Rambling About Writing

I've been working on book three in the Mark Taylor Series and while I have a plot outlined, I was struggling. You see, plot is the hardest part for me. Not the actual planning of it, but the execution and trying to make it interesting and to keep it moving forward. I imagine lots of writers have this problem. I would sit down to write for an hour or so, and be lucky to squeeze out 400 words.

This week, I had a breakthrough. I don't really know what it was, just that I came to some scenes that are the kinds I love to write--where the character is feeling lost and alone and about to lose everything. It also explains why some readers don't click with my books. While mine do fall into the thriller/suspense genre, they probably have more inner angst than typical thrillers, which appeal to readers who love non-stop action and peril for the protagonist. I enjoy those books too, but also love ones that slow down to explore how the character is feeling about all the turmoil  that surrounds him.

For instance, to evoke the sense of hopelessness, I slowed down No Good Deed on purpose. I wanted a sense of the time Mark had spent in prison to come across and for readers to despair along with him. I think I was attempting capture the emotions I felt when I was researching and reading the memos from prison officials, which included some notes from a chaplain who visited the prisoner they were discussing. The chaplain relayed how depressed the prisoner felt, along with the inability of the prisoner to judge the passage of time any longer.

While I'm on the subject of No Good Deed, I'd like to comment on the political aspect of the book. I am not voicing an opinion on whether the real enemy combatants deserved that punishment or not, although some readers have attached a political motive to No Good Deed, I can assure people that the book is not a statement or opinion about government policy, just how I imagined it would be like for a human being to undergo that kind of treatment, and how those feelings would be even more enhanced if my character was completely innocent.

In Deeds of Mercy, I have some chapters from a 'bad guy's" pov.  I am trying really hard to not portray him as evil, but to imagine what he feels, politically or personally, and not pass my own judgement on his motives. If I did, I think it could come across as a caricature. I'm sure he doesn't consider himself evil, and has hopes and dreams just like anyone.