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ENTRY
Deadlines!
June 24, 2011
I've discovered deadlines help me increase my daily writing production, but they have to be real deadlines, not self-imposed ones. This realization is disheartening, because I've always considered myself a self-disciplined writer. I can be a bit lazy and a procrastinator. (Aside: I heard someone describe himself as a "procastibator," I guess because it feels good while you do it but regret it later.)
My current writing deadlines require me to finish two novels by the end of July. One is Subduction, the other is The Royal Book of Monsters. Subduction is a contemporary psychological thriller wrapped around the ancient Japanese myth of Kashima, the god who tries to control a giant catfish named Namazu whose violent thrashing causes earthquakes.
The main character in this novel, Jun Endo, a first-year physician, has been banished to Marui-jima, a tiny island far in the Pacific rocked by a swarm of earthquakes. The government evacuated the island residents except for several holdouts, all elderly, who refuse to obey the orders. Besides the islanders and the doctor, a writer and documentary producer (Mari Sasaki) and a seismologist (Aki Ishikawa) are on the island. A destructive love triangle ensues as the three become entangled with the mysterious lives of the islanders.
The Royal Book of Monsters begins in Paris, 1683. Lorete Michaud, a young woman studying to be an artist, meets a mysterious man named Langorium who shows her how to take her art to ethereal levels. Meanwhile, a royal cadet prince, Théo, has fallen for her; however, the closer he gets to her, the more she withdraws into Langorium’s secret world. Théo continues to pursue Lorete until he finds her with Langorium. Appearing to the prince as a monster, Langorium disappears with Lorete.
Grief-stricken, Théo devotes his life to finding her and tracking down the monster. The Royal Book of Monsters refers to his collected works documenting historical, anecdotal, and scientific evidence of monsters, including vampires, ghosts, dragons, werewolves, and the rest. He believes that understanding the origins of monsters will lead him to the real Monster who took Lorete. He never finds the Monster or Lorete, but the work on the Book continues through the centuries, and it grows into a clandestine compendium and history of the world’s real monsters, unfiltered by myth, legend, and fiction.
In the present day, an apprentice editor, Troy Keene, is hired by the publishing wing of a New York museum of antiquities to work on their publications. But as he gradually discovers, he is editing more than documents; the true nature of his work deals with Monsters. As the apprentice editor struggles to learn his job, he is becoming close with another editor, Lori Price. She is also learning about the real work of the museum’s editorial wing, and her research into the disappearance of Lorete brings her into contact with the Monsters. This puts Lori, Troy, and ultimately the Book at risk, as well as threatens humanity’s existence.
The two books are very different, and that helps me work on them at the same time. I can take a break from one to work on the other. So far this is working! I'll let you know home it goes...
© 2013
June 24, 2011
I've discovered deadlines help me increase my daily writing production, but they have to be real deadlines, not self-imposed ones. This realization is disheartening, because I've always considered myself a self-disciplined writer. I can be a bit lazy and a procrastinator. (Aside: I heard someone describe himself as a "procastibator," I guess because it feels good while you do it but regret it later.)
My current writing deadlines require me to finish two novels by the end of July. One is Subduction, the other is The Royal Book of Monsters. Subduction is a contemporary psychological thriller wrapped around the ancient Japanese myth of Kashima, the god who tries to control a giant catfish named Namazu whose violent thrashing causes earthquakes.
The main character in this novel, Jun Endo, a first-year physician, has been banished to Marui-jima, a tiny island far in the Pacific rocked by a swarm of earthquakes. The government evacuated the island residents except for several holdouts, all elderly, who refuse to obey the orders. Besides the islanders and the doctor, a writer and documentary producer (Mari Sasaki) and a seismologist (Aki Ishikawa) are on the island. A destructive love triangle ensues as the three become entangled with the mysterious lives of the islanders.
The Royal Book of Monsters begins in Paris, 1683. Lorete Michaud, a young woman studying to be an artist, meets a mysterious man named Langorium who shows her how to take her art to ethereal levels. Meanwhile, a royal cadet prince, Théo, has fallen for her; however, the closer he gets to her, the more she withdraws into Langorium’s secret world. Théo continues to pursue Lorete until he finds her with Langorium. Appearing to the prince as a monster, Langorium disappears with Lorete.
Grief-stricken, Théo devotes his life to finding her and tracking down the monster. The Royal Book of Monsters refers to his collected works documenting historical, anecdotal, and scientific evidence of monsters, including vampires, ghosts, dragons, werewolves, and the rest. He believes that understanding the origins of monsters will lead him to the real Monster who took Lorete. He never finds the Monster or Lorete, but the work on the Book continues through the centuries, and it grows into a clandestine compendium and history of the world’s real monsters, unfiltered by myth, legend, and fiction.
