Blogflog - More in Love Than When We Started

[blogfloggery.livejournal.com]

Link: More in Love Than When We Started
Disclaimer: This blog entry is verbatim, as originally posted on LKH's blog. Copyright belongs to Ma Petite Enterprises.

I promised myself that I would write something different after I finished the latest Anita Blake book, Dead Ice, coming out June 9, about a month away. So, I wrote a short story set in a new world with brand new characters. It was wonderful, exhilarating, and strangely exhausting. I’d forgotten how tiring it is to forge my way through a brand new creation. It made me hesitate to do the novel that I’d thought I would do next because its also a new world with a brand new main character, magic system, and everything. The story I just finished has made me rethink, so I decided I’d do the next Anita Blake novel, but which one?

I wrote a list of Anita plots that I’d been thinking about for a while. When I got to “Q” I stopped. I had more ideas to write down, but seventeen seemed like plenty to choose from. From the very beginning, Anita had a large list of potential book plots; I think I started with thirteen mysteries. When I wrote that initial list I didn’t know I’d ever get a chance to pursue them all. The fact that my initial Anita contract with Penguin/Putnam (now Penguin Random House) was for three novels had thrilled me, because I knew there would be at least that many in my series. My first novel, Nightseer, had been planned to be part of a four book series, but my first publisher, ROC, had only purchased one book. When that one didn’t sell well, like most first novels, they weren’t interested in me continuing the series. Three books was a luxury after that.

So, why did I make a list of future plots when I didn’t know I’d ever get a chance to write them? I’m not sure, but the ideas came to me and I’d learned years ago to write down all my ideas. You think you’ll remember them, because they’re so great, but you won’t. Write the ideas down, all the ideas, so you don’t lose them. Maybe that’s why I did it, and that would make sense, but in retrospect it seemed terribly optimistic.

I’ve actually used all the original thirteen ideas that I wrote down, except for a couple. Those plots went away because of character growth, or just the logic of Anita’s world, and my magic system. By the time I got that far into the list I knew that certain creatures of legend just didn’t exist in her world, so some ideas went away on that basis alone.

Yet, here I am with seventeen new book plots, and more I could have listed. Some of the list is just intriguing as hell. Example – Olaf’s return. That’s all, but those two words are enough to make me wonder what a fan favorite serial killer will do when he’s next on stage. There’s The British book, set in England; The Irish book, set in Ireland, where Damian’s maker is waiting; Nathaniel’s book, which is going to be a long, complex mystery; Jean-Claude’s story, but so many ways to structure this one that I haven’t even started an outline; Nicky’s book, where he goes home for his mother’s parole hearing and asks Anita to go with him; New Mexico and Edward’s Wedding, will he actually walk down the aisle; Peter’s first hunt, three bland words with so much pain and possibility; and so many other ideas and characters that want more of their stories told. I know other writers that struggle for ideas, even novelists with their own successful book series that have fallen out of love with their main character/s. I find that idea leads onto idea and that a finished book will often give me ideas for new books. I feel about Anita, and all the people in her life and in her world, the way I feel about my real life marriage – more in love now than when we started.

Comments

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

Olaf’s return

I'd say that is about as intriguing as hell, yes. Horrible, pointless torture and all that.

I categorically refuse to believe he's a fan favorite. Though I guess anyone who likes Anita Blake herself must be into misogynistic rapist-murderers. Blech.

[alondra-del-sol.livejournal.com]

LaLa has them all brainwashed into thinking that anyone who doesn't like the series must be a bunch of sex prudes, because the few people I know who do like them try to defend the extra sex first off the bat and I have to stand there waiting for them to finish their spiel before I explain, "No I'm not against sex actually despite the fact I'm from Indiana and you think I spent my life literally in the middle of a corn field," and etc. It seems to be the people like to infantilize and condescend others to make themselves seem more important and mature when their real life level of impact is tiny so maybe that whole power trip thing (which feeds into misogyny) really is it. Weird.

[dagonista.livejournal.com]

"Writing new stuff is hard, so I didn't bother. Writing Anita is easy because I love her more than any other author has ever loved a character, and just as much as I love my polysquad, which I may have mentioned in passing I have."

[dreamstrifer.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's because I've watched too much frozen with my two year old niece, but my first thought when she mentioned Olaf was a snowman.

Shows how much regard I have for Olaf the Serial Killer, I guess.

