Joe Clifford Faust's Blog

So it’s a long story, but the TL;DR version is, around the time I turned 40, I decided it was time I taught myself to play the guitar. I just wanted to play some Al Stewart songs, but as soon as I could jump from E minor to G, songs started coming out of me, and I never did learn Stewart’s Modern Times.

I ended up with quite a backlog of songs I didn’t do anything with because I couldn’t play well enough to do them justice and I certainly can’t sing them well, even though I was writing for my own voice.

So my song catalog was destined to languish until I remembered my great Uncle Carl Binum, and how he would write songs about the history of the state of Arizona. And because those songs were all in his head, they all left the planet with no record when he passed.

So I decided to find some way to preserve the songs I’d written, and decided to go the YouTube route to do it, with cross-postings on Facebook. To separate the music from my books, I chose to perform them under a different name, and because I liked the music of several artists who are solo acts that record as a band name – Brad Sucks, Eels, Badly Drawn Boy – that’s the route I chose. And the name I picked was Just A File Clerk. The reason? Well, there’s probably a whole future post on that.

Once I worked out all those details, I determined this would be the year I started getting those songs down in earnest, and here’s the first. There will be others. You have been warned…

Some time ago my son ran across this current (more or less) day review of Desperate Measures. It’s an interesting take on the book, with one of the principals reflecting on it having read it decades ago, another having recently read it, and the third not having read it at all, IIRC (uncertain because I watched this some time ago and thought I’d posted it here – turns out I hadn’t).

Anyway, enjoy. Or discuss. Whatever.

I recently found myself on the debut episode of a new podcast, Two Chairs and a Camera, which concerns itself with all things writing. I had a great conversation with Author Alexxa, during which we discuss who shot first in Star Wars, I pontificate on what makes good television, and reveal misterbob from the Angel’s Luck Trilogy. Plus, for the first time ever, I do a reading from my current WIP. Enjoy!

(Once upon a time when the web was young and before the blogosphere bubble burst, I used to frequently get emails from people asking me questions about the various aspects of writing. I would dutifully answer, then decide that what I’d written would make a great blog post, and post a slightly edited version of it. But that hasn’t happened in quite a while.

(Then, a couple of days ago, I got such an email. And I did my dutiful answer. And then I realized I hadn’t done a post about the writing process in a looooong time. I thought about putting it up. Decided not to because I’d already covered the subject. Changed my mind again because I realized that 1), my ‘Novels 101′ post would be buried beneath years’ worth of other posts, and 2), my outlook on it is likely to have changed.

(So here, then, is what I wrote to a friend of mine about how to start one’s first novel. And to be above board, I have no financial stake in sales of the book or the software I recommend. I’m simply a huge fan of both. Here we go…)

How does one go about starting to write their first novel? Good question. I’ll try to answer without turning it into a novel unto itself.

The best thing you can do is hie thee to Amazon and pick up a copy of this book, Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print by Lawrence Block. Block is a book writing machine and knows his stuff. He’s got several books out there about writing, most of them compiled from the years he spent writing a column about fiction in Writer’s Digest magazine (remember magazines?). This book is brilliant for beginners (Unsolicited endorsement: I have bought and given many copies of this to friends who wanted to write and have recommended it countless more times).

This was an important book to me because I was once sitting where you were wondering where to start and how to do it. And there’s a trap when you’re looking for that. Many writers insist that The Only Right Way [TM] to write a book is their way.

Some examples: you must have an outline. Create a big outline, one that’s at least 1/3 the length of your book (in Hollywood, this is called a treatment). Don’t move on to the next sentence until the one you’re working on is perfect. Take file cards and use one for each character, each prop, each incident, each event, each conflict, put them in order, pick up your first card, put it in front of you, and start writing.

None of this stuff appealed to me because I had tried outlining and discovered that, once I had the outline, I lost interest in the story because I knew how it turned out. For me, part of the mystery was writing to find out what happened next. One day, in despair, I sat down at the typewriter (remember those?) and said, “I don’t care if it means I’m not a real writer. I want to write this book and I’m just going to start writing and see what happens.”

Best thing I could have done. Because a short time later, I found Block’s book and he vindicated me by saying (and I’m paraphrasing here because it’s been a while since I’ve read it): “There is no right way to write a novel. The best way for you to write a novel is what works best for you.”

So this is where you are. And it sounds like you’re not far off from the way I work. Usually when I start a book, I know what it’s going to be about, I know what the opening scene is going to be, and I know how it is going to end. I say usually because things happen while you’re writing. The ending can change (A Death of Honor). There is no ending in mind until one presents itself (The Company Man). You have only a vague idea of what the book is even about and your contract says you’re on deadline (Precious Cargo). Just taking notes that start sounding like chapters and all of a sudden you’re writing a novel (The Smart One).

Basically, I start writing with no outline. As I keep going, the story starts falling into place, and an outline starts forming in my head and gets so big I eventually have to start writing it down. So 100 years from now when they are going through my archives (ha!), they’ll notice that I seem to have written the first third of the book without an outline. Yeah. Pretty much.

