Well, ladies and gentlemen of the blogosphere, a lot has happened since we last spoke (I use the term "spoke" loosely, of course, considering this is pretty much a one-way conversation, with me being the blaggermouth, unless you comment at the end of the post).
Anyway, a lot has happened, and to make it easier on you, let's see if I can cram it all into one paragraph:
(Deep typing breath) Something major occurred since getting married. Something besides going on my honeymoon to Italy and Greece. Something besides searching for a house with which to start a life with my beautiful new bride. Something besides getting promoted to Corporate Communications Manager at work. Something besides preparing for my new mother-in-law's surprise 50th birthday party. Something even besides starting my search for an agent for one of my earliest books. Something major occurred since then, and it happened yesterday morning.
I finished my latest book.
Okay, so it took two paragraphs. But only because I thought it was more dramatic that way. You know, as if to say that writing a book was more important than getting married or searching for a house.
But yes, I finished my fifth book. Before getting a chance to send out a single query letter for
The Fall of Paris, I wrote the 473 page
Running Electricity (working title), and I'm going to forget about that Frenchy nonsense and immediately start focusing on this for my literary future.
Running Electricity follows three people, all with deep insecurities, and it's about overcoming those insecurities. There's also a subplot involving a bank robber with his own insecurities, and the four merge during a heist with a unique, nail-biting twist. That sounds sort of odd, perhaps even a bit clichéd, but somehow, at least in my odd silly warped little mind, it works.
Sprinkled with just a touch of something surreal (to say more would be to give too much away), this book is my first true success at combining
pop art with
literary art. Something exciting with something artful. The writing is filled with action, suspense, sports, and a love triangle, among many other elements, and it's all wrapped in a tight literary package overflowing with vibrant, transcendent prose.
Throughout writing this book, I actually took on a new technique. I wrote a passage for the story, and then went back and filled in that passage with lush descriptions of things, thereby combining the page-turning story with an enjoyable writing style. I think this new technique actually worked very well, and would suggest others try it as well. I was able to focus on one important aspect (the story) and then focus on the other (strong, innovative writing), and the end result is a flawless combination of both. Again, that's in my opinion, so take it with a grain of literary salt.
But I really do think the writing is innovative. I did something unique with the characters voices, sort of blending third and first person, and I did a lot to incorporate the surroundings and various settings in a manner that I hope will feel fresh.
I hope this, because I've heard that with each book, a writer gets better. That's certainly visible with J.K. Rowling - just compare the first Harry Potter to the seventh - and I believe that's also visible with me. Just as I've said after finishing other works, and will not say here as well, I think this is by far my strongest, by far my most mature. All the characters' actions make sense, and are grounded in deep reasons. They all have powerful feelings that get fleshed out as the tale goes on. They all participate in their own, interesting stories, and each character's path influences another in some profound way. It also has by far the happiest, most uplifting, most inspirational ending I've ever written, and it's not a cheat. It's earned. And through it, the goal is to help the reader overcome any insecurities he or she might have.
It really is the most like a true professional piece of fiction I've ever written. I feel as if I got all my practice runs out of the way, and this is the first real novel I've concocted. This is it. This is the one.
Now it's just time to get started on that query letter.
Oh, and find a house, enjoy married life, and not lose my cool over my new work responsibilities. But whatevs, I can do it.
After all, I am a novelist. And can't we do anything?
mullows
