Some NANOWRIMO Thoughts

It’s probably obvious I haven’t been here for a while. My writing output has suffered with my new hobby of producing writing tools—turning pens. I’ve long collected pens and now making them by hand with a lathe has become a wonderful diversion. Even with that, though, my writing bug has not gone away.

There are as many writing processes as there are writers in the world. November being national novel writing months (NANOWRIMO), I thought I would jot down the way things work for me.

All my first drafts of everything I write exceeding a paragraph in length are handwritten—pen and paper. I envy those that can compose in front of a keyboard, but that is not me. My preferred tools are a fountain pen and pad or notebook. I love the feel of ink flowing onto the page the way it does from a well tuned nib. When the ideas are flowing fast and free, my hand can barely keep up with what my brain is producing. When the muse isn’t working, words on the page—any words—are better than nothing.

The second draft starts (it’s still really the first draft) when I type the handwritten content into a word document. Obvious mistakes are corrected, and word changes, easy edits, and similar content revisions happen here. These are not major; more of a clean-up.

Then the real work starts. A printer is my best friend. I edit and revise best on paper. Scribbles, scratches, revisions all get made by pen on the printed copy. For books, this doesn’t happen until the entire “first” draft is done, typed into the manuscript. The changes then get typed into the document and the process starts over again; print, edit and revise, type. On a book, I may do this five or six times before I consider it “done.”

Another part of the conceptual process is commonly divided into two schools; plotters or pantsers. Plotters have an outline which can range from simple to incredibly complex before they begin writing. Seat of the pants writers just let things flow.

For fiction, I fall into the latter camp. The story and characters tell me where they want to go, sometimes surprising me. For non-fiction, though, the outline rules. If this seems inconsistent, I plead guilty. All I know is it works for me. 

Writers spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about process and comparing theirs to others; not in a negative way but always hoping for ideas on how to get better. This is mine—for now at least—and it works for me. 

And now it's even more fun doing it with a pen I made myself.  

It's Out!

Now available on Amazon, The Education of Stuart McGrath. In paperback or Kindle. Grab a copy today right here

Stuart McGrath, the mayor’s erstwhile assistant, tells the tale of his meteoric rise (don’t meteors fall?) from volunteer campaign worker to chief of staff for third term Mayor Nathan Higgins. With a new degree in political science, Stuart is fascinated by electoral politics and Scranton, and when he gets the opportunity to fuse them by appointment as the high titled but low paid chief of staff to the mayor, his real education begins.

In the style of political satirists Christopher Buckley and P.J. O’Rourke, Gary Ryman looks at small city America as personified by Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Hard scrabble fading coal town, Joe Biden blue collar mecca, home of Dunder Mifflin paper, Scranton is all of these and none of these.  City government is however, a combination soap opera and situation comedy and Stuart is up for best supporting actor. With inspiration from television and newspapers—sources of questionable accuracy at best—Ryman puts his own spin on how the city runs (or doesn’t). 

The Education of Stuart McGrath

A New Novel On The Way!

I treat announcements like this with the importance of the birth of a child, an engagement, election of a Pope, or a projected retirement date—that one’s looking more important every day. Recognizing that others do not consider such news in the same categories, I humbly ask you to read on anyway, and share with your friends. 

Coming soon—which means hopefully within a month or so—my new novel, The Education of Stuart McGrath. This book enters new ground for me, political satire. While I profess no expertise in the political arena, in fact just the opposite—profound ignorance—I can read a newspaper and view the internet with the best of them. These days, that’s all I needed to inspire this work. 

So what’s it about? Stuart McGrath, the mayor’s erstwhile assistant, tells the tale of his meteoric rise (don’t meteors fall?) from volunteer campaign worker to chief of staff for third term Mayor Nathan Higgins. With a new degree in political science, Stuart is fascinated by electoral politics and Scranton, and when he gets the opportunity to fuse them by appointment as the high titled but low paid chief of staff to the mayor, his real education begins. Hard scrabble fading coal town, Joe Biden blue collar mecca, home of Dunder Mifflin paper, Scranton is all of these and none of these.  City government is however, a combination soap opera and situation comedy and Stuart is up for best supporting actor.

Updates will follow and as soon as I know more about the schedule, so will you.