This is what makes the first novel particularly challenging. Technically, all novels are first novels (exception: series novels, or series character novels, which tend to be built on some kind of template or formula – I’m looking at you, Janet Evanovich – all tend to feel like the same book over and over again) because you’ve never written them before (my current project? I had to really wrestle out the words on two of the last three chapters I’ve written – and this is book #13 for me). But the first novel, the very first novel, is particularly a challenge because you’re on a voyage of discovery: discovering your story, discovering if you have the mettle to cross the finish line, and particularly, discovering how your brain works and what your actual process is for writing a novel.

So… at the risk of taking all of the joy out of it… you need to sit down and start plugging away. See how it works out for you. If something isn’t working, change tactics. Start outlining. If you’re outlining, quit. Try to figure out what’s holding you back. I should add here that, as you keep at it, your writing methodology will evolve – count on it this first time. And it’ll keep happening – I certainly don’t work the same way I did early on, and it had nothing to do with switching from paper to computer screen.

Now, some Universal Tips for Writing a Novel:

Don’t expect it to be easy. It isn’t. And it shouldn’t be. As one writer put it, “Writing is easy. You just stare at a blank page until drops of blood appear on your forehead” (Faust’s paraphrase). What it is, is satisfying as you see the page count rise.
The most important muscle of the writer’s body? The Gluteus Maximus. Park it in a chair, put your finger on the keys, and start writing (unless you’re like Thomas Wolfe, who wrote standing up and used the top of a refrigerator as his desk – he was a tall dude. He also never numbered pages and threw each finished page onto the floor. Not recommended.).
Take heart in the fact that, the more you write, the better at it you will get.
You must treat it like a job – albeit part-time for starters. Set up a schedule. Hour or two a day. Take weekends and holidays off if you want. Or write all day Saturday if you want. Regular schedule. Make it a habit. It’s that important.
Overwhelmed? Consider the power of One Page a Day. Can you write one page (one manuscript page = 220 – 250 words)? Sure! Who can’t? Do that five days a week, take off weekends and holidays, and at the end of a year you will have ~60,000 words. (Hint: the novel starts at 40,000 words.) ( Pro tip: when I don’t feel like writing on a writing day, I have a deal with myself to write at least one page. Because who can’t write one page, right? And usually by the time I’m a page into it, my brain is in gear and I get my day’s allotment of writing done.)
(To keep in mind for later): You made it to the last page? Yeah! Sit back and celebrate with an adult beverage. Then remind yourself you’re not done. Set the book aside and don’t look at it, don’t even think about it, for at least a month. ( Pro Tip: good time to start a new writing project.) Then go back in and start editing. It’ll be easy because you’ll be a better writer than you were when you started, and you’ll see all the mistakes you made. (Note: I still see changes I’d love to make in my published books, which is why I can’t read them once they’re in print.)
For right now, don’t worry about proper manuscript formatting. That’s the easy part, especially with modern software. The key right now is to get words on paper (archaic metaphor for “computer screen”).

Finally, here’s my recommendation of some software that will meet your needs no matter how you end up writing. Though you can actually write any way you want. Pencil and paper. One of those charmingly archaic typewriters (I wrote 2 1/2 novels on one of those beasts!). Microsoft Word (which I used since Version 1.0). A roll of teletype paper (which Vonnegut used to write the first draft of Breakfast of Champions). Pigeon’s blood on a rat’s pelt. Whatever works. I abandoned Word for this because it’s designed for writers, has powerful tools (I love the file card feature), has templates for whatever you want to write – novels, screenplays, comic book scripts, it’s Mac/PC/iOS friendly, and is only ~$60. Not necessary, but something to think about.

And that’s what I have for you. Like I said, a novel in itself. Good luck!

PS. If you use AI… any AI… even the smallest hint of AI… while doing this, I will hurt you. Badly.

Courtesy of my friends at the Massillon Public Library, I’m going to be doing my book signing, meeting and greeting thing again. I’ll also be doing a 10 minute, family friendly talk about something. I don’t know what yet, but I have some ideas. All I know is, since it’s family friendly, I likely won’t be reading from the WIP.

Here’s a link to more details, and below is a spiffy graphic they sent with pretty much the same info. Hope to see all of you there!

Here’s a link to a story about NaNoWriMo – a/k/a National Novel Writing Month – and the shenanigans they’ve just perpetrated when it comes to their stance on AI. If you don’t want to read it, here’s the key graf that explains their new stance:

“The NaNoWriMo’s specific reasoning for showing its support for the burgeoning technology (including using it in its yearly novel writing challenge) includes its ability to allow those who may not have the financial or creative means to overcome the various difficulties that can come from writing.”

Give me a break.

No financial means? Tell that to J.K. Rowling, who was down and out and on welfare and still managed to write the first Harry Potter novel at a table rented for the price of a cup of coffee.

No creative means? Hey, writing is *supposed* to be hard. If you don’t have friction, if you don’t wrestle the words onto the page, you’re going to get garbage. Creativity thrives on it. If you’re not creative enough to force words onto paper, maybe you need to find another way to creatively express yourself.

