Something happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I was well into writing the third book in the Mona Bendarova Adventures, ‘Lucky Bitch’ when a question arose in my mind. I had a vision of where the books were going to go but then I asked myself a fundamental question.
‘What was the end goal of the antagonist?’
- Yes, what was their end goal?
- What was their motivation?
- What did they hope to accomplish?
- What was driving them to do what they were doing?
Since they were only recently discovered, no one seems to know, including me. I thought I did. But did I? Are they striving for power? Glory? Control? Something else?
Are their goals the same as Mona’s with the exception of how they are trying to get there? Does it really matter to the community how they accomplish those goals as long as they get there? Or is it something subtler.
I really wanted something more subtle. Hunger for power and glory? It seems everyone does that. I want something different. Both sides appear to want change. Mona certainly is trying to find a way to change their food source production for something better. Is that what the antagonists are doing?
Without giving too much of the plot away, I got momentarily stuck trying to answer this question.
So I did what I do best. I put the book off for a while to ask questions, gather data and do research. The research is well on it’s way and I think I have answered the key question. I have to rewrite some of the chapters I have already written but so what. It might even be better then it was before.
As the ‘Riddler’ said. “Questions, Questions. I have so many Questions.”
So, while my subconscious continues pondering the question, I turned my attention to a diversion. I decided that I would write a story that was bouncing around in the back of my mind. I really thought that it would be a simple story about a single night.
Then a funny thing happened was as I was writing it. What started as a short story, turned into a novella and then into a regular novel. Then, as I was completing it, I had an inspiration of what would happen to the main character the following day. Voilà, I ended up writing a total of three novels as a trilogy. None are as long as one of my full fledged Mona Bendarova novels. But they turned out to be novels in their own right and I think a good read.
Right now, they are going through editing and I hope to publish them very soon. ‘Her Client’ is first book in the series is be called ‘Clients’. Be sure to look for them. I have a web page on these books right here on this site. Check out the links to my library.
Now, these books are a big departure from all of my other works, published and unpublished. They aren’t for everyone, in fact, they will attract a much smaller audience. However, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head so, ergo, I wrote it down.
But enough of this digression.
What I found amazing was how clearly the direction of the characters appeared in my feeble brain and how easily the words flew from my fingers. It was almost as if I couldn’t write fast enough. In about two weeks, I wrote something on the order of 60,000 words. There was no struggle, no issues with plot lines or dialog. The action is hot and heavy, and rife with disturbing concepts that will sure get people talking.
What was so f***ing amazing was, I had the best time while writing these stories. It was fabulous, exciting and I could think of nothing better to do in my day. Writing these stores gave me a high better then just about any high I’ve ever had. It was wonderful. I’m only sorry that their done.
If only I could write like this every day. Instead, I have to balance it with my real job that pays the bills. Damn.
Well, it’s back to the grindstone. More to write, more to publish and more to market. And then there’s my job. Don’t get me wrong. I love my job and I enjoy my work. But it has been my career for decades and while I love it, I just don’t have the passion as I do for my other ventures. The writing and my painting, well that is my passion and I welcome any opportunity to enjoy either.
Writing is awesome and I couldn’t be happier.
Thank you for reading my books and as always, I appreciate the precious time you spent reading my posts.
Regards, Rich
One in particular seemed to be quite insistent and in the end, the work day expired without being able to return his call. What happens next is what this client does in response.
The second book, ‘Her Oversees’ in the series follows her story as she continues to deal with the events of that long hard day.
