With another NaNoWriMo beneath my belt I am pleased to announce that the next book in my Oliver & Jack series entitled Oliver & Jack: Out In The World, is 73K words done; I’ve written Oliver’s point of view in those words, because, as I determined early on, this particular story was about what happens to him. His actions move the plot forward, and so it’s his story.
Though, to be honest, I’ve had many a night’s disturbed rest over worrying about this particular book, whether it was being told right, whether it had the right dynamic and voice and all of that. I don’t know whether other people go to bed thinking about the last sentence that they wrote or about what they will write the next day–and this rather than a grocery list or errands to do–but I do.
I wrote Axminster from Jack’s point of view (POV) first, because it was what happened to him that moved the story forward. Having Jack’s POV be the key voice in the story, as well as the fact that I’ve been planning to write a story that takes place in a workhouse since I was about seven and a half, made the writing of it almost effortless. Seriously, the book wrote itself.
This time around the book is not writing itself, and I’m not sure whether to blame myself or to blame Oliver, who has such a particular view of the world that he’s rather fussy and picky and really a pain in the ass. So if you have to create an outline and then write those scenes with Oliver leading the way? It’s tantamount to having to drag around a bowling ball all day.
But when I write about Oliver through Jack’s eyes first? The story takes wings. I’m not kidding. Real wings. Jack is so in love with Oliver that everything Oliver does, whether it be for Jack’s benefit or Oliver’s own, takes on a glowing, loving hue. Then when I turn around and fill in with Oliver’s scenes, suddenly the boy is a stand up guy, with a stout spirit and brains to match. He pushes through those things that are difficult, without complaint mind you, and when he demands his reward in the end (a slice of cake or a kiss from Jack), then you come away with the feeling that he bloody well deserves that reward. And all of this when I write Jack first.
So, I’m about to write the second half of Out In The World, using Jack’s POV to fill in the scenes between Oliver’s scenes. And wouldn’t you know it, instead of feeling like it’ll be a drag, it’s going to be fun. Jack’s got a different way of looking at things, plus he’s got heart-eyes for Oliver, and that, my friends, is what makes a romance a delight to write, and, hopefully, to read. The next two stories in the series, titled Oliver & Jack: On The Isle Of Dogs and Oliver & Jack: In London Towne, will be written from Jack’s POV first, and Oliver will come after; not because I love Jack more, but because Jack is more effective at getting the job done. I think Oliver will understand that; I hope that he does.
Having considerable impact to my understanding and acceptance of the Jack/Oliver balance in my books was Wendy Rathbone. Who, while writing her own books (the current one is awesome, let me tell you), held my hand over emails and listened to me whine and moan and go drearily on about the drudgery that Oliver was causing me. She took the time to patiently explain–and so very well–how Oliver is yes, selfish, but he’s learning to be less so on account of his love for Jack. That Oliver actually makes Jack feel looked up to and respected. That their love for each other is mutual in the best way. She communicated this in several soothing emails, all which bolstered my ego and made me feel better about using Jack to tell the story first, even if it wasn’t about him. There isn’t a better writing companion in the whole world than she, I tell you.
At any rate, to celebrate getting halfway there, I had a coffee shop morning. That’s where I go to a coffee shop, treat myself to whatever I want, and spend the time, in this case, reading over what I wrote and taking notes and creating an updated outline. Could there be anything more blissful than this? I don’t think so.
Here’s the image I took, just as I was getting set up. On the right is a raspberry scone (delicious!) and a Eruopa-brand drip coffee, with a “shot in the dark” s they say, which is a shot of espresso. As you can see, I’ve got the printed out pages, which I’ve divided by days. Then I start reading and eating and drinking; scones crumble like crazy and they were everywhere by the time I’d finished, four hours later.
Here’s the finished product; you can see the half demolished scone on the upper right there; the coffee way way too cold to finish, but the scone went down just fine. You can see how my handwriting gets messier as the morning went along; luckily I’m usually the only one who has to decipher it
The remains of coffee and scone; and on the right is my pile (yes PILE) of various outlines and notes. Very badly behaved notes.
And now, I’ve found this lovely vid on the interwebs that I would like to share with you; it makes me quite want to stand up and dance.
Being a little bit OCD, I thought I’d try and list the movies in order of appearance; I can’t get them all but I did note how many times John Travolta and Tom Cruise show up. Are there others? The number of movies I do know means that I’m not completely living under a rock, however, the number of movies I don’t know means that I need to get out more. Feel free to chime in if you know any, or if I got any wrong.
Silver Linings Playbook
Reality Bites
Something Borrowed
Love, Actually
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Dirty Dancing
Big (Tom Hanks, my own true love.)
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Happy Feet
12 Going On 30
Slumdog Millionaire
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Alice in Wonderland (Johnny Depp)
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That Dumb Movie That I Don’t Like
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Flashdance
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Grease (John Travolta)
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Tangled
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Pride
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Airplane!
Beetlejuice
American Pie
Blast From The Past
??? (Christopher Walken!)
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The Mask
Mama Mia
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The Proposal
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Footloose
Magic Mike
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West Site Story
Ferris Beuller’s Day Off
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??? (Will Smith!!!)
Risky Business (Tom Cruise)
The Breakfast Club
??? (Madagascar?)
??? (Cher)
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Billie Elliot (Jamie Bell)
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Hairspray
Napoleon Dynamite
Puss in Boots
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The Heat
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A Night at the Roxbury
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Dirty Dancing
Sound of Music (Yeah!!!)
Silver Linings Playbook
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Scent of a Woman
Beauty and the Beast
Pretty in Pink (Ducky!!!)
Grease (John Travolta)
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White Nights
Crybaby (Johnny Depp)
Tropic Thunder (Tom Cruise)
Blues Brothers
Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews)
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Coyote Ugly
Saturday Night Fever (John Travolta)
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Little Miss Sunshine
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