Ferret in London
Thirty months ago I set out to write a novel, not really having a clear idea of where to begin. Being the sort of chap who learns best by doing, I threw myself headfirst into the task of producing a framework with major plot points. It took six weeks to create the novel’s back story and the character arcs. The writing commenced shortly afterwards and I proceeded at pace, adhering assiduously to the plan. Two months in, I published some excerpts to this blog and after considering the feedback, realised that what I’d proposed was: a) far too long for a first book; and b) was not going to fly in its current form.
Rather than soldier on, I changed track, rethought the plot and cut the size down, turning one book into two. In the process, I was forced to edit out two of my favourite scenes. That really hurt.
The first draft took nine months nearly full time. I spent roughly 4 days a week, 8 hours a day writing, and 2 days a week reading advice columns, character hints and other writer’s blogs. All very useful stuff and I urge anyone who’s struggling with a first draft to do the same. The ending was all a bit rushed, I needed to get it finished so I could go back to work. So much was missing, so many loose ends untied. That was June 2013.
Steady, cowboy
Two years later and the second draft proper is finished, with the ending now complete. One of the advice columns I read – I can’t remember who said it, or I’d post a link – but paraphrased it goes like this: think of yourself not as an author but a pilot. The audience has climbed aboard your plane, participated in the take off, flown the flight. If you’ve done the catering right, they’re all still aboard (apart from the ones who freaked and parachuted out early on). Now, they’re trusting you the pilot to land the effing plane, so you better not disappoint. In the case of Ferret, the plane has an outbreak of snakes, there’s a pair of armed terrorists aboard, food poisoning has incapacitated the flight crew, the landing gear is jammed and there’s a storm directly ahead. Oh, lordy…
Truth be told, it’s the most fun I’ve had in years. Well, since IBM declared me persona non grata for producing a series of films, with the participation of their top brass, which supposed the firm was run like the mafia. They terminated my contract and tried to impound and incinerate every one of the DVDs. Fortunately, they failed. Anyone who know me knows that every once in a while I have to create some noise and cause trouble. It’s a genetic trait – I blame my father for instilling in his children a healthy disrespect for the establishment and their organs of justice. Company newsletters were my thing for a while. Three times I went too far for the liking of management, collecting one written and one verbal warning. Fidelity Investments took great exception to a piece about tattooing barcodes on the back of their employee’s necks and checking them in and out with a barcode reader, for security purposes. Shortly after that I moved on to short stories published in various magazines, regarding working practices in IT, with names changed to protect the guilty. The guilty may not have spotted themselves, but their co-workers did, which forced me to switch to a series of pen names.
All in the Edit
Ferret ups the ante considerably.
Whilst it is a work of fiction, it takes many real life experiences garnered from hanging about with consultants, working in high finance and on confidential government projects. I’ve not set out to spill any secrets, merely write a tale of how these organisations behave under the covers. Believe me, this is a full-on cage rattler – lord knows, I’ve taken enough time to get there.
I’m now commencing the final edit, which I’m really looking forward to. I know from making movies, that the editing studio is where those six hours of footage become 5 minutes of freaky fun. Hard work looms, but I can’t wait to see what comes out the other end.
The Ferret Files 