Writing the Lights Out 24 – The first draft of the Regulation 19 sequel, A Place Without Shadows, is complete! Now the real work begins.
Archives for June 2014
A Story Conversation With Myself
Late last year, I read the book ‘The Successful Novelist’ by thriller writer David Morrell (which I discuss in more detail here). In the book, Morrell has an interesting suggestion for working out story ideas. He recommends having a conversation with yourself, asking yourself questions, playing the role of skeptic, etc, until you’ve hashed out the details of the story. He says it’s a great way to get to the root of what is interesting about a story idea and quickly figure out whether a story might or might not work. He recommends doing this in written form so that you can refer back to it later.
Today I was going through some old files on my Google Drive, and I found a document called ‘New Novel’. I had no idea what it was and opened it, hoping I’d written an entire novel and forgotten about it. Sadly, that was not the case. Instead, it was a written discussion with myself. I was pitching myself the idea for a new novel.
The conversation ends rather abruptly (apparently I wasn’t able to convince myself), but I thought it would be fun to share. Here’s how one crazy person thinks about stories. Take it away, PT1 and PT2!
PT1: Hello, PT. Back again, I see. Must need my help.
PT2: Yes. I do… and hello. It’s time to start thinking about the next novel.
PT1: Oh? The last one finished? You get all the rough edges sanded off, then?
PT2: I wouldn’t go that far, but, yeah, it’s done.
PT1: So what are you thinking for this next one?
PT2: I’m thinking about a thriller.
PT1: But our kind of thriller, right? Lots of mystery? Supernatural elements?
PT2: Yeah, of course.
PT1: So, what’s it about?
PT2: The protagonist is this ordinary dude. He gets a call one day from some kidnappers. “We have your son. Pay us three hundred thousand dollars.†That type of thing. The twist? This guy didn’t know he had a son.
PT1: Okay… that’s not a story; it’s an idea. [Read more…] about A Story Conversation With Myself
Interview with Me
Author John L. Monk was kind enough to interview me for his blog. The best way for me to entice you to read the interview is to share the very true opening paragraph:
It seems like every day I check my email and get another note from a supermodel asking, “Omg, when are you going to interview PT Hylton?â€
Usually I’m all like, “Ladies, please, why go with Coke Zero when you got ice cold Dr. Pepper right here?â€
http://john-l-monk.com/2014/06/15/finally-interview-with-pt-hylton/
Fiction Unboxed
Fiction Unboxed  is a project from Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David Wright (hosts of the Self-Publishing Podcast and authors of ‘Write, Publish, Repeat’ and a load of novels). They are pulling back the curtain and broadcasting their story meetings, posting their raw, unedited drafts, and letting the world in on their process as they write a novel in thirty days.
To view all the content, you need to pay, but you can get the rundown on what they are doing each day for free at www.fictionunboxed.com.
I subscribed, partly because I was curious about their process and partly as a way of saying thanks for all the free content on the podcast. I also truly enjoy their novels, and I was interested to see one come together from scratch.
While I was happy to pay the cost to subscribe in order to support the project, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
We are five days in and, so far, it has been utterly fascinating.
Here are a few observations thus far:
- It’s pretty inspiring how authentic and real the guys are in revealing their process. Case in point: on day two, the story timeline Sean brought to the table wasn’t working for the other guys. After the meeting stalled, they agreed to take some time to clear their heads, rethink the ideas, and reconvene later. The second story meeting of the day was much more productive. I love that we got to see that, warts and all.
- The way they collaborate is different than I expected. I think Johnny pointed it out of day three, but in their story meetings they rarely change each other’s ideas. It is more about building on each other’s ideas.
- It really makes me want to collaborate with another author at some point. I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a few great creative collaborations in my life (Six-String Bliss, Real Dad Fitness, etc). When I was in my early twenties, two friends and I started a production company called Plethora Films. Those were fun, crazy times, but my favorite memories are the story meetings. Sitting in a room with Jonathan and Greg for hours discussing story. Those were some of the most creatively fulfilling times of my life.Watching Sean, Dave, and Johnny has brought those memories back in a powerful way.
So, someday I intend to collaborate on some fiction. I’ve even got a pretty neat idea for a unique method of collaboration (I think). There are some things I want to do before I get to that, but it’ll happen eventually.
May Book Reviews
I read a great group of books in May, so let’s get started.
The Kick-Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig
Chuck Wendig is the author of Blackbird, Mockingbird, and even some non-bird-titled books. He writes novels with style, personality, and memorable characters.
When I learned he had written a series of writing books, I knew I had to check them out.
Most writing books give you the feeling of sitting down by the fire with a master storyteller as he or she carefully and elegantly explains the secrets of his or her trade. This is not that. [Read more…] about May Book Reviews