Rise Again, Out In The World

It's been ages since I posted here -- and for good reason.  Most of my energies in the writing direction have been diverted to publicity for Rise Again, which premiered in October.  I figured it would be smart to keep promoting it through the holiday season, because I hear people buy things around that time of year.

So far, so good.  I hired a PR firm, Ascot Media, which has a couple of low-cost options that promises the same results at a tenth the price.  The catch is you do the legwork after they get you the leads.  To my amazement, their claims were true.  My eternal gratitude to all the folks at Ascot.

I've done online interviews, guest-blogging, and radio interviews in markets across the country, as well as some signings, readings, and even a guest appearance in an improv Christmas zombie musical.  It's been a lot of fun.  Feedback for the book has surpassed my hopes -- readers have been exceedingly generous.  Very happy people are enjoying the book.  On Amazon.com, for example, the reviews have been face-blushingly good -- all except one, which is about as bad as reviews come.  I don't take it personally.

My editor says the book going into a second printing, which is also good news.  Selling out a print run is the holy grail for first-time authors.  It sure helps your next book get published.

In related news, I'm now represented by William Morris/ Endeavor; that will help a lot with future contracts, and for Rise Again with other rights like film and television.  There's something reassuring about agents.  It's hard to explain.

So it's been an interesting process.  Next up is editing novel #2 (not the sequel to Rise Again, but a different project), and finishing the first draft of novel #3 (also not the sequel).  I'm hoping to hear from the publisher that they'd like me to start work on the sequel, as well.  I've got a rough outline prepared for it.

That's the capsule version of events -- I've left out all sorts of anecdote and detail.  Suffice it to say it's been a busy season, a time of less writing and more 'having written.'  I look forward to getting back to the actual writing part!

Oh, and buy the book.  Almost everybody on Amazon loves it.

More on Answers and Questions

My estimable writer friend Jim suggested I could put together a spreadsheet for the “Answer and Question” technique I recommend for developing a complete story out of a simple idea.  That’s an interesting notion.  In the post, I made do with an abbreviated example of the process, working out a couple of branches of story using the A&Q method.  But in fact it can be described almost to the smallest branches, and a more detailed breakdown might be useful for anyone considering this approach.  Eventually it becomes second nature.

Without resorting to a spreadsheet, let’s start with an overview of how the branching works.  This can be extremely useful, as it’s a streamlined technique for developing a working outline -- something a lot of writers find daunting.  The fear of outlines, I think, comes from worry that the outlining process will put out the creative fire that is illuminating the piece.  Thinking about it too closely will spook the muse, make it run away. 

But unless you have an outline that makes note of all the story beats you need to tell the thing, you’re writing blind.  You’re hoping the answers will show up.  If they don’t, you have to go all the way back and start over again.  How many creative fires has that particular situation put out?  Most of them, I’d say.  The good news is this outlining technique can be made as wide or narrow as you require to get the writing done.  I’ve written a novel with only half a dozen beats in the outline (it fit on half a page), and a short story for which the outline was three quarters the length of the story.

So here’s an example, a narrow-range one.  Say it’s a novel.