You know, I’ve always stayed neutral about #NaNoWriMo. I felt I didn’t need it to jump start a novel, but I had no problem with someone giving it a try to see if they had it in them do go the distance. The only issue I really had with it was that it tried to make a sprint out of a process that is actually a marathon.

Not anymore. Their stand on AI is tone deaf and removes all the creativity from the creative process.

This, combined with some other serious missteps by their management (see the article), has brought an end to my benevolent tolerance of them.

I’m done putting up with you, #NaNoWriMo. I’m washing my hands.

So I’ve been looking this blog over and it’s time that I renovated it. The problem is, it’s going to be a while. I’m in the middle of a new novel (more on that in a bit) and have a bunch – too many really – of other projects begging for my attention. But at least it’s on my radar now.

Meantime, let’s catch up, starting with the new book. The working title – the last few projects I’ve been hesitant to divulge what I think will be the actual title – is The UFO Novel. Appropriately enough, it’s about the effect that the crash of a UAP (the new parlance) has on a small town. Well, ostensibly that’s what it’s about. There’s a lot of human drama involved, and it’s probably closer to a literary novel than anything else. There, I said it. Did I jinx it?

I’ve been working on it since 2012. Though that’s a bit disingenuous. I rolled on it for a while, completing Part One and rolling into early Part Two when live intervened. My wife Connie had a catastrophic illness in late 2014, around the time that I stopped work on UFO to get Drawing Down the Moon ready for publication. Then it became really catastrophic, and I became her caregiver until she passed in May of 2021. And 2021 wasn’t just a bad year for her. I had two major health crises in the months after she left. Work continued on the book, just very – extremely – sporadically.

Somewhere in that six-year span of looking after Connie, another novel squeaked out of me, The Smart One, a comic crime novel wherein I wore my influences on my sleeve (see the dedication page). This book was an uninvited guest. A scene popped into my head. I wrote it up to file it away for later. A few days later another scene popped into my head that seemed to piggyback with the first. Then a third scene came and I realized I had a novel on my hands. Since I was juggling time with Connie, I mentally designed it so I could write a chapter in one sitting. I literally wrote the book in 58 days, although it was spread out over probably 90. You know. Weekends, holidays, doctor appointments. Either way, a personal record for me.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom with intermittent cloudy days during which I wrote. Connie and I had some good times. I stayed active in community theater when I wasn’t writing (too hard to divide creative energies and do both – I have frequently had to choose between a juicy role in a play or working on a book, never an easy thing). Did some travelling, and even got to knock an item off my bucket list – I was a featured extra in the film White Boy Rick, and even made the final cut. My uncredited, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment comes toward the film’s end, when, as a courtroom bailiff, I deliver the verdict to the judge. Shooting the scene was a long but fun day. Matthew McConaughey came within an inch of (accidentally) smacking me in the nose, and I got my Movie Geek moment when I literally brushed shoulders with Bruce Dern as he moved through the crowded set back to his mark.

So that’s the busy life of a writer who is not writing full time because life. Things are settling down into a groove now, and about four months ago I heard the siren cry of unfinished The UFO Novel and started sitting down in earnest to see if I could make some progress. And there’s been great progress. After wrestling with a couple of chapters, I’ve reached the point where the chain reaction is taking place, and the book is now writing itself in my head. I’ve been writing a chapter a week, celebrating the completion of each by posting a short excerpt on my Facebook writer’s page, where I also post observations and snark about writing life (maybe the reason this blog has been gathering dust as well).

Now to come full circle: the other day it occurred to me that I should be posting those excerpts here as well. Took a look at the old homestead and decided it needed work first. Then one of the characters in the novel decided to boost their cause with a hashtag, and I thought maybe I should have a place dedicated to that marker. You know, for the purposes of promotion and possible virality.

Thus was born #FindJessAndMike, It’s clean looking and will be free of the clutter that I’ve managed to gunk this place up with. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be posting all the excerpts I’ve put on Facebook so far, starting with Chapter 1, and once caught up will continue to do so as I finish subsequent chapters and, eventually, the novel.

I don’t know how long it will take to finish the writing. The book is a beast. I’ve been deleting scenes and cutting subplots as I go, and still it keeps growing. I’m certain it’s going to be my longest novel, easily blowing past my recent Author’s Intended Edition of Fermans Devals. I’m thinking it’ll be done by Spring of 2025. Then I’ll let it sit for a while, open it back up and edit it, and try to get into final draft mode by the end of that year. I don’t know if I’ll try and market it or just publish it myself. I’m leaning toward the latter. It’s faster and I get what I want out of it.

So there you have it. Where I’ve been and why this place has been such a ghost town. There are still some signs of life around here, but I’m going to have to do some weed whacking and painting to see if it resuscitates.

Meantime, see you around on the bookshelf and some other places.

Oh, and #FindJessAndMike.

It’s Local Author Book Signing season in Northeast Ohio. I’ve managed to fill three Saturdays in March with these blessed events. Sorry, no tour merch, i.e., T-Shirts available. But how many of you out there would be interested in a plushie version of misterbob?

Yours truly will be appearing along with a host of others. Bring your book budget and a wheelbarrow. And make some room on your bookshelves…

(Here’s a link to their Facebook page if you’d like more info…)