Fred Fanning's Blog - Posts Tagged "novel"

As I write my first novel I find that researching the details to make the story line relevant. Having published three non-fiction books I am used to doing research for those topics, but was surprised at the level of research needed for a fiction novel. I do realize how important an accurate and believable story line is and will do the research necessary to write the best novel I can.

I have signed up for the NaNoWriMo 2014. This is my second try. My first try I only completed a little over 16,000 words. This time I have taken some advice and completed a list of characters and an outline. I think these two items will help me win this time.

I am still participating in the National Novel Writing Month contest. I hit a wall at about 28,000 and now at 36,000 it is getting harder to come up with things to say in the novel. The best advice I have heard over the years for times like this is just keep writing. That is what I am doing.

I made it today. I completed a 50,000 word novel. I won the National Novel Writing Month. The novel I started is not the same one I finished. As the story developed it took turns I had not seen before it was written. I will now rewrite the novel so it all flows in the same vein it ends.

The setting for my first novel was post-Cold War Berlin. The picture I have attached is of the no man’s land between East and West Berlin where people were actually killed for trying to escape communism to the West. My family and I lived in West Germany when the Iron Curtain fell in Europe. Less than a year later we moved to Berlin just before the reunification of Germany. We lived there for four years, leaving in 1994 when the US Army left Berlin. The first year we lived in Berlin was very exciting. The Soviet Union was had severe budget problems and Soviet Soldiers who were stationed at Potsdam, Germany were selling military equipment in the streets of Berlin and flea markets. This didn’t go unnoticed. The German Police started a crackdown to prevent this equipment, which at times included small arms would not get into the hands of criminals. My wife actually saw these items being sold on one of her trips to the flea markets. As the unification of Germany began to be implemented East German factories and government workers were laid off. They received unemployment benefits, but their morale was at rock bottom. Several former NAZI officers took this opportunity to buy these unemployed men a beer and explain to them that the immigrants were the problem. Thus began a resurgence of Neo-NAZIs. Immigrants were beaten by drunken gangs. There was also an increase in crime in the city. Before unification Berlin was a safe city, women could ride the subway system without fear of being attacked. Unfortunately, this came to an end when an old lady was killed for her purse. The German Police cracked down on crimes, but they found several Neo-NAZIs within the police force. The Americans in Berlin were spared most of this crime. The real focus was on immigrants with the cry of “immigrants out.” I cannot imagine a better scene for a murder mystery. Unfortunately, I took no action on the idea for over 18 years.

I finished the author's editing of my novel Mysteries at Devil's Elbow. I sent it to the editor and she will have it back to me the third week of July. I also have three beta readers lined up to review. Hoping to publish it this winter.

I received my novel back from the editor. I will now take a couple of weeks to review and make the changes she suggested. This is a difficult process. In some cases, I will have to rewrite large sections of the novel.

Finished review the editor's comments and recommendations on the book Mystery at Devil's Elbow. Sent it back to her for the second review. Also contracted for book cover today.

I also sent the manuscript to a second editor to check for continuity. He returned comments and recommendations. I am working on them now. Hoping to finish next week.

Today I received the comments and recommendations from the second review of my novel "Mystery at Devil's Elbow." It will take me about one week to go through these and I hope to send the book to my beta readers for their review.