Once again I'm way late posting. So it goes (if that phrase seems familiar, you probably read Slaughterhouse Five).

I'm beginning a new novel, and it occurs to me that folks might get a kick or even something practical out of reading a weekly (ideally) log of a fellow who's completed 14 novels (published 6) as he wades, runs, staggers, soars, and grovels through the obstacle course he hopes will lead to his 14th (7th).

I don't have a title yet. Or a real outline. I believe in outlines. I just rarely use them, being the impatient sort. What I have is a about 500 words of summary, which I wrote as a kind of organized brainstorming and to send to my editor at Poisoned Pen Press. The summary gives the crime that starts the story in motion. An early morning walker finds a black fellow hanging from a tree, apparently lynched, in a park in Los Angeles in 1926 or so. The summary gives the reason the detective, Tom Hickey, gets involved with the case even though he hasn't yet become a detective. It gives some of the clues Tom will follow, some obstacles he'll need to overcome, and the solution to the mystery.

I sent it to my editor. She gave it thumbs up. I gave her a tentative time line, 100 pages by the end of 2008, the whole novel by mid-summer 2009. She gave me a publishing date, Spring 2009.

 

So I'm ready to type page 1, though I wish I had a title. An friend once told me she never started a short story unless she had a title. That's wise, I think, because a good title can offer focus, which may be the primary ingredient of compelling fiction. But I'm impatient. 

I'm feeling the story should open with the fellow hanging from the tree. I wonder if that image would make a good cover. Knowing I'd  feel more confident if I knew what park he was hanging in, I emailed a friend who lives in LA, gave a few details, and asked what would be the most likely park. He kindly replied.

So I'm ready to go, except I need to boost my gumption. It takes gumption to start a new novel, even after you've written a few.

9-30-08