The original premise for BEFORE I WAKE was this: A killer’s execution is webcast. One of his adoring fans is watching at home, his walls plastered with articles and photos about the killer. Once the killer dies, the fan takes on the killer’s persona and MO.
That was the original concept, which doesn’t exist anymore after plot revisions. By removing the mad fan, it becomes a completely different story. Certainly not the story that was somehow fully formed, just waiting to be excavated. With my last three books, I’ve found myself struggling to hit markers that have nothing to do with the creative process, and I think that method of plotting can subtly upset the pace of a story and certainly make it so it doesn’t unfold in a natural way. You start to feel like you’re playing Twister.
hmmm...
i just noticed i've been doing a lot of bitching lately.
note to self: this isn't your private diary; delete this entry very soon....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
don't delete this entry please. bitch all you want. that's what these things are for.
as a writer, i've had to keep my mouth shut for so many years. it's nice to be able to let off steam here, but i know i must still use some restraint. i did restrain myself from posting the manager's name in my previous post. hehe
jeff, i think you are so right when you say the reader can pick up on the forced plot. i think you can look at a book and on the surface everything can appear okay. but there is just something that isn't quite right. nothing obvious, nothing you can put your finger on. it's more of a feeling than anything logical.
FYI: kate hasn't been a bad girl; we just decided to take this conversation off-blog.
did i just invent that?
off-blog?
Post a Comment