Almost Done

At the end of October, I started writing book 3 in the Screwing Up Time series. Now I’m about 5000 words from finishing the first draft. (Okay, it may be longer than that—so much is happening to the characters that I don’t think it will all be over in 5000 words. But the end is close.) And I can’t believe it. I’ve never been able to write so fast.

And I’m not sure why it happened. Maybe it’s because I’ve got more experience writing. Maybe it’s because I’ve stuck to a rigid schedule—writing five to six days a week, 4000 to 5000 words a week. Maybe it’s because it’s winter and I’m not working in the flower gardens. It’s probably all of those things. But it’s also because I love this book. I love Mark’s willingness to deal with everything from guns to tasers because he wants to do the right thing—and if it gives him more time with Miranda, that’s even better. I love that Miranda keeps her cool no matter how crazy things become, even when angry pagan priests are thirsty for blood. I love Nin, a certifiably crazy cryptographer. And I love my antagonist, a villain that Mark didn’t expect, who could definitely give Nin a run for her money in the who’s-the-most-psycho category.

I hope that whets your appetite for the book. I don’t have a publication date yet. But I can promise that as soon as the first draft is written, I’ll start the edits right away. The weeds in my flower garden will just have to wait.

How Hard Can a Title Be?

I’m terrible with titles. The titles I come up with are cringe-worthy. In fact, the working title I used for Screwing Up Time was so bad I don’t dare share it with you. My son is the one who came up with the title Screwing Up Time.

It made book 2 very easy. The story was set in Babylon, so book 2 was Screwing Up Babylon. And the short story was set in Mongolia, so the title was “Screwing Up Mongolia.” Easy.

And then book three came along. And trouble came with it. Not that the book’s a problem. It’s not. The title is the problem. Book three isn’t set in one time. Mark actually travels to three different times—not all of them in the past. So I have no idea what to call the book. Screwing Up Place A/B/C? Really dumb.

Right now, I’m leaning toward naming it after the time/place that the plot revolves around. And I’ll give you a little hint. It’s a continent that Mark hasn’t visited before. Feel free to guess in the comments.

How the Colors of Time Were Born

Recently, someone asked me how I came up with the idea for the Colors of Time. I thought if one person asked, other people might be interested as well, so here’s the story.

When I first began writing Screwing Up Time, I thought Miranda was a ghost. But it didn’t take long before she told me that she was a traveler through time. Immediately, I began to wonder how she traveled and what her experience would be. Since alchemy, which seems strange and mystical to us, was the science of Miranda’s day, it seemed only natural that an elixir would transport her.

And then, I wondered what the physical experience of traveling through time would be like. So I closed my eyes and became Miranda. I felt time passing me, its touch against my skin. And I saw the seasons pass in white winter, green spring, red summer, and orange brown autumn. But the colors weren’t just visual experiences of light, they had tremendous intensity. And I began to question what they were like. Did they have being? Volition? What if they were violated? How would they express their anger? What would restrain them?

And the colors of time were born.

I love the colors. I love the dimensionality they bring to the setting. Anything is possible. But writing the colors of time is difficult. Creatively, it’s very demanding because of the intensity of the experience, which needs to be different every time.

In writing first drafts, I give the scenes with the colors only a cursory sketch. When I go back to edit, I find all the colors of time scenes in each book I’ve written and make sure the new sketches are fresh. Then, I close my eyes and go through the colors with Mark and Miranda. And then, I share their experiences with you.

Book 3 Update. I’m almost 20,000 words into book 3 of the Screwing Up Time series. Most first drafts that I write are usually 50,000 (with final drafts ending at 75,000 to 80,000 words). So I’m almost halfway. Though the Christmas holidays will probably cut into my writing quite a bit. 

A New Character

In last week’s blog post, I mentioned that I’d begun writing book 3. I’m over 10,000 words into the novel (an average first draft for me is about 50,000 words and a finished novel is about 80,000 words). So, I’ve got a good start.

One of the most interesting things to me as a writer is getting to meet new characters. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mark and Miranda. But new characters always spice things up, both for me and the main characters.

The newest character is Nin. She is first mentioned in my new short story, “Screwing Up Mongolia,” which is part of the Winter Wonders anthology, and comes out next month. (Though she doesn’t show up in the story.) Her first appearance is in book 3, and I couldn’t wait to meet her. (I don’t plan out my novels in detail before I write them. I sort of put the characters together and let them tell their story.)

And now that I’ve met Nin…wow. She’s a woman with secrets. And attitude. She’s fascinating, but not someone you want to take on vacation with you. Not if you want to relax. I wish I could tell you more, but I’m only just getting to know her. Besides she craves her anonymity, and if I tell you too much, she might hurt me. Or worse, refuse to talk. Characters sometimes do that.

BTW, the other day, Melissa Pearl of YAlicious asked me to do a blog post on why I chose Babylon as my setting for book 2. Clickhere to find out the answer.