[darkestgrace.livejournal.com]

Those aren't book plots. Those are prompts, at best. 'Olaf returns' or 'Peter's first hunt' are not going to be very useful when it comes to actually writing the story, surely. Having seventeen of those kind of plots isn't very impressive, especially if all you know about it is 'Nicky goes home' or 'it's a mystery story', or 'it's set in England'. I could come up with seventeen book plots like that for Anita Blake off the top of my head.
1)Nathaniel gets bubblegum in his hair
2)Melanie becomes leader of the weresnakes
3)Richard threatens to go public if Anita won't break their bond
4)Burt fires Anita
5)Asher publishes his autobiography
6)Anita gets arrested
7)The swanmanes get revenge for their mass rape
8)The vampire leaders of America rebel because JC is a crappy leader
9)Olaf is arrested and claims Anita was an accessory
10)Edward takes out half the harem
11)Damian demands to leave St Louis
12)The gang donate to Locks of Love
13)Anita's family come to visit
14)The weretigers hire werehyenas and wererats to take Anita out
15)JC is arrested
16)A teacher notices how creepy Anita's relationship with Cynric is and reports them to CPS
17)Nicky is recognised as a murderer and arrested

Behold, I am as awesome as the great LKH! Also, stay out of England. We don't want you.

[magdalen77.livejournal.com]

Ya think we want her in the US? Sigh. At least she mostly avoids the East Coast.

As I said on Amazon this is more of the lady protests too much. Everything is dandy with her writing and she loves her imaginary friends more than ever. That's why she struggles to excrete a first draft 5 months before her drop date every year.

[darkestgrace.livejournal.com]

I think that she does love her imaginary friends. But she only enjoys this stage of writing - the coming up with broad ideas and the 'wouldn't it be cool if' kind of thing. It's fun for her to sit around and say 'Anita can go the Edward's wedding! She'll be the most attractive one there and she and Edward are soulmates, but not like that, and then something something conflict and Anita is the badass who saves the day!'

When it comes down to actually putting words of paper, it's hard, and it's boring, and she can't only focus on the fun stuff, and she has to limit the amount of cool ideas she puts in one book. So she writes the fun scenes and then sits on her thumb and whines about her muse not cooperating until the deadline hits her in the face.

[alondra-del-sol.livejournal.com]

Boom there it is.

[jessica collett (from livejournal.com)]

I'm kind of interested if Anita comes to the UK? Mainly because LKH will get everything wrong and I will find it most enjoyable.

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

Everyone will be a cockney.

[jessica collett (from livejournal.com)]

And the plot will essentially be a reworking of Hot Fuzz. That's the only way she could attempt to get around Anita waving guns at everyone when she most certainly not be allowed to.

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

Most of those prompts are so good that the plot basically writes itself.

[apep727.livejournal.com]

So, I wrote a short story set in a new world with brand new characters. It was wonderful, exhilarating, and strangely exhausting. I’d forgotten how tiring it is to forge my way through a brand new creation. It made me hesitate to do the novel that I’d thought I would do next because its also a new world with a brand new main character, magic system, and everything.

Okay, I sort of get this. You've been writing the same books for what, over two decades now? (because let's face it, the MG books weren't that different from the AB books) You've found a niche, and it's worked for you. And you're a bit frightened of stepping out of that niche - how will your publisher react? How will your fans react? Do you still have that spark that got you here? (I'll refrain from answering these questions)

But working on something new might be good for you, Laurell. It's a chance to stretch your creative muscles. And let's face it, at this point, you're fan-base will probably buy anything you put out. Hell, something new might even bring back some of the fans you lost.

Or, you can continue to do what you've been doing for years now. I guess that works, too.

My first novel, Nightseer, had been planned to be part of a four book series, but my first publisher, ROC, had only purchased one book. When that one didn’t sell well, like most first novels, they weren’t interested in me continuing the series.

Well, here's an idea - why not buy back the rights from ROC and write/publish those stories? Hell, if you can't get a publisher interested, you could self-publish them. Plenty of authors do that.

Maybe that’s why I did it, and that would make sense, but in retrospect it seemed terribly optimistic.

Because I guess the only reason to write anything is to publish it. Not to just get it out of your system and shove in your desk drawer to stay there for all eternity.

I’ve actually used all the original thirteen ideas that I wrote down, except for a couple.

