A short one this week as, for my sins, I’m off to see the Killers in Falkirk tonight. First concert of the year. I hope they're good!
Music is Mr Brightside. I’m usually into abstract, experimental music. This is anything but that. It’s an incredible song, though, still feels as fresh to me as when I first heard it in a pub in Inverness on a friend’s stag night.
Last week
Head down with the new book, basically.
Another 20k done last week, so it’s over 50k. And it’s growing. It’ll end up near 100k, I think. I can’t remember the last time I wrote something that long. I think the first draft of the first Dodds book was 120k (it’s now about 90k) and the fourth Cullen was about that length (I edited it about seven years ago and cut 28k from it, no word of a lie). The length is justified, I think, because I’m introducing a complex new character with a complex backstory that’s explored in the book (mostly, there are another three big elements to his background that I won’t include in this book, but will use in the three planned sequels).
Really quite enjoying the execution of the material, have to say. It’s a story I think has a solid hook but also backed up by an interesting character. I’m loving getting to know DI Rob Marshall.
A funny thing about the names of my characters just cam to mind. Hunter comes from someone I worked with and it was a joke that I’d use his name in a book. Dodds is a family name — my gran’s maiden name — and she shares a name with my mum’s cousin (who’s just a year older than me), but she’s a Victoria. Simon Fenchurch comes from the vampire, Simon Fench, in a China Mieville book because that book was a vampire book when I started it... And Scott Cullen... Can’t remember why he’s Cullen, but one of my gran’s neighbours used to call me Scott when I was wee, insisting it was my name. It’s not, but he wouldn't listen to me. Hey ho! That’s Carnoustie for you.
Anyway, I just realised I picked Rob after a day spent being called Rob. I did a stocktake at Waterstones as a student, which my flatmate Rob had got but couldn’t do, so I did instead. Very weird answering to the wrong name! And I’m sure I spent all of the money in the pub afterwards.
Anyway. Bottom line is Rob’s maiden voyage is going well. Can’t wait for you lot to meet him.
Did a chunk of gardening. Unlike a certain 45th president of the USA, I have built a wall. A second one. It involved my raiding a river to grab stones. I’m now obsessed about stones and where to find them.
Next week
Just keeping on keeping on, hoping to get a solid week’s writing in for this book.
Have a great week out there. I promise I’ll do a longer one next week!
Cheers,
Ed