Thursday, August 05, 2010

I'm gonna be a real pulp fiction writer tomorrow

Something I've wanted to do for a very, very long time: I'm going to write a novel tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow. I'll start after I've had breakfast and stop only for eating and showering. My goal is to write a novel (or rather a novella) of 15,000 to 20,000 words, so it's something Harry Whittington might've done to be published as an other side of an Ace Double. (Or perhaps a bit shorter.)

I remember I tried to do this already in the eighties, when I was a teenager. I'd read how Chandler had written the screenplay for The Blue Dahlia and I dreamed of a hotel room with only me and my typewriter. Nothing came out of it. I tried again in the nineties. I bought a bottle of whiskey, but that certainly didn't help my writing. I don't think I got anywhere with that.

But now I know more about writing and all that comes along with it. At least I know better not to touch alcohol during the process. And I'll be at home alone, since Elina and Kauto left just now to visit Elina's parents. It's a great benefit.

What will the book be about? It will be a Joe Novak novel, about my private eye hero, whose sometimes pathetic adventures I've been chronicating for almost 20 years. He appears in my self-published novel Outoa huminaa, Joe Novak and in a dozen short stories. (One of these days I'll do a collection.) The story will be based around this unused cover Jukka Murtosaari did for a magazine I never got around to doing - I guess one of those guys is Joe Novak. I'll take the lettering out and smack the illo on the book cover. As for the actual plot, I've been carrying an idea with me for some time now and I think this is the best time to use it.

So, wish me good luck! I'll be on Facebook giving away the word counts during the day.

PS. Don't forget Barry Malzberg's 60,000-word novel written in one day! And he didn't have to resort to self-publishing!

8 comments:

Frank Loose said...

Go for it! Sounds like fun, and a challenge. Are you going to outline or free form it?

Juri said...

I don't think I'll be outlining, unless in my head during tonight. Maybe I won't be able to sleep. :)

Brian Busby said...

I wish you all the best. Your effort reminds me of the 3-Day Novel Contest. I twice attempted - both times failing to write much more than 30,000 words.

My best advice: free form it. You'll be surprised where your exhausted, sleep-deprived mind will take you.

Todd Mason said...

OK, but you aren't a pulp writer unless you're writing for a pulp magazine...chronicling Joe Novak or otherwise...you have to produce a pulp magazine that the Novak story can be the lead novelet in ("Complete in this issue"). Break a pencil!

Juri said...

C'mon, Todd, you know that's not what I meant by "pulp writer"! Should've I written "I'm gonna be a real you-know-this-stuff-should've-been-published-in-an-ancient-paperback-or-a-pulp-magazine-kind-of-like writer"?

Anders E said...

Are you writing in Finnish or English?

Juri said...

In Finnish. I couldnt' write that fast in English.

Todd Mason said...

I will be the kind of pecksniffian who wants Pulp to be used correctly. