Novel Territory

I crossed the threshold this week, and I'm pleased to announce that my work-in-progress The Last LawKeeper is officially a novel. At a little over sixty thousand words, it feels like the story is somewhere near the halfway point. The world is built, the characters are fleshed out, all the conflicts and mysteries are amping up. I've got plenty left to write, but I'm okay with how much I've been able to wordsmith over the course of the summer. At the end of this month, I'll be back at the day job (my 28th year in education), and I'm thinking I'll be able to churn out another 10K by then. That's the goal, anyway, and I'm sticking to it.

My reading playlist during this novel-writing process has been an interesting assortment. I always like to be in the middle of a good book or few while I'm drafting, and this time I've been strategic about finding my inspiration. I started out with Conan by Robert E. Howard for the epic action and adventure and world-building. Then I moved on to Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey to get a feel for the old-school western. Since then, I've been reading a collection of Ray Bradbury's early short stories, because I've always appreciated his poetic prose. And to top it off, I'm re-reading The Gunslinger by Stephen King, because one does not simply write a post-apocalyptic western without revisiting one of the best post-apocalyptic westerns of all time.

As far as my musical playlist goes, I've been listening to a bunch of instrumental post-rock courtesy of the local library: pg.lost, This Will Destroy You, Toundra, Collapse Under the Empire, Caspian, and If These Trees Could Talk. The absence of lyrics keeps me focused on the words I'm slinging, and the atmospheric music works well as a soundtrack for all the scenes in my head. "Silent Hills" by Lanterna would work great as theme music, should The Last LawKeeper ever become a movie, streaming series, or video game. One can dream, right?