Update

Novel Update 07/05/17

/ Christian Laforet / 1 Comment

So…you’re all probably wondering where my novel is at, right? I mean, I finished the first draft almost a year ago and still, bupkis! Well, let me tell you about it.

My troubles began while working on that first draft. I spent so long developing it, that by the time I reached the end, I was no longer satisfied with the earlier portions of the book. I thought I could fix those sections in subsequent drafts…I was wrong.

With a new project beginning at the start of this year, I thought it would be a good time to take a step back and reassess the novel. During that time off, I started to get a creeping feeling in the back of my brain that the story, as it existed, would never see the light of day. Well I guess you can call me Nostradamus because I was right.

Basically, I could spend a year trying to “fix” all the things I didn’t like about the novel, or spend half that time rewriting it. I’m happy to say that the decision was not as hard as it probably sounds. The truth is, I’m just a plumb better writer now than I was when I produced that first draft.

So what’s that all mean? It means that I’m cruising through the book (about 20K words right now) and that it will be finished by the end of the year. I’m excited (and nervous) for everybody to finally read it, but I think it will exceed you expectations (fingers crossed).

Stay tuned for more updates and in the meantime, you can look forward to my crime novella (that new project I mentioned) called Sugar’s Last Dance, which is coming out in October (way, way more on that very soon).

-C

Novel update

/ Christian Laforet / 2 Comments

I guess I should give an update on my novel. It is the most asked question I get these days and so I figure it’s only fair to shed some light on where it’s at and where it’s going.

I started work on it a few years ago (or pretty damn close to), and it still has a ways to go. I did hit a big milestone back in late summer/early fall of last year when I finished the first draft. I was proud to have gotten that far, but I also knew that there was going to be a lot of work ahead of me.

I’m not going to bore you with the details, but the cliff notes version is this: I kept changing what happens in the book. Because of those changes, huge sections of the novel which I had already written, became irrelevant to the story and were cut out. This indecisiveness has resulted in a patchwork collection of words that is a complete mess. Needless to say, I had become very discouraged.

It wasn’t until the end of last December (as in about a month ago!) that I finally came to terms with the story I am trying to tell. All decisions have been made. There is finally, once again, a clear direction. It’s time to start a new draft of the book (draft #4 for those keeping score). For this draft, I am just adding in those final elements I am missing and smoothing the edges on the other additions. From there, I will start cleaning it up heavily and preparing it for the editor.

…Just not right now.

For the immediate future, I thought it best to set the novel down for a couple months. I’ve been working on it in one way or another for years and I think it’ll help tremendously to come back for this 4th draft with a fresh mind.

That doesn’t mean I’m not writing anything, as I’m currently chugging away on the crime novella for Adventure Worlds Press that I mentioned in an earlier post a couple weeks ago. And more importantly, it doesn’t mean I’m abandoning the novel. I truly believe that it will be a scary book and can’t wait for everybody to read it! I just want to make sure it is everything I know it can be before I release it on the world.

-C

Hey, I’m Writing a Novel! (pt. 1)

/ Christian Laforet / 3 Comments

“The night was…sultry?”

For anybody who’s seen the amazing black comedy, Throw Momma from the Train, you know how hard it can be for a writer to get the first line of a story just right. In the movie, Larry Donner (played by Billy Crystal) can’t get past that single sentence.

Now that several projects are behind me (The Space Between Houses, which is available now, and the horror/sci-fi collection with fellow writer, Ben Van Dongen ( https://benwltp.wordpress.com/ ), is coming soon), I can finally get back to that pesky novel I’ve been planning.

Last year at this time I was committed to writing it. I even went so far as to line up some volunteers to read over each chapter as I finished them (never turn down free edits). But ultimately, due to time constraints, the novel was shelved.

In the year since I last attempted writing it, a lot has changed for me. Besides those above mentioned projects, I’ve met tons of really talented writers and have learned a lot about the craft from them. With this new found knowledge tucked away in my pocket, I’m once again climbing out onto the ledge of novel writing and hoping like hell I don’t fall off.

The time away from the book hasn’t been wasted though, I did manage to keep the story in my head and spent the time further developing it. It’s safe to say that at this point I’ve planned, plotted and researched everything I possibly can to get this thing going.

Now I’m at that crucial moment of committing those ever important opening lines to the screen. Unlike Larry from Throw Mamma however, I’m not nearly as hung-up on that first sentence. In fact, the moment I’ve been anticipating writing the most since last year has been the first chapter. Being a big fan of the hook, I think I have a doozy of one to open my story with. Hopefully I’m right. Only time will tell though.

Over the next year, I’m going to keep you guys posted on my progress (hopefully bi-weekly updates). This includes the ups and downs and all the in-betweens of the novel writing process. If all goes according to plan, you’ll get an inside look at the entire shebang. From the first draft to the final edits and beyond.

Novel: Untitled (I got lots of time to come up with something)

Words so far: 0 (Although I’m shooting for a nice number between 60 and 70 thousand)

Chapters so far: 0 (I’m thinking about 60 when all is said and done)