I’m doing pretty good at writing every day, but I’m kind of freaking out a bit. That’s because, for reals and for trues, I’m coming the end of writing about Oliver’s point-of-view (POV). When I started writing Fagin’s Boy, seven long years ago, I had thought that I’d write a story from both Oliver’s and Jack’s POV. But the book took me so long, I had to leave it out.
Part of the reason was because Jack’s life was so very interesting that I was worried that it would be more interesting than Oliver’s life. Jack is typically seen as the more obviously dynamic character; he’s a street thief and he smokes and plays cards and is not afraid to be sent off to Australia.
Certainly Oliver thinks that Jack is interesting (wink, wink), but I didn’t want him taking over and I felt that the story of Oliver in Fagin’s Boy was taking too long already. So I never wrote Jack.
And, after thinking about Jack’s POV for seven years, I’m a little nervous. Not because I think I can’t do it, but because I’ve been holding him back for so long, he’s liable to run wild when given the opportunity. You have to remember, Jack doesn’t have anything like Oliver’s background. Oliver’s life has been full of rules, and he really thinks that those rules have a place. Jack does not have rules except for his own. I’m a rule-follower myself, from a long line rule-followers. Now how do you think I’m supposed to handle someone like Jack when I finally allow him to take the wheel?
I think it’s going to be fun, but I’m a little out of my depth.
Here’s the current word count:
Day One – 1,998
Day Two – 2,122
Day Three – 1,820
Day Four – 1,820
Day Five – 1,930
Day Six – 1,601
Day Seven – 1,729
Day Eight – 2,363
Day Nine – 2,175
Day Ten – 1,782
Day Eleven – 2,124
Day Twelve – 2,008
Day Thirteen – 1,776
Day Fourteen – 1,231
Day Fifteen – 2,168
Day Sixteen – 2,559
Day Seventeen – 1,743
Day Eighteen – 2,101
Day Nineteen – 1795
Day Twenty – 1978
Day Twenty-One – 4,396
Day Twenty-Two – 2,477
Day Twenty-Three – 1,753
I found this the other day, when futzing around, as I do. It’s a site called Unique Noise Generators. When you go there, you can pick from a variety of sounds, such as Natural Noises like (my favorite) Rain Noise, or Tonal Drones such as Ice World or Northern Lights. There are even Atmospheres such as Deep Ocean or (for all my Trekkie pals out there) Space Ship. Go to the site and test it out. Enjoy!
