Project Silent Falcon moves forward
I like what I'm getting with the prewriting. As always, this stage of writing is my favourite: the sense of promise, of possibility, often surpasses the experience of writing the book itself.
For PSF, I want to draw parallels with Project Cold Witness and yet create something new. I want to develop the themes begun in PCW and send them into new areas. I also know how to profit from the successes of the first book. By concentrating on ideas and themes which really worked in Cold Witness, I hope to be able to make a better sequel.
An important thing I have to address is character growth. Many of PCW's characters will make an appearance in the new story, and some--ie. Christina, Johnny, Coulson--will form the main cast. I need to show how these people have altered. Most of all, I need to stress that the events of the first book have changed these people completely.
One part I'm really looking forward to is new settings. PCW was characterised by the fact that every setting used in the book was, as far as I could make it, completely accurate--I've visited all of them, and several I know well (I do live within fifteen minutes' walk of Orfordness, after all). In the sequel, I will introduce some new locations: Little Scotland, the closest we have here to high ground; Aldeburgh, the town at the northernmost end of the Island; and Iken Straits, a vast expanse of tidal flats northwest of the Island. It will be great fun visiting these places again and collecting research and inspiration material for scenes.
For the time being, I'm concentrating on piecing together the rough timeline for what happened after the collapse of Cold Witness. I need to understand the circumstances of the time in order to explain the motives behind the USAF creating Project Cold Lightning, their new aerial defence platform. Since Cold Lightning will feature prominently in the first part of the book, and will later be merged with Project Silent Falcon itself, this plays a crucial part. It's also important because of its significance for the characters. In the eyes of some, it is an icon of the Cold War. For others, such as Johnny Campbell, it is a great comfort. He becomes part of the Cold Lightning team with few ethical or personal problems ... simply because it offers security against what he fears most: psychotronic UFOs.
The inner hopes and fears of these characters are what makes them tick. Before I can start work on a plot structure, I need to understand the people--and I can't understand the people until I understand the overall context. That's my task for the next couple of weeks: freewriting, brainstorming, and jotting notes down on spare sheets of paper whenever new ideas pop into my head. It's the most creative and spontaneous stage of the writing process, and I love it. This is what writing should always be like.
I like what I'm getting with the prewriting. As always, this stage of writing is my favourite: the sense of promise, of possibility, often surpasses the experience of writing the book itself.
For PSF, I want to draw parallels with Project Cold Witness and yet create something new. I want to develop the themes begun in PCW and send them into new areas. I also know how to profit from the successes of the first book. By concentrating on ideas and themes which really worked in Cold Witness, I hope to be able to make a better sequel.
An important thing I have to address is character growth. Many of PCW's characters will make an appearance in the new story, and some--ie. Christina, Johnny, Coulson--will form the main cast. I need to show how these people have altered. Most of all, I need to stress that the events of the first book have changed these people completely.
One part I'm really looking forward to is new settings. PCW was characterised by the fact that every setting used in the book was, as far as I could make it, completely accurate--I've visited all of them, and several I know well (I do live within fifteen minutes' walk of Orfordness, after all). In the sequel, I will introduce some new locations: Little Scotland, the closest we have here to high ground; Aldeburgh, the town at the northernmost end of the Island; and Iken Straits, a vast expanse of tidal flats northwest of the Island. It will be great fun visiting these places again and collecting research and inspiration material for scenes.
For the time being, I'm concentrating on piecing together the rough timeline for what happened after the collapse of Cold Witness. I need to understand the circumstances of the time in order to explain the motives behind the USAF creating Project Cold Lightning, their new aerial defence platform. Since Cold Lightning will feature prominently in the first part of the book, and will later be merged with Project Silent Falcon itself, this plays a crucial part. It's also important because of its significance for the characters. In the eyes of some, it is an icon of the Cold War. For others, such as Johnny Campbell, it is a great comfort. He becomes part of the Cold Lightning team with few ethical or personal problems ... simply because it offers security against what he fears most: psychotronic UFOs.
The inner hopes and fears of these characters are what makes them tick. Before I can start work on a plot structure, I need to understand the people--and I can't understand the people until I understand the overall context. That's my task for the next couple of weeks: freewriting, brainstorming, and jotting notes down on spare sheets of paper whenever new ideas pop into my head. It's the most creative and spontaneous stage of the writing process, and I love it. This is what writing should always be like.
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