"Casual Conversation"

When I was in college, I took a creative writing course that focused on short fiction. In the class I wrote a story called "Casual Conversation" that was all dialogue (with no tags) that took place in a coffee house. It was a lot of fun to write, and as I've been working on my coffee house book, I've discovered there might be a home for that story (or part of it, at least) in the book. I don't know yet if I'm going to use snatches of conversation here and there or if I'll take the whole story and include it in one of the scenes.

I really like this story because it was a time I took a risk and it worked. And it has an atmosphere I'm trying to create with the coffee house book.

Even if I decide to leave it out, I'm going to play with it in the manuscript and see what happens. After all, who knows what could develop from trying to add even snippets of "Casual Conversation" into the story. It could take yet another turn and come out even stronger!

I'm going to need to do some research this week on landlords, leases, renter's insurance, etc. for the section on the landlord. There won't be a ton of jargon in the story, but I need to have a better idea of how renting works from the landlord's perspective, as well as needing to know about renting commercial/retail property. It will help me understand the relationship between the landlord and the owner of the coffee house. The landlord makes...interesting decisions...and there needs to be strong reasoning behind them, even if that reasoning is flawed.

If I keep working the way I have been, I should be in a place to set the coffee house book aside for November, which would be a good thing. I wouldn't feel like I have to divide my time between NaNo and the coffee house book.

What's even better is that I'll be able to send some scenes out to readers to satiate them, at least for a while. (Thank you for being so patient!)

Prasad(a) Update

I've been happily working (although a little slowly) on the coffee house book. I have to discard much of what I wrote before, but the book will be better for it, so I'm happy to red-X many of the pages in my folder. And if I continue to use my writing time wisely, I'll be finished with the first draft soon!

The new path of the book is leading me to do new research, which I'm enjoying. I'm a bit of a nerd, so I love learning about new things and learning more about things I'm somewhat familiar with. I think I'm going to have to make a trip to Barnes & Noble this week to get a couple of reference books. (I know...what a tragedy!) In the meantime, I'm bookmarking a lot of websites and taking lots of notes on my yellow notepads here and there around my office. I think I'm going to need a proper filing cabinet soon!

I'll keep scribbling, and soon my dear readers will have something to get them by until the book gets published!

Prasad(a) Update

I realized I haven't given anyone any news about my coffee house book lately, and since I know you're all eagerly awaiting its publication, I thought I'd give you a little nibble.

It's not going to be done in time for the novel contest I was originally going to enter. There's far too much work that needs to be done on it. It's a little sad that I won't be entering, but I'm excited for the changes I'm making on the book. It's going to make it much more cohesive and I think a better book overall.

I have a few people who will be reading sections once they're finished. Those people don't have to wait too much longer. I have a section or two almost ready to be proofread, so just hang on a little longer!

I went to Starbucks Tuesday for a little inspiration. It helped. I got home and worked on one of the sections for a couple of hours. I felt incredibly productive! If I keep it up, I could be finished with my rough draft sooner than I thought.

Happy scribbling!

Prasad(a) is Given Voice!

I've had a breakthrough with my coffee house book. I think I was having trouble getting into it because it was a rather large undertaking that didn't have a real direction. It was a collection tied loosely by a fine thread, but I've come up with a connection that I think will greatly strengthen the book.

Prasad(a) is food that is offered to a deity, and then given to believers by a saint/religious leader. I named the coffee house Prasad(a) to play with the idea that coffee is divine and a gift, and the baristas are like priests and priestesses passing out this blessed food at a sort of altar to believers: the customers.

So I'm altering the "chapters" of the book to fit into this religious framework. I think it will give the book a much-needed unity, and will be a hell of a lot of fun to write.

There's more, but I don't want to reveal too much. When (if?) I get the book published, I'd much rather have you clamoring to read it than ready to review it because you read my blog regularly.

So I'll be dropping hints, perhaps posting snippets, and enticing you until you're ready to help me write queries in order to get it published!