Having a strange week that may get better or worse in the next day. Rather than work through into Chapter 3 I've spent a couple of hours going back through Chapter 2 and refining the details. There actually isn't much in the way of dialogue but the few bits that are serve to highlight a few things about the characters' perspectives in their own words. Everything else is third person narration, mostly following Careless as she wakes up.
It sounds trivial I know, but waking up is an amazing time of sustained thought. When we wake we simultaneously plan the day and try to reach into the abyss we have woken from. Perhaps it the half-asleep way we stumble into our routine that puts us in touch with our unconscious thoughts. It feels natural to draw out the process so that Careless thinks about her past and allows a natural exposition of how her and Daniel came to be in New York.
A number of problems are established, notably around the scars she has across her midsection and back. Scars will be a motif that indicate a character's past feeling closer. It might appear simple, or perhaps nuts, but it makes sense in the context I'm building.
I've started reading Martin Booth's 'A Very Private Gentlemen' and am in awe of his prose. Entirely fluent and original the descriptions and time he takes to build his protagonist is incredible. The use of first person narration allows this, but the attention to detail in establishing setting (and a menacing mood of mystery to boot) is inspiring. The use of his craft is of the highest caliber, so I'm hoping the story goes somewhere. The slow build is great though so, in writing tonight, I've probably tried to go back through Chapter 2 and slow it down. It can be a good idea to tell the character's story at an early juncture, and move the plot from there. Having something happen to Daniel and Careless will mean more when you know who they are and how they came to be. There is some mention now of why they work as a couple, though it is entirely Careless' perspective at this point (despite the third person narration), and it is only a mention of the contradictory nature of their personalities.
No doubt we will hear Daniel's side at some point, thought the early stages of this novel will be very much a story of the heroine.
On another note I watched 'Machete.' How frickin good is Danny Trejo?? An awesome, over-the-top, stunt film. Just insanity. At the same time, I was saddened by how far Robert DeNiro was fallen. He was The Man at one time, and is not in a B-Grade blood & guts action flick and it doesn't feel like a big deal. A shame. Overall though it was a smashing good time. Started watching The Godfather trilogy again too. Despite the flaws in the third film it is one of the better stories ever told. Ambiguous characters, an excellent script, and perfect use of symbols and motifs.
Maybe my mood here was helped by the fact I've been listening to a lot of metal lately- Arch Enemy, Slipknot, Slayer and The Haunted.
Or may the dark clouds are gathering.
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