Day: January 5, 2007

This is love

Writer guy

Mr. Rogers is a hero of mine. Yes, that Mr. Rogers, the beautiful day in the neighborhood man. As a child I watched his show daily. So why the approbations for the elder TV personality? Well, beneath his sensitive exterior, this Presbyterian minister packed mafia don clout.

Right from Wikipedia:

On the eve of the announcement that Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood would cease production of new episodes, TV Guide interviewed Rogers and led the story with an anecdote. Apparently, Rogers had been driving the same car for years, an old second-hand Impala. Then it was stolen from its parking spot near the WQED studio. Rogers filed a police report, the story was picked up by local news outlets, and general shock swept across town. Within 48 hours, the car was back in the spot where he left it, along with a note saying “If we’d known it was yours, we never would have taken it!”

First Rule of the neighborhood: You do not boost Mr. Roger’s ride. The second rule: If you boosted his ride, put it back, yo.

More on Mr. Rogers.

So the fear…

Writer guy

I aborted the prior entry halfway through because my thoughts on The Confession were in stasis, and rather than dodge the the task until they gelled—which could have been days, and in fact that’s how much time passed between entries—I instead jotted a partial note and moved along. Writing what I could manage in the moment felt more effective than saying nothing at all for quite awhile.

The question stands. Just how is The Confession scary? Well, it’s not a horror story. Blood and gore don’t line the seams. I wouldn’t brand it a thriller, either. Right now there is a twist ending written before even the first chapter, though the scene could change substantially if the character arcs dictate it.

So it’s doubtful the subject matter frightens me. Perhaps fear came from writing quickly. Yes, it just could be that. What a handy culprit, too, one right at the edge of the keyboard. Why not cite the speed of travel? My experience with 1,500 word drive-bys for long periods is nil. Ah, but a few days of perspective betrayed a different cause entirely. My bias towards the material is the problem, I believe.

With the novel I planned, rethought, and designed scenes with an audience at the forefront. Time and again, a primary question guided the architecture. Can a reasonable person with limited or no exposure to the subject matter follow the action? When a situation felt flat, I amped it up. Wherever possible, cliffhangers rammed one scene to the next. At all times, I kept the ball rolling. In short, I wanted to write a story that I would pay for, moved at a hearty clip, and was a good escape from drear. And I did that. But The Confession is a different beast.

It’s about self-satisfaction, rather than entertaining others. My true fear is that the story is too personal. Five plus weeks invested so far, and not once have I thought about how a scene might read to an outsider, or whether a slight tweak could heighten the suspense. I sit, write, then repeat. All I know is that I like working on it. Which is very different from liking what’s on the page.

Very different, indeed.