So this post (or well really series of posts) will be about whatever book I’m working on. I’ll briefly talk about it and how’s it going and things like that. Feel free to talk in the comments about what you’re working on, as I would love to know.
I pulled a piece of paper out of my prompt pot (this container which holds all my book ideas down on pieces of paper) and I was happy to see that it was the one I was thinking about ever since I actually made the pot (ok, I cheated as I made sure to place that piece of paper on top – but let’s forget about that, ok?).
So the prompt was about this sci-fi dystopian world where you can only save 100 lives (well, it was a longer plot in the beginning, but I changed it). Here’s the details.
Title: The Tragic End of Henry Hines (though this is still up for debate)
Main Character: Henry Hines (obviously)
Plot: Set in a world where you can only save 100 lives, the story follows a cop as he counts all his saves and what he feels.
I felt inspired after watching In Time and then this one music video, so obviously my mind started to wander – which is also how I ended up with about 30 book ideas.
That was about 2 or 3 months ago. I was busy with college – studying for tests and also wondering if this was really the draft I should be working on. I mean there was that gay retelling of Faustus, that retelling of Snow White where they’re vampire assassins, the idea I had after listening to The Script’s The Man Who Can’t be Moved, but then I thought to myself: Just imagine your book – the Henry Hines one on the shelf in a bookstore. First finish this book and then you can move on.
As I’m currently editing this post, I’m actually supposed to be studying for my Com Sci exam but we only write at 13h00. I finished the first chapter a week or so ago and I plan to finish the second chapter this weekend, after crying about Developmental Psychology (or maybe before that, or I could just always break down in the middle of the exam) and find out what to call Henry’s work partner – as I can’t find a name that suits her – do you guys find that difficult, the naming of the characters? I hate it and then I have to go search baby names online and people look at me funny – I’m a writer, not an expecting mother!
Here’s a snippet of my writing, obviously it’s a rough draft so please don’t expect it to be good. This is like the first page where Henry has just woken up and is reminiscing and thinking about random things (as his ADD brain tends to do).
I went to make myself coffee and thought what an abstract world we must live in if we have to rely on a chemical to help us through the day to just survive whatever hardships we have to endure.
And then that made me wonder about those who take drugs on a daily basis, and if their hardships are considered to be almost fatal or if they’re merely pretending it to be fatal in order to gain sympathy and understanding.
After that I started to think about those who don’t rely on coffee or drugs to wake them up and perform tasks, is it because their hardships aren’t that fatal, or are they simply strong enough to fight those hardships themselves?
So I’m just going to leave that there and probably log off and attempt to study. Until next time! (I need a new goodbye phrase…)
As I said, don’t be a stranger! Share your drafts! Maybe we can help each other – I am an editor and beta reader!
DB's Guide to the Galaxy 