Now a word or two on possible trends as I see them.

　

Of course, we have vamps. I talked about that last week. Next up are other creatures, like werewolves, angles and demons, and I just read something on Publishers Weekly about zombies and a six book deal with Pocket Books. Zombies solving crime now? Catch the criminals, and then eat their brains? Sex in the City meets Dawn of the Dead? What the hell is the world coming to? I can see vampires continuing, I can see angels and demons if done with a literary flair, possibly werewolves, but zombies? Though I do have an idea about that, which would work well as a series. And no, I’m not going to share, but it is a good idea that would work. Also, sports novels, but only if the actual sport played is secondary to the main concept. Think Field of Dreams. If all else fails, look at what has topped the bestsellers list for the last few months, but that really isn’t going to help. Chances are these listings have nothing to do with genre fiction like fantasy or horror. Got a mainstream literary fiction idea floating around in your head?

　

Michael Moorcock used to write potboilers by the dozens, and I can use those same techniques to push out more novels. It’s called making lists, which I have always done, and free writing. I have lists I’ve refined over the years, which helps me eliminate mistakes. His lists include concepts and props, and that’s something I’ve never done before. His lists are genre specific. Concepts found in sword and sorcery, and lists of props needed for everyday life, and freewheeling, asskicking battles or fun. Free writing is a basic but misunderstood writing tool that is barely used today. The idea is to explore ideas as you write, leading you to the eventual conclusion of the novel, with hardly a pause to catch your breath. Pound it out day by day, and then pound out more words. Don’t stop to take a breath, just write your freaking ass off. Problems are explored right there on the page until solved, not allowing the pace of the novel in progress to slow, or the pace of the novel itself. It’s always easier to overwrite and delete later, than to underwrite and add.

　

Now, to be fair to myself, I do use free writing, but not to the magnitude of Moorcock. Nor have I ever spent months writing lists of concepts or props. But, it is something for me to think about. I don’t like getting stuck on something, working on other projects until my problem works itself out, and then going back to my first project. It is nice that I can do that, but it takes a few days to get back into the swing of the novel. Most of the time I’ll edit myself up to where I left off, and continue with everything fresh in my mind. See you next week.