I recently turned in the manuscript for the fourth Chloe
Ellefson mystery, Heritage of Darkness.
There’s still work to do—final corrections, proofing, writing
acknowledgments—but the book is basically done.
Phew. Reaching this
stage always makes me feel as if I’ve just completed the last sprint of a long
and challenging race.
Which reminds me of the one reality TV show I watch
faithfully—The Amazing Race. Eleven
teams race around the world, performing tasks and trying to avoid
elimination. The jubilation the winning
team displays upon crossing the final line and meeting Phil, the host, reflects
my feelings when I zipped that manuscript off to Terri, Midnight Ink’s host…er,
acquiring editor.
Last fall was crazy-busy, so I needed a little extra time to
finish Heritage of Darkness. That means
that I’m already behind schedule for Chloe #5.
As I write this, I’m digging into
the new book. This morning I began
assigning names to the new characters hovering patiently at the edge of my
brain.
The process reminds me of the first episode of each
installment of the Amazing Race. A new
season started recently, and all of the participants are strangers to me. I don’t know who the nice people are and who
are jerks. I don’t know why, or even if,
I should care about any of them.
After completing Heritage of Darkness, I’d finished the stories of characters I’d come to know intimately. Now, my new secondary characters for Chloe #5 feel flat.
After completing Heritage of Darkness, I’d finished the stories of characters I’d come to know intimately. Now, my new secondary characters for Chloe #5 feel flat.
Fortunately, the writing process will reveal all. I’ll discover which characters are
unnecessary to the story (“I’m sorry to tell you that you have been eliminated
from the novel.”) I’ll come to know the
rest in all their juicy complexity, each with a role to play.
That’s one of the pleasures of delving into each new
installment of the Chloe Ellefson series.
I love watching the two main characters—who I know very well--grow and
change and learn to work together. I
love getting to know the new cast.
I love traveling to new places, seeing the sights,
discovering what I can about local history and culture. I love poking around, sometimes backtracking
down blind alleys, striving to meet unexpected challenges, occasionally
stumbling over the unexpected but perfect souvenir.
If that all sounds like a leisurely way to approach a
novel…well, I guess it is. I don’t
outline. The journey itself reveals what
I need to know. The pace will pick up as
I travel deeper into the story.
Until I reach the final leg, with not a million dollars
(uproarious laughter) but instead a deadline looming on the horizon, and a
frantic sprint needed to get there.
www.kathleenernst.com
www.kathleenernst.com
2 comments:
I love THE AMAZING RACE, too, Kathleen!
Beth, unlike me, you'd probably be a great success on the race!
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