The Stupid 365 Project: Week Three
October 15th, 2010
This baby is two weeks old. Together, we’ve covered one-twentysixth of the year. Go ahead, congratulate each other. Pet the dog. Thanks again to Everett for stepping up to reCaptcha yesterday. I know, some of you, Sylvia, felt like it was a cheat. But it fascinated me, and it would have been really dishonest to pretend that I understood all that stuff.
When I started this, I hoped it would invigorate my writing. I was in a negative space, feeling PULPED go stale on me, not very inspired about anything. Feeling, in fact, like maybe writing was kind of over for me. I go through this on every book and I fall for it every time, no matter how many books I’ve written. I was getting to the keyboard later and later, which is a game I play to avoid writing at all. I write to music and coffee. I don’t drink coffee after six PM. If I haven’t started writing until, say, 5:20, there’s not much point in even sitting down. I can do it tomorrow. At Tara. And I never get to Tara.
So I asked myself how to force myself to the keyboard earlier, and instantly the idea of a blog each day for a year entered the room, simpered, and curtsied. I wrote the first blog in about nine minutes, slapped it up online, and went out and promoted the project so I couldn’t change my mind an hour later.
And boy has it worked. Here’s my writing day yesterday:
Up at eight, finished Everett’s interview, put it online.
Wrote 1500 words of PULPED. The young female character who had me stymied has suddenly grown unpredictable, which means the magic is working. Since she’s the primary character for a good chunk of the book while Simeon is sidelined in Series Limbo, it’s important that she’s able to surprise me.
Went and ran for one hour and twenty minutes — maybe five miles. (I’m slow but I keep going.)
Came back and revised (lightly) four chapters of CRASHED, the first Junior Bender book, which will come out in November on Amazon and iBooks and wherever superior pixel-lit is sold.
Had an online conference with the person who’s designing the CRASHED cover.
Took a break and did things like shower and eat.
Wrote 1200 words of SPIRIT HOUSE, the ghost story I’ll put up in three installments, concluding on Halloween.
Did a little more work, mostly tidying things up, on CRASHED.
Compare that with my average day three weeks ago, when I got out of bed as late as possible, ran, drank coffee, walked, drank coffee, read the new William Gibson novel (my downstairs book), drank coffee, cleaned house, washed towels, drank coffee, read a biography of Mabel Normand (upstairs book), showered, shaved, made coffee, turned on the computer about 4:30, played Mahjong Titans, looked at the Huffington Post to get scurrilous, wrote 400 words of pure drivel, and went back to the William Gibson novel. As usual, when I can’t write for beans, the book I’m reading turns out to be brilliant.
Also pleased to say I’ve lost 16 pounds in eight weeks, so I’ve only got 44 to go. Shake and Bake diet coming up.
I’m falling in love with the female lead in PULPED. And she was totally inert ten days ago.
And this astonishing reaction to the Poke series from novelist Peg Brantley popped up as an alert yesterday, too: http://suspensenovelist.blogspot.com/2010/10/timothy-hallinans-poke-rafferty-series.html
How about that?
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12 Responses to “The Stupid 365 Project: Week Three” -
Peg Brantley Says:
October 15th, 2010 at 8:59 am
Wow, Tim thanks for the link.
But even more important, can I just say I love your angst? Uncertainty is something I drag around with me every day, so it’s especially wonderful to see it happens to the Big Guys too.
And totally stoked to hear you seem to have blown right through it. For now.
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EverettK Says:
October 15th, 2010 at 9:32 am
If you can accomplish this much with only TWO weeks of ‘medicine’, think what literary mountains you’ll be leaping over after FIFTY-two weeks!!!
Game on! uh… Book on!
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fairyhedgehog Says:
October 15th, 2010 at 9:35 am
I’m glad your blogging has had the desired effect. I’m certainly enjoying reading it.
I’m definitely putting the Queen of Patpong on my Christmas wishlist! There’s no way I’m not reading it. So far Breathing Water is my favourite but they’re all good.
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Laren Bright Says:
October 15th, 2010 at 9:39 am
I’ve read all of William Gibson’s books (well, I read all of Tim’s books, too, so that makes it okay). I think I understand about 40% of what Gibson is talking about. I figure this is probably impressive.
As for yesterday’s post about reCaptcha, if we collect all the reCaptcha words ever posted I presume we would have the entire works of Shakespeare — or maybe William Gibson.
