JeffKirvin.net

Got the following from one of the Asimovs regarding my current plan:

Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve been constantly re-working the same stories. Do they get better each time? Sure, but you’ve long since reached the point of diminishing returns. I’m tired of reading about how you’re going to rewrite the same old stories. Let them go! Wrap them up, put a nice big “THE END” on the last page and be done with them. Move on to something else.

That’s in fact exactly what I intend to do. I know I’ve said it before, but this time I ‘m ready, I’m inspired and I know it will work. I’m going to write “Between Heaven and Hell” as it should be, a trilogy of novels written by a seasoned author. And then, with the story of Daniel Cho finally told to my satisfaction, I’ll move on to Unification, the story of a reporter I haven’t named yet who has a front row seat to the biggest story in the history of the Milky Way galaxy, set about a century after “Between Heaven and Hell.”

As for diminishing returns, that’s been true of my aborted BHH rewrites in the past because I’ve always been hesitant to do what I’m doing now: chucking most of the original book and adapting it from the ground up rather than just revising it. The characters are still there, the big milestone moments are there, the spine of the story hasn’t changed (much) but the details are very different. This version of the story happens in a world post blogging, post 9/11, post YouTube, and post Iraq invasion, and the mechanics of uncovering an ancient conspiracy are very different. Daniel hasn’t changed much, but Jeff Frankel is more extreme, Susan Richardson is almost unrecognizeable from her initial incarnation, Jack Harris appears much earlier and the new quest to uncover the truth takes our heroes around the world rather than just into the DC suburbs.

If I were just rehashing the same old outline, I’d agree with the Asimov quoted above (I will never dilvuge Bill’s identity). But that’s not even remotely what I’m doing. What I’m doing is taking the idea I had ten years ago, all the experience I’ve acquired in the meantime and writing the book the right way.

And while I’m certain this will be taken as self-indulgent arrogance and hubris (hey, I’m Texan, we’re known for that unfortunately), It took Tolkien 17 years to write Lord of the Rings. BHH and Unification will match LotR in scope and probably exceed it in word count, and I know for a fact that Tolkien rewrote his little British heart out over those 17 years, often chucking everything and starting over from the beginning. I’m only 10 years into this. Gimme a break.