Thoughts on writing Access and Adapt
Han van Meegeren
As I write chapter 9, my current word count stands at 25,300. Whenever Mike can find the time to have a look at chapters 5 through 8, I will put the edited chapters here.
Voice
I want Access & Adapt to have a different voice than its predecessor, Be Prepared. Sharon Stone narrated the first book. And we watched the protagonist, Drew, through her eyes. She told us what she thought was important. And we learned little of what was going on in Drew's mind. That is the reason I wanted a different perspective on the main character. Yes, he is a hell of a lot more complex than Sharon. Let me explain how Drew's mind works. He thinks by association. Let's say he sees this policewoman who comes to his door in chapter 2. The first association is Porn. For Drew, all first impressions are connected to porn. As a former porn-addict, he knows the scene that triggers his mind. You and I forget scenes after we have seen the flick, but Drew has them mapped somewhere inside his brain. But as the conversation goes on, a single word – out of context – can take his mind to another line of thought, and another and … well, until the reader finds out how we ended up here?
Other characters
I hate books with many characters and whose names sound alike. All the inhabitants of the other pods and the crew of the ship play an important role in this book; the book is not about the destination, it's about the journey. I needed a believable number of people on the ship. So I came up with 8 different pods and a small crew. All these people (25 adults and 10 dependants), must be addressed if they play a role in this story. But 25 names is utterly confusing. So I made Drew give everyone nicknames. Mountain Man with his cheerleeder concubines Flyer and Dancer, Miss Vietnam with Madonna and Maradona. Hajji with Sheherazade and Dunyazade, Sheherazade’s sister. I hope that helps the reader to identify all these people.
Outline
I spent months working on the outline of Access and Adapt. I have worked on backstories for almost all characters, their flaws, their positive points, and the way they look. Some of these characters I know by heart now, so I know when I’m writing if he or she does something completely out of character, so I can correct it.
There are writers out there who plot their story down to the scene level. They know what is going to happen when, and they just have to write the words. I don’t write like that. Yes, I know where I’m going, but I do a ton of research during writing as well. So the story goes sometimes not in a different direction, but sometimes ends up on a side path.
I plan to make a post so you can read along with me as I struggle to write the right lines. Please correct me if I write nonsense, if my characters seem bland, or when Drew, the protagonist, suddenly speaks differently (and I don’t mean British English). Please tell me what you don't like; I think my frail ego can take feedback.
I reserve the right to keep things the way they are, sometimes because I know where the story is going, and sometimes because I simply like it the way it is. Please join Drew’s crew to the new planet we are heading for. And that is not Fiditon-1…
Mike Omelanuk
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Mike Omelanuk
Han van Meegeren
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