How They Scored

Yesterday I wrote about 2500 words as a backstory to Shaun... this morning I wrote another 2000, and I only now have just picked up Shaun. Most of that was a story about a girlfriend they shared, Robin. I modeled her on the real Robin I slept with only once or twice back in 1980 -- a cheerful blond girl who had not lost all her babyfat, whom I met doing contact improv. There was one memorable moment in my affair with her -- the moment I came inside her. Other than that, I remember walking her to her place over on Parnassus afterward, and running into her and her mother on a Muni bus some time later after we had mostly lost touch with each other, and trying to keep up a correspondence with her when she moved back to Washington, DC. She was someone I never really knew much about -- I don't know whether that was because she was rather young and unformed, or because I was too self-centered to pay attention. Probably a little of both. Anyway, I kept the blond cheerfulness, the blandness...

Another thing to remember: oblique dialogue. I'm not actually sure how to go about writing oblique dialogue, since I almost always write standard, natural dialogue, but I'll have to figure it out. Not only will it lend the writing more style, it will help me be more interested in the sound of the language. And the interpersonal relations between the characters might be suited for oblique dialogue because it will show how they can only approach each other indirectly. I haven't read any Don DeLillo in preparation. Perhaps I should, but I'm already doing enough reading. I'm feeling antsy about the project already. This is a good sign; it means I have some pent-up energy and will make progress the next time I sit down. I've been trying to write just a few notes every day, to keep the project in the front of my mind, and the anxiety shows it is working. The first chapter was a piece of cake, but it's actually not like the succeeding chapters. I think that once I ...

Just got back from a late lunch and a coffee. There's a cafe called Little Spot a block away. They have free wireless and that's about all you can say for it; it's extremely sleepy, run by a lanky, long-faced Arab guy in the afternoons. I go over there with my laptop when I need to get on the internet, since I usually can't get a connection at my office. I was over there just now and a fetching lass in her mid-20s came in and politely asked if there was wi-fi there. I said yes, and it's free. I worked for another 15 minutes while she pulled out her own laptop and had coffee. When I was finished, as I was standing up and closing my laptop, I turned and asked the girl if she was visiting the area. No, she smiled, she had just signed a lease nearby. I introduced myself and she said her name was K. I only mention it because it's been about 5 years since I last met a stranger in a cafe, and a lovely young lady at that. She had a dancer's ponytail and was working ...

Note: This entry shows my technique of asking myself questions to stimulate my thinking about a plot or character point. It's a brainstorming technique, and thus a lot of this didn't end up in the final book. Before beginning, another piece of backstory I'm still lacking is how Hap met Don in college. I have the feeling this is too important not to figure out in advance, because it will color Hap's whole attitude about attending the week at Don's cabin. Q: What kind of person was Don in college? A: He was a dual business and computer science major. As a computer science major he was a geek who preferred to stay in the data center (don't forget this was in the 1980s before there was a computer on everyone's desk). But as a business major he developed a feel for contacts and politics and did a certain amount of schmoozing at fraternity parties. I might make some of his sex stories about the sorority girls and so on. Q: Maybe it would be better to ask...