The Alien Hitchhiker
I've been quiet on the blogging front this year because my writing energies have been devoted to a novel. Yes, I'm writing a book. Sorry, a manuscript (according to those who know more about this stuff than me).
I've quietly wondered for a while if I could write a book. Writing a blog post is fun and relatively easy. One topic, bit of a rant, blast it out.
But writing a whole book is another kettle of fish. Keeping the plot interesting for 80,000+ words, character development, scene setting, grammar, pace, tone. It's a little like jumping from the quad bike that you rip confidently around the farm on to driving an 18 wheeler the length of the country.
So I decided that the only way to find out if I could do it, is to start. And surprisingly, I'm not too far out of Invercargill now. I have to say it has been a surprisingly enjoyable journey. I've been down a few side roads, but no major crashes, and I haven't run out of diesel yet.
Abe is his name. He is from a planet called Granity. He visits Earth on his OE (just like we visit countries on our OEs). Abe and his fellow countrymen are descended from the same original humans as we are, but their race is far more evolved.
Abe observes the irrationality of our behavior and he manages to get caught up in a Russian plot to become a genuine superpower. I think it is a great read. But of course all our children are beautiful.
I have been asked who is my target audience. When I say it is me, I can tell they are lengthening my odds of making the NY Times best seller list to something equivalent of winning a $20m powerball. Twice. In a row.
No matter. It's fun. And they have yet to be proven otherwise.
One unintended consequence is that my typing has improved significantly. 76,000 words will do that to you. So if I get made redundant I could become someone's typist (assuming that's still a job these days).
My plan is to finish this galloping yarn over xmas, and then find someone who knows what they are talking about to help me turn it into something publishable. The next job will be to get it into print, and then let Netflix and Disney duke it out for the movie rights.
This could be a very easy way to make a lot of money and snag a bit of fame along the way. Or just be a fun hobby. Either is good.
