very erratic creative ship.
You never know where you'll end up, of course, but, heck, that's the great part about it. Mysterious people in exotic lands live in your head, and you never know they're there.
All I've got to say is, I'm glad I've got a lot of room inside my mind!
Hey, have a great holiday and an even better New Year! And don't forget to go out and buy the Fragger Sparks series so you can live inside your head as well!
Steve
No comments:
Post a Comment