The Writings on the Wall #37
A lesson learned
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Hello everyone,
I learned a valuable lesson these past few weeks.
As I mentioned last month, I was planning to release two books before the end of the year: a TV-related book (it’s out: House of the Dragon - Season 2) and a novel. The novel was going to be that murder mystery I already mentioned last year—yeah, well, things didn’t go as planned, let’s leave it at that.
So what’s this lesson I learned, you ask?
You can’t wing a murder mystery.
Wait! I know you’re likely thinking that’s the most obvious thing in the world. And it kind of is. But here’s the thing. I tend to be more of a plotter than a pantser, so I didn’t think it’d be an issue. It’s just that when I started working on my outline, I realized it wouldn’t be enough.
I always cringe a bit when writers say they’re in either one of those two camps. The truth I think is that we are all a bit of both, just to varying degrees. Me, for instance, I’ll do an outline which will be more or less detailed depending on the project (and my deadlines), but I’ll typically let the characters develop as I write.
But I quickly realized this wouldn’t work for a murder mystery, especially if you’re going to have multiple suspects. The writer needs to know in advance not only who the murderer is, how he did the deed and why, but also how all those suspects are connected to the victim and what their motives could be. That meant fleshing out all those characters a lot more than what I’m used to beforehand. And while I don’t mind a challenge, it soon became obvious it was taking too long and at that rate I’d never get the book done in time.
So I switched gears, but probably too late. I’m now outlining a short epic fantasy novel which will serve as a prequel to a huge series I’m working on. Figured if I want to go fast, I need to stick with what I’m most familiar with. Problem is, I only have 27 days left to complete this and I haven’t started the writing itself. Technically, it’s doable. Except it’s December. And my kitchen is getting redone (long story). And I have to go take care of my mom two days a week.
Bottom line: I don’t know if I’ll be able to pull this one off… But I’m still gonna try!
Oh, and regarding that murder mystery, I haven’t given up on it. It’s just delayed (again).
In the meantime, since it’s a season to be jolly, for all of you who haven’t read this yet, here’s a little Christmas story (set in the far future) I wrote a few years ago:
The hiccup at the end of the world
And for those who HAVE read it, if you want to gift it to someone, you can do that as I released it as an ebook last year:
https://books2read.com/u/4ALLoN
That’s all for now.
I hope you all have a great time for the holidays!
Enjoy your time with your loved ones—you never know what the future has in store for you.
Recently published stories
Nothing new in this section this month, but here’s a list of the stories I published in 2024 outside of Substack:
“The Waystation” in Tome of Terrors (horror anthology)
“The Battle of Braxia” in Laser Cannons & First Contact (space opera anthology)
“Strength of the Gwich’in,” “The Scales of Death,” and “Under Siege” (as Steffen Larken) in Time of the Champions (epic fantasy anthology in the “Dragon Dice” game setting)
If you like my writing, please consider buying a copy of my novel, upgrading to a paid subscription, or making a Paypal or Ko-fi donation. As an independent author, any of these would help a lot!
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Copyright (c) 2024 by Alex S. Garcia.