Writing Second Book almost Kills Author
To throw this out bluntly,
TRANSPORT (Book Two) HUNT FOR THE FALLEN was a bitch to write.
I had written TRANSPORT,
the first book in the three part series, in roughly a year and a half. The
story and characters seemed to flow from my brain, down to my fingers, into the
keyboard to the computer screen.
The blank space filled up
fast with action, zombies, pissed off civilians, bullets everywhere, Bob the
1950’s gas station attendant zombie, a giant mutated animal, wicked LIVING
folk, NASTY Feral undead, and our star, Captain Jacob Billet, trying to keep
himself, crew and vehicle in one piece to see the end of the day.
TRANSPORT, book one,
flowed like a rain-swollen river.
TRANSPORT, book two, HUNT
FOR THE FALLEN, ran like a stream of thick sludge ready to dry up totally under
a hot sun.
I started writing the
second book in May 2013. I knew where the tale started. I knew what bits and
pieces I wanted to have in the storyline for the second book. I knew how I
wanted it to end for the most part.
I didn’t know how to get
from point A to point Z, and all the waypoints between.
It took me about 7 months
to complete the 45,000+ word second novella. (I write slow due to day job,
family, taking time out to breathe.) However, upon reading through it on that
first path of self-editing, I truly hated not so much of what I wrote story and
plot-wise, but how it all sounded.
It sounded flat and boring
to me.
I got my end of edits done,
and belligerently passed it along to my editor.
Then, my better senses
screaming at me, asked him to toss his copy out as I was going to go through it
again from a new angle.
I have to say, while
finishing up HUNT FOR THE FALLEN, I had been reading and completed Chuck
Wendig’s Urban Fantasy novel THE BLUE BLAZES, and had bought a copy of his THE
KICKASS WRITER.
Reading THE BLUE BLAZES,
and reading how it caught my attention throughout and seemed to simply POP…
This is what I wanted to
do with TRANSPORT: HUNT FOR THE FALLEN. Make it pop and roar and flow like
white water rapids, to carry the reader along RIGHT NOW.
I re-did the manuscript,
taking me a few months to re-conbobble. (My new literary technical term for
re-do. LOL) I sent the fresh copy to my editor, who read it, and came back
saying WHAT THE HELL? DID YOU WRITE THIS? THIS ROCKS!
I changed up my “voice”
and made the tale POP. I did that style in HUNT FOR THE FALLEN and its sequel
and final book in the series, UNCIVIL WAR.
Here’s to you, dear
reader. Enjoy the ride.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter Welmerink
(www.peterwelmerink.com) was born and raised on the west side of
pre-apocalyptic Grand Rapids, Michigan. He loves his hometown and West
Michigan, which is why he writes about it. He writes Fantasy, Military SciFi,
and other wanderings into action-adventure. His work has been published in ye
olde wood pulp print and electronic-online publications. He is the co-author of
the Viking berserker novel, BEDLAM UNLEASHED, written with Steven Shrewsbury.
TRANSPORT is his first solo novel venture. He is married with a small barbarian
tribe of three boys.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pwelmerink
Twitter: @pwelmerink
BLOGS
www.grandrapidsaltered.blogspot.com
(TRANSPORT-related posts)
www.darkheroicfantasy.blogspot.com
(author interviews and all things
fantastical)
BOOK LINKS
TRANSPORT
(Book One)
Barnes &
Noble http://bit.ly/1xDXMck
Amazon http://amzn.to/1M0j8bs
TRANSPORT
(Book Two) HUNT FOR THE FALLEN
Barnes &
Noble http://bit.ly/1titw5T
Amazon http://amzn.to/1IOTgrp
TRANSPORT
(Book Three) UNCIVIL WAR
Amazon http://amzn.to/1F8IEsT
DJ Weaver
