After 103 weeks in a row of publishing the weekly newsletter I took a week off. These are the doubts I had about the merit of recording the creative process of a first time novelist. Until I realized, this is the ultimate drama…because we have have no idea how it’s going to end.
A documentation about writing the ultimate heist novel. Get the full series here: charleskunken.com/hollywoodheistbacklot
Hey folks,
You might have noticed you didn’t get an email from me last week.I was going to tell you that I didn’t know what to write but I didn’t know the best way to say it.
If you’ve been following along on this newsletter you’ve watched a great deal of toiling (and I mean that in a positive sense).
On February 22, 2019 we wrote out first weekly Friday email, some of you on here received it. If you did, then you also received an email from me for the next 103 weeks in a row, until the 104th week when you didn’t. That was last week, February 12, 2021.
On September 20, 1998 on a warm summer’s night in Baltimore, Cal Ripkin ended his consecutive games streak by voluntarily sitting out a home game against the Yankees. For the first time in 2,362 baseball games in a row, a streak that began on May 30, 1982, Ripken was not in the starting lineup. So, this was a lot like that.
The nice thing is, you can get back to business because you want to, rather than you have to.
I’ve been asking myself this past week should I send an email? The math was actually pretty simple – did I have anything to say?
You bet! If there’s any topic I love discussing more than anything, it's myself ;)
I’ve had some doubts about how interesting it is to really hear about a random guy writing a novel and figured out the answer - not at all! It’s taking way longer than I thought, the process isn’t sexy or outright exciting, and the problems are mostly internal.
There’s the technical aspect like figuring out how to create stakes and tension and conflict, and how to make sentences active or what details to include or exclude, and how to make sure a scene turns. Then there is a mental aspect--why am I even attempting this?
Creating a log of a first creation is pretty arrogant. I mean, I would love to read a real time synopsis of a famous author’s first attempt, but who would want to read the flailing’s of a complete novice?
That’s the funny thing. There is a survivorship bias in the public record of stories from people who achieved success. So, what you’re getting here is actually quite dramatic. You have no idea how this is going to end.
Which leaves us just one choice—I can't leave you hanging.
Robert McKee said in his book Story, that unrecognized genius is a myth.
For writers who can tell a quality story, it’s a seller’s market—always has been, always will be.
The nice thing about that sentiment is that it’s not about luck. Whatever you want to do, it doesn’t require a lucky break. It requires you to sit down and make the thing great.
And I believe he’s right. It’s within our own power. If you do something outstanding and put forth the right amount of effort to publicize it then the opportunities will be there. Who is going to look at something awesome and keep it to themselves? Or decide not to do something about it? Nobody. They’re going to go tell people what they’ve found.
And if you don't end up being outstanding or you learn along the way that you don't enjoy it then you can be assured there will at least be no regrets.
So that’s what I have to say this week. We're watching a drama unfold and the question remains: Will it or won't it be good enough?
There’s only one way to find out.
Cheers my friends.
-
And here is word tracker for the heist.. All material from the Hollywood Heist Backlot is here.
The 84K Manuscript (Ch's 1-64)
2/18/2021: up to 17,703 (Ch's 1-11b)
2/11/2021: up to 13,384 (Ch's 1-10)
2/4/2021: up to 11,702 (Ch's 1-8)
1/28/2021: up to 6,414 (Ch's 1-6)
---[Editing Phase]---
1/21/2021: 83,613 Manuscript Complete
1/14/2021: 82,934
1/7/2021: 80,206
12/31/2020: 76,555
12/24/2020: 72,120
12/17/2020: 69,067
12/10/2020: 65,514
12/3/2020: 61,790
11/26/2020: 58,864
11/19/2020: 54,252
11/12/2020: 50,756
11/6/2020: 47,695
10/29/20: 42,097 (-250 in editing)
10/22/2020: 40,488 (-900 in editing)
10/15/2020: 38,327 (-887 in editing)
10/8/2020: 34,458
10/1/2020: 28.099
9/24/2020: 24,397
9/17/2020 19,167
9/10/2020 12,112
9/3/2020: 9,093
8/27/2020: 7,206
8/20/2020: 6.074
8/13/2020: 3,157
--reset, re-starting on draft 4---
8/7/2020: 0...
7/31/2020: forget the word tracker for now, alright?
7/24/2020: 11,373
7/17/2020: 11,373
7/10/2020: 11,373
7/3/2020: 7,955 words
Have some thoughts? Feel free to drop a comment or hit me up: charlie@charleskunken.com
Other Posts In The Hollywood Heist Series
Please judge.