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Suzanna Says:
October 15th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Tim, I am so jealous of how much weight you’ve lost in 8 weeks. I’ve only lost three in about a month and I eat like a bird, which is to say mostly stuff that’s green.
So happy that your writing is buzzing along.
Thanks for the tip about refreshing the reCaptcha.
Anyone here have any tips for a mom (that’d be me) who just learned that her just turned 18 year old daughter is planning a bus trip from Minneapolis to Chicago? She already bought her tickets! I’ve combed the internet and sent her a lengthy dos and don’ts list. I pray she at least reads the darn thing before she deletes it! Should I spring for an airline ticket? Help ;-\
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Timothy Hallinan Says:
October 15th, 2010 at 10:34 am
Peg — Always happy to share my angst. It’s on-again, off-again, but when it’s on it’s totally persuasive. This young woman, who has to shoulder about half of PULPED, was a mannequin. I was reaching into the story and moving her around by hand. And I thought maybe I wouldn’t be able to write the book. But then, in a scene where she’s being interviewed by a cop who has his own agenda, I thought it would be interesting to look at her purely from outside (up until now she’d been written in the kind of 3rd person — let’s call it “insight third” — in which we get glimpses of what she’s feeling and thinking). When I started writing her purely from his eyes, I saw the things she was doing to cover up her uncertainty and her strength and her emotional insight (she plays him like a harmonica), and all of a sudden, there she was. I’m half in love with her now, and I think Simeon will fall in love with her, too, to the absolute extent that a fictional character can love a real-life human being. Well, of course, she’s actually fictional, too, so . . . No. That way madness lies.
Everett — It’s been pretty startling, I have to say. And, of course, it’s a circular process — the more and the better I write, the better I feel about writing and, therefore, the better I write. Until the day I don’t.
Fairyhedgehog, thanks for putting me on your Christmas list. If I were to create a graph of people’s favorites, compiled from all the letters to my site, QUEEN would rank highest, but not by much, with BREATHING WATER and NAIL sort of tied for second and THE FOURTH WATCHER in third, which is funny because that’s the one people keep wanting to make a movie of. It is the most straight-ahead thriller in the bunch, though. I felt something like that was needed after the darnkess of NAIL.
Laren, the new Gibson, ZERO HISTORY, is his funniest book and just totally compelling. It’s making me want to stop, actually, and go back and read PATTERN RECOGNITION and SPOOK COUNTRY all over again since some characters move through all three books. I might just do that.
Thanks for tuning in, everybody.
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Gary Says:
October 15th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Now, at last, I totally get the disapproval reaction from Day 9.
What’s the point of all this blogging anyway, when all it does is get fascinating inputs from people like Everett, completely reinvigorate your current writing, and link us to awesome book reviews from Peg Brantley.
Oh, so well done, Tim! Don’t know where you got the inspiration to start all this – probably from some character on Mars – but it was a really, really, really great idea.
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Timothy Hallinan Says:
October 15th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Suzanna, people survive riding the bus all the time. I think the big question is where in Chicago she’ll get off. She needs to know she’s not going to be all alone in a dangerous neighborhood. But she’s pretty smart — I’d imagine she’s working it out. As far as the weight’s concerned, I’m on the diet I described and running 6 days a week, anywhere from 3 to almost 5 miles, and doing some abdominal stuff in the hope of seeing my feet again soon. I miss my feet.
Gary, this really has worked better than I ever thought it would. The funny thing was that the MOMENT I had the idea, I committed to it — literally not one second of reflection. And it’s absolutely opened up my writing.
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Sylvia Says:
October 16th, 2010 at 9:13 am
That’s awesome! And I love Gary’s summary.
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Suzanna Says:
October 16th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Hi, Tim
Thanks so much for the input on the bus ride. I’m just glad she told me well enough in advance so we can help her stay safe and have a great visit.
Bravo on your running!!! I think your running schedule has me beat by double. That would be a great thing for me to try next.
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Jaden Says:
October 18th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Tim, you’re an inspiration. As Peg says, it’s reassuring to know that even someone with your incredible talent has these angsty feelings about writing. It means there’s hope for the rest of us!
Also, kudos on the weight loss. That’s something I struggle with every day of my life.
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Timothy Hallinan Says:
October 18th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Thanks, Jaden. Writing, for me, is acres of angst broken by the occasional meadow. But I’d rather do it than anything else in the world. As far as weight is concerned, it’s a struggle for everyone except the people who never have to think about it, and they’ve all got other problems.
I hope.
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