A Writer's Mind

Several months ago, I released Wood’s Reward, the second, and much delayed, installment in the Early Adventures of Mac and Wood. My intent has always been to fill in the gap between Wood’s Relic, when Mac and Wood meet, to the first in the now ten-year-old world of Wood’s Reef, where Mac becomes the main character.

I’ve wanted to tell Trufante’s story, which is featured in Wood’s Quest, and how Wood got the island.

Writing in the Early series takes some intestinal fortitude. For one, the books are not quite a popular as the main series. Money is not my primary motivation for writing, but with REC 90, the ethanol free gas I use in my boat, hovering at five bucks a gallon, I’ve got to make some coin. I know, I’m pretty much retired, live in the Keys, and fish a lot, but still…

The other, and bigger, reason is that I don’t want to screw it up. Writing in the earlier world, I have to be aware of what I have written in what would be the future.

That’s a problem for me. Once I write something, I totally forget it. I’m constantly asking my editor, who did what or where. The easy answer is that I’m a pantser, not a plotter. I’ve tried all kinds of methods to outline my stories, but none work. My characters tend to do what they do and constantly go off script. Keeping a record of Mac and Wood’s world or a series bible, is way out of my reach.

I’m just starting on the next installment in the Tides of Fortune series and find that in the two years since the last one, I have forgotten everything. I’m going to have to reread Golden Gate and take notes before I get too far into the new book and screw it up.

Another reason, is that writing is a kind of catharsis for me. I have introduced characters based on ex-girlfriends, ex-wives, old conflicts, and even a National Parks Volunteer who pissed me off by not allowing our dog to go on our kayak at Everglades National Park. Some characters are based on the good guys I’ve encountered. Wood is based on an old carpenter I used to work with who we used to call the “Old Boy.” Some of them I memorialize, others I just kill to make me feel better. Pip, from the Mac Travis series, is the only character that is named after his real-life counterpart. Before introducing him, I made him sign a waiver that any complaining about my representation of him would see him killed off in the next book—in a violent and painful way.

This all brings me back to Wood’s Quest, which contains Trufante’s back story. The Cajun had been in all the Mac Travis books, and I have given snippets of his past. Now I have to remember what I’ve written about him—not an easy task for me.