I could make a lot of excuses as to why I didn't get any writing done over the holiday break, or why I didn't even update this blog at all. But let me save you the time and effort of reading all those excuses: I procrastinated. I wasn't motivated, and I was lazy. So, there it is.
There were other reasons, like my credit card company crying "Fraud!" on every little transaction I tried to make, which seriously delayed my market research efforts as I needed to make some purchases. But those were minor things and really shouldn't have stopped me. I just used them as excuses.
So, here we are with a new year, and hopefully, a new start into my ongoing writing projects. I have been thinking a lot about The Serenity Solution and what I want to do with it. There's no doubt it needs to be rewritten. There's no doubt the first nine chapters I have rewritten are better - in most respects - than the original nine. However, as so often happens with rewriting, I've found yet more ways in which I need to improve the story. The big one right now is the fact that my main character is rather two-dimensional. Aside from his professional motivations, there's really nothing about him that will make the reader actually care what happens to him. In a mundane military science fiction novel, maybe that's all that's needed to keep the reader turning pages, since action is often the primary focus.
But I'm not aiming for a mundane military science fiction novel. I want my debut to knock the reader out of his chair and keep him on the floor because he's too busy turning pages to get back up again. I want people to ask about me, "Where did this guy come from and who the heck does he think he is?" And more importantly, "Can he do it again in a second book?"
So until I feel like I've achieved that result TSS will keep getting reworked. Updates on progress as it happens. Stay tuned.
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