Posts Tagged ‘antigoddess 3’

Writing the third book in a trilogy is like riding a psychotic horse toward a burning stable.

Thanks, Robin Williams in The Birdcage. Also, thank you to Hank Azaria in the same movie, for his Guatemalan-ness.

So yes, I've never written a trilogy before. Anna was a duo. Everything else I've ever done was short story or stand alone. I had heard from author authors that the third book of a trilogy, especially if you're a pantser, ie do not plot or know where things end up like a sane person might, was a real bitch. Turns out they weren't lying.

If you've never ridden a psychotic horse I can tell you, it's fricken scary. You could die at any moment. Things go through your mind like, "If I can ditch these stirrups I'll be clear to bail!" or, "Steer him into the river! We'll float!" And then you realize your feet are stuck through the stirrups and the damn thing has the bit in his teeth and will not be steered. So on you cling. Or you die, which I've already mentioned was a possibility.

With trilogies, by the time you get to Book 3, lots of stuff has been set into motion. Threads waving in the breeze. Arcs over here and arcs over there and arcs for this person that need to sync with arcs for that person and I am going to kill all the arcs, is what I'm saying. And I don't even have that many characters. Writing ANTIGODDESS 3 has given me a larger cache of awe for George RR Martin, who I think should be given many backrubs and chamomile tea.

But, thanks to the magic that is story, these things tend to work themselves out, if we just relax and don't drive ourselves into therapy first (or so I continue to tell myself.) Anybody out there with trilogy tips, hey, don't hold back, because as usual, I am no use, advice wise.

If you’re gonna kill me, get on with it. If not, shut the hell up – I’m on vacation.

Or at least I was. Took an extended break from all things writing over the holidays. Minimal internets, practically no thinking about Antigoddess 3. It was nice. I read, and ate a lot. I beat the crap out of Final Fantasy 13-2, only to learn it ends on a cliffhanger until Final Fantasy Lightning Returns. Nearly punched the screen. Good times.

But, vacations end. Two days ago I started Antigoddess 3, after several hours of dinking around doing other stuff I'd neglected doing online over the break, trying hard not to acknowledge the fact that I'd only have as long as it took to open and format the new document to figure out where the book actually started. I've never written a trilogy before. It's weird. Right now all I see are possibilities, with no idea which of them will weave together to form the narrative. And where exactly they'll go when they do.

I won't really know until about thirty (or fifty) thousand words deep if I'm writing a book, or riding a bullet train to nowherestown. And the phrase "riding a bullet train to nowherestown" implies a lot more fun than is actually involved. But so far, the book is fun. Writing is fun. Not a chore, still somehow not work (even if I hint heavily that I am SLAVING AWAY to anyone who asks how the work is going) and the small magic of the process never fails to amaze me. People often ask how I get ideas, or how I develop characters, and I usually have to give these douchey sounding answers like, I don't know, or it just develops naturally as it goes along, and part of me always thinks I'm lying and have just blocked out the real process. But it's true. I was just sitting around, watching who knows what on TV, and the structure of the book was just like, "Hey! Here I am." And I was all, "It's about fricken time, I'm starting you in 20 minutes."

In non-writing, movie-related talk: who's excited for Richard Linklater's BEFORE MIDNIGHT? Before Sunrise and Before Sunset are my two favorite films to double feature with a bottle of wine and roll around on the floor lamenting the state of modern romance. And Guillermo Del Toro's MAMA. I can't decide if it looks creepy, or irritating. Also, Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters. Will I end up rooting for the witch? Because I usually do.

Thanks to everyone who entered the ARTICLE 5 Giveaway! I'm in the middle of BREAKING POINT right now, and it's really heating up. That was a total pun, for anyone who's read it already.