A Wild First Week as a Writer

Is it Friday? Really? The entire week has felt like one Friday after the other. My first week as an author is drawing to a close, and it has been amazing. I’m sleeping in until 6:00, getting a full night of rest, relaxing (a little) in the evenings, and writing during the day. I may only be able to afford to do this for a year or so, but I’m going to enjoy every last second of it. I feel like I’m able to balance my passion with the rest of my life. It feels nice.

This has still been a packed week. It started with a talk at my hometown library on Sunday, which was a killer way of kicking off my career. On Wednesday, I spent an hour on the phone with three people from BBC Worldwide Productions, who want to turn WOOL into a TV series. Later that night, while I was sleeping, an agent whose name I recognized immediately emailed me to say that someone in her office couldn’t stop raving about WOOL, so she read the first book and would love to talk representation. Get this: Neither of them have finished the series yet. Their heads are gonna explode when they do! (Also: I’m Skyping with this agent this afternoon. Be interesting to hear what she has in mind on the literary side for the series).

But what about the writing, you ask? What have I been working on? Well, a few things. Despite the fact that WOOL 5 just came out a little over a week ago (two weeks early), and the herculean task of assembling the Omnibus Edition both for print and Kindle, I went right back to the keyboard and started the next adventures.

Allow me to warn you about them. One of these projects may never see the light of day; it’s simply too revolting. More on that at a later date. What you are probably dying to hear about is the next WOOL series. Guess what? There won’t be one. I’m trying (I may break down later, but I’m trying) to retire the name. There will be more Silo Stories, and the further adventures of the cast of WOOL 5 will be eventually told, but first I’m going to slow it back down and take you to the beginning.

One of the things that worked great with WOOL was the gradual build-up of the action. It started short and slow, and then each sequel got a little longer while picking up the pace. It culminated in what I thought was a nice crescendo, a satisfying climax. The problem with starting off from there and zooming forward is the chance of reader exhaustion. This is why action films get worse over time. They skip all the good character relation stuff from the beginning of the first film and come out guns-blazing. See FIRST BLOOD (vs. RAMBO), the TERMINATOR series, ALIEN(S), and PREDATOR.

So, you who wait with bated breath, prepare to be bored out of your minds with the next Silo Story.

But in a good way.

It’ll work in the end, I promise.


15 responses to “A Wild First Week as a Writer”

  1. First, Congratulations on your first week as an author! How exciting! Secondly, I am already excited about the new Silo Series! Will Juliette ever reunite with Solo?! I liked him. haha

    1. ******SPOILER ALERT*********
      *
      *
      *
      *
      *
      *
      *
      *

      maybe

  2. After having read the Wool series and found this site, I have to admit I am a slave to that stupid progress meter you post for your next Silo story. I check it at least once a day.

    I definitely see the value in taking a step back in the timeline. Stephen King did this in my all-time favorite series, The Dark Tower (Wool being a close second). While not keen on slowing it down, it did add to my overall appreciation of the world and the story he told.

    So, my question to you, how far back are you going? Pre-Silo days? I want know how it all began, or at least confirm the speculation taken place during the Wool series.

    I’m excited to see how it all started, and even more excited to see where it’s all going. For now though, I’ll enjoy the ride in between.

    Thanks for being so open with everything Wool. It makes the pain of mystery that much easier to bear.

    Oh yeah, get that I,Zombie story published!! I love the Walking Dead graphic novels, but need something more, and I think your story is it!

    1. Thanks for this feedback. If I decide to ever publish the horrendous gunk that is I, Zombie, it’s nice to know it’ll sell at least one copy.

  3. THIS: This is why action films get worse over time. They skip all the good character relation stuff from the beginning of the first film and come out guns-blazing.

    The sad thing is a lot of films these days don’t wait for a sequel, they come out guns blazing in the first ten minutes! It works in some movies (Private Ryan) but I’d rather have some foreplay first (pardon the crude expression).

    BBC, eh? Nice! Top Gear, Little Britain, and now Wool?! It’s my new favorite network. Now if I can only get them to play Leave it to Beaver reruns…..

  4. Hello,

    I just finished reading WOOL series for the second time. Can’t wait for the next book. Please, do not retire the series. This is by far the best post apocalyptic books out there. Just ordered a signed copy, that I will frame and hand it in my office for the world to see. I guess I will have to go through some withdraw and maybe read Molly Fyde. Congratulations on your new path in life.

    1. Thanks! It’s comments like these (and emails like I’m getting) that have me working on more Silo stuff. I hope you won’t be too disappointed with what comes next! :)

      -Hugh

  5. I’ve been wondering what channel would do well with the Wool series. I hadn’t even thought of the BBC yet and I’m definitely pleasantly surprised to hear it. I really enjoy Dr. Who and while I would expect a less “campy” approach with Wool, I think they could do an awesome job with it. Good luck with the talks! I’m excited to see everything that’s happened for you this week. My signed copy of Wool came today, so I’m glad to get it before the fame goes to your head! (I don’t expect it will, just saying, just in case.)

    1. Thanks, William. I’m glad I have the time and schedule to do signed copies myself like this. I can see, if I got twice as busy as I am now, having to set aside certain days to do a lot at once. Right now, it’s manageable. Though, I have been to the post office every day this week with a stack, so I can imagine how it eventually becomes difficult to do.

      You’ll always be able to say you “knew me when.” (Whether that’s “when I was a relative nobody” or “back when I was at the height of my temporary fame” remains to be seen. :)

  6. I’m like you Zygote- I check this page every day since I have discovered it and get excited when I see those progress bars crawling up!

    I, too, would like to know more about pre-silo days or at least the days while the silos were being built. I’m sure all of us have our predictions about how they came to be, and it would be great getting to see the real history behind them.

    I always wonder about the books that Lukas and Solo were reading in the secret IT room- I wonder how accurate the books about world history were. How far back did they go? There is SOOO much I want to know about the silo world!!!

    1. Jill, I think the next little trilogy is going to please you.

  7. Congrats and congrats! Sweetness. And yes, I’d like a story from the priests’ perspective. You know what I’m talking about ;)

  8. Congratulations! I’m going to be happy to say “I knew him when.” I’ll be bringing my signed copy of Wool over to my dad’s for Superbowl Sunday to pass along to him to read. Hopefully, it will inspire him to buy the omnibus. I need someone to read these books so I can talk about it with them.

  9. I just gotta say: OMFG THE EFFING BBC?!???
    No really, that’s awesome. Better them the likes of certain US networks that make awesome shows only to cancel them mid-season.
    But really, I can totally see the Wool series handled properly by the BBC. (Speaking of, have you seen Sherlock? It’s on Netflix and holy damn, that dialog is killer!)
    Anyho, congrats. I’m catching up with your blog, now that I have Wool 5 consumed.

    1. I’ll check out Sherlock. And thanks for reading and the feedback!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *