An long overdue memo

Long time no see my freaky darlings!

I've been doing lots of work since I last wrote, which is one of the reasons I haven't updated. I know, I'm a bad person. Plus my internet keeps going kerfluey, which makes it hard.

But let's move on.

Goodnight Angel is in its third draft. I plan to enter the manuscript in the Vogel Literary Comp (first prize is $20,000 and publication, can you guess why I'm interested?) and I've just finished the first draft of a sequel called Tell No Tales.

The sequel picks up were the original left off, after Robin has gone through months of painful rehab, kicked her alcohol addiction and moved out of her shitty apartment and into a house boat on the harbour. All's well and good, until a friend asks her to meet his new girlfriend.

The new girlfriend, Rachel, is an actress - OK, but not Angelina Jolie - and she's caught the attention of a playwright who's a little too keen on realism in his murder-mystery plays.

It's not a very good synopsis, I know. It's actually very bad, but I've never been good at the 20 second pitches. That's one of the reasons I'm entering that comp I mentioned, to hone my skills for when I start looking for agents. You have to hand in a one-page outline with your entry.

Anyway, the response to the sequel has been positive, even though the writing sucks and it's too short. Thank God for re-write! Draft, draft, draft.

That, plus I have uni, which cuts heinously into my writing time. How can they expect me to do assignments and shite when I'm busy working on fun stuff? I swear...

So, the comp is in a few months, I'll let you know how I go. I've been sending stories to magazines (Just short ones, 4,000 words or so) but no luck yet. This is a buddy industry and I have no friends, so you can imagine what that does to my marketability. I'm gonna have to kiss some serious arse to get my name in print.

In the mean time I'm starting work on the third in the series. I've got a basic idea of the scenario, but half the time I just close my eyes and let the characters do their thing, so I never know how it's going to work out. I don't like plotting out their actions, because half the time what I think and what they do are two very different things. Characters have a mind of their own, at least mine do. If I didn't let them do their own thing, they'd end up all wooden and lifeless. Working out the plot ahead of time is the worst way to go.

And yes, I'm a crime writer, and crime books need to have subtle red herrings and the like sprinkled in the beginning - can you say 'Second Draft'?? That's where all that stuff goes, that where you spend weeks tightening the plot strings until they hum like a finely tuned viola.

Besides, if the characters are true to their own motivations, then the antagonist will reveal himself as a matter of course. It's more exciting for me when I don't know what will happen, and even more of a thrill because if I'm spending everyday with these characters, getting to know them, recording their lives, and I still don't know where they'll end up - then surely it will be a surprise to the reader too!