Trusting the Muse

On Tuesday I’ll release another new book into the world. The Broken Man is my second Western. It’s just a novella, only a bit over 20,000 words, but is the first in a series called The Travels of Jacob Wolf. This post is kind of about the new book, but it’s more about the writing process. Please stay tuned after this short advertisement.

The Broken Man

The Travels of Jacob Wolf #1

MoonHowler Press 2023

After being sent away by the girl he thought he was going to marry, young Jacob Wolf is ready to throw his life away in a blaze of glory at the first opportunity. However, his death wish gives him nerves of steel and he finds himself unscathed after his first deadly encounter. A local sheriff teams him up with an experienced bounty hunter and now Jacob is on the trail of outlaws, but hiding the fact he only wants a death that will make the newspapers and fill his old girlfriend with remorse.

Some people set out on a journey with a destination in mind. They activate their GPS on their phone and have a backup road map in case they lose signal. Other people just get in the car and drive. In writing, those people are called Plotters and Pantsers. I’ve always been a Pantser (writing by the seat of your pants), but I typically have sign posts I write toward. With The Broken Man and First Born (written in Nov./Dec. 2022 and slated to release in August 2023) I didn’t even have sign posts. I would literally sit down at the computer and not know what I was going to write.

On the one hand, it was scary as hell. What if nothing comes? What if it’s crap and I have to delete it all and it was just a waste of time? Those are legitimate concerns.

But what I’ve found is that my subconscious has a pretty good idea of where we’re going even if my conscious and fingers don’t. In the case of The Broken Man, just who Jacob Wolf is developed as I wrote. All I knew going in was that he was a young man who wanted to die because a girl dumped him. As I learned more about him in later chapters, I had to make notes of things to change or emphasize in earlier chapters, and then when I reread those chapters, I saw even more to do.

Who would he interact with? No idea. I threw a couple of bad guys in the first chapter because I wanted the story to start with action. Later, we learn those bandits were part of a larger gang. Then, in walked this dude named Jerome Freeman, and almost took over the story. Again, I had to learn about him as I wrote, and I was just as surprised as young Jake when Jerome talked about his past.

Of course, looking back at what I wrote, I can see influences. Oh, this bit was inspired by X and this character is my interpretation of the guy from Story Y. Sorry, but telling you all of those details would spoil the story. Read the book and message me if you’re interested.

I used to tell my AP Literature students that literature is the tapestry of human experience. And then they had to make a tapestry of books they’d read. Everything is interconnected. There are no totally original stories.

It’s after 2 a.m. and I’m off topic. My point, for those who want to write but can’t create an outline, is to simply write. Let the words flow. You’ll probably do a better job than you think, and even if you have to do extensive editing later, at least you have the finished manuscript to edit.

And please buy my book. Cleo the Calico Cat eats her body weight in food every couple of days and gets mean if I leave her dish empty.