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What’s Happening
The book that would not end has a first draft. Coming in at 132,377 words, the first draft of “Coyne House” has turned the corner into edit land. I removed the first two chapters, because they aren’t where the story starts, and it was sad to lose a few lines I was very proud of. I was sadder still to find that it only brought the wordcount down to 128k and some change, and my agent asked for it to be 105… I don’t know if I’ll make it to that goal, but I have ideas on things that could go. As I sometimes do, I ended up with too many characters to keep things tight as it went along, so a few may appear, but not become part of the “Scooby Gang” for this one.
There was a particular lesson I learned writing this book. I started with the hope of including as many horror tropes as I could possibly squeeze into a single story, but without said tropes ruining the story. Those inclusions, in the latter third or so of the book, ended up filling important roles in the overall plot. The other side of this is, a few of them will probably now be axed because they were fun but did not advance the story. So, the lesson, Wilson, get to the lesson. A rough draft has a lot of places to hang bits and pieces that might or might not fit. It doesn’t have to be polished, and it’s okay if it has holes, patches, and extra clumps that need to be removed. Getting it done is the key. Then let the story play that Clash song in your head for each as you arrive and decide if things should stay or go. Here is the new beginning point.
One
Marty had decided to drive to Coyne House alone. They could have had a driver. Dr. Danvers had offered to provide one, but when coming to a new place, the experience of the approach, the ambiance of that first vision, was very private. Marty saw and felt things in ways others either didn’t, or wouldn’t, and it wasn’t a thing that could be shared. Too often they’d allowed others to influence first impressions or attempt to shift their gift in directions that supported a pat theory, rather than the truth.
Life was a complicated mess and had been since they’d been a child in rural North Carolina. Their parents had tried to understand. Their school, their classmates, and the church, had not. The post-pandemic rise of hateful, angry people weren’t keeping their feelings secret any longer. The government passed, repealed, and passed again laws designed to dehumanize anyone that didn’t fit their desired mold. Marty felt as if the concept of a mold was the most debilitating, frightening thing imaginable. Several molds would not be enough, because they were like masks, only masks hid things, and molds reshaped them, forced them into pre-conceived, safe forms, not protecting those trapped within, but shielding the world from their contents.
From Writing What Hurts
The Navy Years, Cont’d
Transience is a constant in the military. You have to work hard if you want to forge friendships that last because every two to four years, you move, and those around you are also in constant flux. You have to build relationships in that short time period or lose them as you split up and move on. I have always been a person who either forged very strong friendships or none at all. I'm odd, always have been, and though I try never to allow it to show on the surface, I'm pretty full of myself. I think most people are. You could put a T-shirt my wife loves (it says "C.S.I. – Can't stand idiots") in a room full of 20 random people and all of them would chuckle, glance around at some of the others, and think that the shirt was meant for them to wear, but never that it might be directed their way. It's the way humans work. We all live in tiny, separate worlds where we rule. Those worlds blend, and interact, but really – it's never quite the same in any moment for you as it is for someone else. It goes back to those influences. All of us have had different experiences, all of us believe and know and think at least a little bit differently.
Transience is a familiar sensation to a seasoned writer, as well. You meet your characters for a short period of time. You interact with them, live and love with them, and if you do them justice – come to care about them. You shift into their world, and then, when the story has been told, you move on and leave them behind, hopefully with enough mojo that they can pass on the experience to your readers.
The military swallowed me up in Chicago and spit me toward San Diego, where I went to boot camp. I went in the summer. A very dry, hot summer. I ended up dumped into Company 927. We were commanded by an ex-Seal who was about to retire. He had a good attitude, but he was tough. They chose a guy named Fort to be our RCPO (Recruit Chief Petty Officer) and another guy I only remember as Catfish as the ARCPO (Assistant). Catfish spent all his time with his mouth wide open, and he sort of worked it – like a fish trying to gulp air out of water.
A more diverse group would have been very difficult to find. One big scary guy who ended up getting dropped for being too crazy to serve, a tiny little guy named Blankenship we called the Admiral who talked too much, an older guy named Buckholtz who was overweight, and constantly confused, a pair of Mormons, myself (wanting in equal parts to be a minister and a writer) and a ton of others.
My experience there was different than most. We were a "drill" company, meaning that our members served on the Drill Team, with the rifles, the Flag team, and in the Bluejackets Choir (where I ended up). We had it a bit easier than most of the companies, and every Sunday we got to go and perform during church services. It was there that I became more aware of the workings of other faiths than my own (at the time) fundamental Christian views.
Currently, I believe in science, and the wonder of the real world that surrounds us. I think something big and powerful created everything but can't imagine it had a thing to do with ancient mythology, Hebrew or otherwise, and am happy to believe that being the best person I can be for no other reason than that I know it's right is the way to go. I have come to detest most of the organized religions of the world for their narrow-minded attitudes, and the fact that the majority of the wars in history can be tracked back to them. Again – I digress.
*To be continued…
What I’m Reading
About 72% done with The Essential Bukowski: Poetry – Sometimes so dead-on. Sometimes ranting… as expected. Poetry isn’t something I feel I should binge read, because each poem should have it’s moment of thought. Even the bad ones.
About three quarters through Cleave the Sparrow on my Kindle. Dark humor, satire, and very on point for the surreal situation 2025 has thrust upon us.
What I’m Watching
We just finished watching Frankenstein (the Guillermo Del Toro version) and found it very satisfying. While it gets ridiculous in several places (for instance, I don’t’ recall Shelley’s monster being able to fling men like a superhero or having the strength to break a ship out of the ice, it was very “pretty” and faithful to the original story. I was fortunate to have recently (researching Coyne House) read “The Lady and her Monster,” and I’m aware of the author’s constant battle with misogyny… It took years just to convince the world she was the author. It is probably possible to do that book full justice and bring the frustration and activism behind the scenes into play, but in my opinion, the director to do that will have to be a woman.
We are watching Pluribus now. That is powerful TV and so well cast. Apple TV continually presents higher quality programming than most of the other streamers.
What I’m Listening to
I finished THE WORKS OF VERMIN – by Hiron Ennes – performed by Max Meyers. My review of the book is live on Goodreads (linked in the tile above) – AUDIO SAMPLE
I have just started a full-cast production of THE EL, by Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. – a story that (in the synopsis) is very much like the plot of the movie THE WARRIORS (but at the same time different). Interestingly, one of the narrators is the main character from The Warriors, Michael Beck, who played Swan. I have only just started but it’s a short listen. About five hours, so I should have a review soon. AUDIO SAMPLE
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