So I’m less than a page into Ghost Ronin and I’m getting all sorts of ideas. Good ideas, mostly, stuff I definitely want to do. Most of these ideas are about how I can shore up the gaps in my own knowledge and experience to make this story rock.
That’s one of my favorite things about being a writer, after all. Being a writer means constantly learning new things to inform the writing. That’s you end up with kindergarten teachers who stay up nights learning how to build a nuclear bomb, or in my case what it’s like to be a soldier in Iraq and what it means to be Samurai. In particular, I have two books to read as soon as I can. One is Zen and the Way of the Sword by Winston King. The other is Chasing Ghosts by Paul Reikoff. Both of these will lend detail and weight to Mike as a warrior.
The problem, of course, is that I’m reading these books instead of writing. It’s all too easy to put it off until I know a little more. Chapter one is set in Iraq, so why not read some more about what it’s really like to walk those streets as American infantry?
Because if I do that, I’ll never get around to actually writing the book. There will always, always be more to learn. There will be details to insert, assumptions to correct.
But in the end, that’s what second drafts are for. The first draft should be pure story, and it’s time to get back to work.
2 Comments
I hate to further side-track your writing, but it may be worth watching the movie Ghost Dog, and reading the Book of Five Rings (if you haven’t already read it).
I’ve heard of Ghost Dog, but never seen it. Have to rent that eventually. The Book of Five Rings looks interesting. Thanks for the heads up.
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