So... you haven't/didn't use them all. And how many constitutes "a couple"? Two? Three? Seven?

Those plots went away because of character growth, or just the logic of Anita’s world, and my magic system.

I'm sorry, you keep mentioning this "magic system" of yours, but from what I've heard, at this point the AB-verse "magic system" at this point is basically just Anita having lots of sex and somehow getting a new magic "plot" resolving power from it, which is then completely forgotten by the next book.

Yet, here I am with seventeen new book plots, and more I could have listed. Some of the list is just intriguing as hell.

As already mentioned, none of those are really "plots" - they're prompts at best.

I know other writers that struggle for ideas, even novelists with their own successful book series that have fallen out of love with their main character/s.

Yes, that sometimes happens. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle got sick of writing Sherlock Holmes, so decided to kill him off. But that's an extreme example. Robert E. Howard had trouble selling Kull the Conqueror stories, so he re-purposed Kull into Conan the Barbarian.

I doubt most writers really struggle for ideas - they just get tired of writing the same characters. So you know what they do?

Write something else.

Afterwards, a lot of them probably came back to their old series. Just because Jim Butcher wrote the Codex Alera books, and is starting the Cinder Spires series, doesn't mean he's abandoned the Dresden Files. Naomi Novik finished her Temeraire series, and is starting a new series now, but that doesn't mean she'll never write in the Temeraire-verse again.

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

Nightseer was terrible. While I don't remember the reasons why since I read it in the early 1990s, I remember hating that book and being surprised that I liked her early Anita Blake stuff.

[apep727.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'm just tossing out ideas. It couldn't be any worse than yet another round of Anita & co.'s drama, blatantly ignoring the plot, everything being about sex, and a solution pulled out of places not suitable for polite conversation.

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

The question is whether her Trues will follow her crappy writing when it doesn't involve Anita/Merry and skeevy sex.

[dreamstrifer.livejournal.com]

I read it too and I didn't like it very much (and I love me some crappy fantasy).

[alondra-del-sol.livejournal.com]

I was just thinking about the whole self-publishing thing. I'm surprised she doesn't do that for Nightseer, especially now that it is in vogue.

[apep727.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I'd call it "in vogue", but it doesn't have the same stigma that it used to.

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

Man, I have a list like that. Only, and this will surprise NO ONE (except maybe LKH), writing down stuff in prompts instead of at least starting to flesh out the idea will just leave future!you terribly confused. "Wait, what? Why should I listen to this song and think of these two characters? I don't understand! Would it have killed me to have thrown in a few more words?"

That said, I think a few of her prompts sound like fun (wait, she remembers Damian is a character? And, in theory, had a life before Anita?) but in her hands all the fun will disappear and it'll be a never ending parade of "Anita rides shotgun to __Insert Dude Here__'s hometown to fix/sex things" stories. And then Olaf.

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

So apparently LKH is still madly in love with Anita and co, and also with her husband and girlfriend and other boyfriend, who she is blissfully happy with and so so happy and so so ecstatically happy with, by the way.

She says it so often.... too often.

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

She did seem less miserable writing this book than she has been while writing for... well, as far as the archives here go back anyway. I have a wacky, impossible hope that that's because Genevieve took over the writing entirely.

[plastraa.livejournal.com]

"Nathaniel’s book, which is going to be a long, complex mystery."

A mystery is it? Uh huh. Sure.

[the-mome-wrath.livejournal.com]

The mystery is how he manages to keep his Rapunzel hair from getting stuck under the rest of the harem so he can bake muffins every morning for Anita.

[darkestgrace.livejournal.com]

Seriously, mornings must be so awkward.

"OW! Micah, you're sitting on my hair."

"Sorry, I didn't realise. It must be Anita's that's been in my face all night. OW!"

"What's wrong? Ugh, Micah, you drooled on my hair."

"Well mine's glued to the bed. I don't even want to know what that is, just help me get it free."

"Fine, but I need to get up, can I just - no, you're tangling it - how did you manage to get so wrapped up in it?"

"Well sorry! I can't move much further until I get my own hair unstuck!"

[apep727.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I wonder how hey manage to keep their shower drains from getting clogged. They must clean those things on a weekly basis, at least.

[openidwouldwork.livejournal.com]

Daily. That's what they've got their housewife Nathaniel for, don't they?