What is the date you began writing this piece of fiction and the date when you completely finished the piece of fiction? I honestly don’t have any idea. It was definitely in 2020 and usually a book takes me about 90 days, so somewhere in the late Spring into early Summer, I’d guess. I don’t keep track.
Where did you do most of your writing for this fiction work? And please describe in detail. And can you please include a photo? I have an office in what should be the dining room in my house. It has a desk with no actual writing space on it, cabinets all over the place and still never enough shelving. I hate that desk. But the walls are very blue and that makes me happy.
What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on laptop; specific time of day? I generally don’t listen to music when I’m writing, but if someone else is around and making sounds, I’ll put on my headphones and play classical music. Not because I’m so refined, but because there are no words to distract me. And I write on an iMac because I don’t like laptops and Windows doesn’t make any sense.
Please include just one excerpt and include page numbers as reference. This one excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer.
Beginning on p. 11:
‘You’ve been charged with first-degree murder, Mr Reeves,’ I said. Of course he knew that but hang on, I was making a point. ‘That implies premeditation. Did you have any reason to want Mr…’ I checked the file in front of me. ‘Mr Drake dead?’
‘Absolutely not,’ Reeves answered at the same time he was not suggesting that I call him Bob, Rob, Robbie, Bobby or even Robert (with the French pronunciation). ‘I barely knew the man. He was a stunt guy on my set.’
His set.
‘What was your job on the set?’ I asked.
Reeves’s eyes bulged a little bit at my blatant impertinence but he regained his composure quickly. ‘I am the director,’ he answered.
That explained a lot. I’d been in Los Angeles and, more importantly, with Patrick long enough now that I’d met a few directors. They tend to have fairly healthy egos (sometimes bigger than those of their actors, which is impressive) when they direct film. Television directors lean toward the unassuming sorts, knowing their jobs are temporary and hoping they’ll be rehired for another episode later in the season. Reeves was clearly accustomed to a pretty high level of deference. And I wasn’t supplying it because first of all I had no idea who he was and second, I don’t think directors are better than other people. Some of them are fine artists, but so are some short order cooks.
‘Okay, so you were directing a scene and as far as I can tell, a stunt performer fell from a crane and was killed, is that right?’ Best to get past Reeves’s issue with my having never heard of him, which was something I’d gotten used to since moving to California. I hadn’t heard of Patrick when I met him, either, but in the almost two years since then he’d mostly gotten over that fact.
‘Yes.’ Either Reeves was auditioning for his testimony in court or he was still mad at me for being ignorant of his amazing-ness.
I looked through more of the file, which was astonishingly thin given that another defense attorney had been through it, the police report was included (bearing a name familiar to me) and an arraignment and release (cash bail no longer exists in California) had already taken place. I’d have to give all of this a long look as soon as the meeting was over. ‘That doesn’t sound like a case of first-degree murder to me,’ I said.
‘Exactly!’ Reeves leaned forward and placed his hands flat on the table in front of him. He appeared to be acting as if I was on an award-nominating committee. Which I feel it’s important to emphasize I am not. ‘That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time! It was an accident!’
I didn’t point out that what I’d been about to say was, ‘It sounds like negligent homicide.’ That probably would have dampened my client’s mood.
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Why is this excerpt so emotional for you as a writer to write? And can you describe your own emotional experience of writing this specific excerpt? I must confess it wasn’t especially emotional. It’s mostly exposition, but it includes the kind of snarky asides Sandy likes to express in her narratives. My emotional experience was undoubtedly that I was glad I’d gotten 1,000 words written every day.
Were there any deletions from this excerpt that you can share with us? And can you please include a photo of your marked up rough drafts of this excerpt. I don’t recall any particular changes made at the editing stage, and I don’t have anything with markings on it. My editor and I are pretty much of a mind on these things so we haven’t had any disagreements on the manuscripts.
Most of the INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links can be found at the very end of the below feature:
http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2021/03/stephenson-holts-arranged-marriage-is.html