Canticles of the Unhomed
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
So here I am, sitting in the Cafe on a Wednesday afternoon trying to write. I have contracted by my publisher (and paid as well) to write a sequel to the book that is about to go into print. (Yay!) So, it would make sense for me to be working on the sequel, right? Well, working on this book is like pulling teeth. The plot, the characters, the setting, nothing seems to be working. Right now, I am at 2839 words. And thus has it sat for over a week. I think it's fairly obvious that my plot for this book is less than compelling. The idea that I came up with was to write a prequel (yes I know the prequel thing has been done) that describes the good man that the main character of the first book comes from. Since the first book was all about the descent of this character into darkness, I thought showing the nobility of his background would make his descent more poignant. I thought putting him and his crew (made up of the major characters from the first book) in a position to defend the defenseless from overwhelming odds to the point where they need to sacrifice their lives to save people who won't even defend themselves would be a compelling enough plot. But, honestly, it is just coming up as derivitive and boring. I think I need a new direction.
So in the meantime, since I cannot write what I am actually getting paid to write, I am working on a project that has been on the go for a few years now, something that really is a waste of my talent, but it keeps me writing. I could never publish it, let alone get paid for it. Every once in awhile I pull it out when I'm making no progress on my own stuff and hack away at it. It's a Star Trek novel. Yeah, I know, I know. Reference the title for this post. :)
So in the meantime, since I cannot write what I am actually getting paid to write, I am working on a project that has been on the go for a few years now, something that really is a waste of my talent, but it keeps me writing. I could never publish it, let alone get paid for it. Every once in awhile I pull it out when I'm making no progress on my own stuff and hack away at it. It's a Star Trek novel. Yeah, I know, I know. Reference the title for this post. :)
:: written by Matt Thompson, 3:25 PM