In the present day, an apprentice editor, Troy Keene, is hired by the publishing wing of a New York museum of antiquities to work on their publications. But as he gradually discovers, he is editing more than documents; the true nature of his work deals with Monsters. As the apprentice editor struggles to learn his job, he is becoming close with another editor, Lori Price. She is also learning about the real work of the museum’s editorial wing, and her research into the disappearance of Lorete brings her into contact with the Monsters. This puts Lori, Troy, and ultimately the Book at risk, as well as threatens humanity’s existence.
The two books are very different, and that helps me work on them at the same time. I can take a break from one to work on the other. So far this is working! I'll let you know home it goes...
© 2013
COMMENTS
Number of comments: 2
click here to add a comment
Lee Witte
Both sound fascinating! Good luck on the deadlines (I need them too.)
Jo Reed
Subduction reminds me of Mishima's "Sound of Waves", it is also set on a small island.
click here to add a comment
Lee Witte
Both sound fascinating! Good luck on the deadlines (I need them too.)
Jo Reed
Subduction reminds me of Mishima's "Sound of Waves", it is also set on a small island.
ARCHIVE
date (comments)
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Review: Butterfly's Sisters
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Review: Isle of Dreams
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Review: Kissing the Mask
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2009 Reviewed
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October book tour
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Review: Paprika
April 21, 2013 (3)
Review: A Straight Road With 99 Curves
March 30, 2013 (1)
Gripping writing
Feb. 28, 2013 (2)
Review: Salvation of a Saint
January 19, 2013 (2)
2012 in review
December 30, 2012 (2)
Review: Ninja
September 30, 2012 (2)
Review: My Postwar Life
August 21, 2012 (1)
New interview with Colin Marshall
July 15, 2012 (3)
Book events
April 25, 2012 (2)
Subduction
March 14, 2012 (8)
Review: A Room Where the Star Spangled Banner Cannot Be Heard
January 14, 2012 (1)
Review: Plainsong
December 20, 2011 (3)
Review: The Devil's Disciple
November 29, 2011 (2)
Haruki Murakami
October 5, 2011 (2)
Busyness and demons
September 25, 2011 (2)
Characters: The Bully
July 30, 2011 (3)
Review: Manazuru
June 28, 2011 (2)
Deadlines!
June 24, 2011 (2)
Review: Butterfly's Sisters
May 18, 2011 (1)
Review: Isle of Dreams
April 20, 2011 (2)
Cades Award for Literature press release
April 12, 2011 (2)
Japan and other news
March 29, 2011 (1)
Borders bankruptcy
February 17, 2011 (2)
2010 review
December 17, 2010 (6)
Congratulations Mario Vargas Llosa
October 7, 2010 (2)
OH! wins best book award
September 23, 2010 (2)
Review: Kissing the Mask
August 22, 2010 (1)
Jonathan Lethem: Writing at the margins
July 12, 2010 (2)
Review: Love in Translation
June 22, 2010 (3)
Jose Saramago
June 18, 2010 (0)
Marketplace of Ideas interview
June 11, 2010 (2)
Imagining Memory
May 6, 2010 (1)
Upcoming Los Angeles events
April 7, 2010 (2)
Time and energy
March 30, 2010 (2)
Review: Botchan
February 28, 2010 (2)
J.D. Salinger
January 28, 2010 (1)
2009 Reviewed
December 31, 2009 (5)
Review: The Word Book
December 12, 2009 (1)
Chaat and Chat event with OH!
November 6, 2009 (2)
Home at last
November 2, 2009 (2)
Los Angeles events
October 17, 2009 (1)
Poets and poetry
October 7, 2009 (1)
Time + place
September 24, 2009 (1)
The future of books
September 23, 2009 (1)
October book tour
September 6, 2009 (1)
Blogging at Powell's Books
August 28, 2009 (2)
The evolution of an idea
August 3, 2009 (1)
The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga: A Hermeneutical Journey
July 9, 2009 (2)
Tour debrief
July 2, 2009 (3)
Book tour events
May 18, 2009 (3)
Simply in the mood
April 24, 2009 (2)
Book tour
April 8, 2009 (6)
The Necessary Book
March 2, 2009 (2)
"Murder Makes the Magazine"
February 7, 2009 (3)
John Updike
January 27, 2009 (2)
2008 misc. (good news, bad news)
January 1, 2009 (3)
Publishing woes and query letters
December 13, 2008 (4)
Punctuation compunction
November 16, 2008 (3)
The Fountain of Youth (and other Ideas)
October 10, 2008 (2)
David Foster Wallace
September 14, 2008 (2)
Ending it all
September 12, 2008 (2)
The mystery of plotting, the plotting of mysteries
August 29, 2008 (3)
Blocking out the block
August 20, 2008 (3)
"What kind of books do you write?"
August 8, 2008 (2)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 4
July 21, 2008 (3)
Show and tell
July 14, 2008 (3)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 3
July 7, 2008 (7)
Advice for first-time writers (Barry Gifford and me)
June 30, 2008 (6)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 2
June 18, 2008 (3)
To be or not to be
June 10, 2008 (6)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 1
June 3, 2008 (6)
Virtual unreality
May 31, 2008 (4)
The purpose of this blog
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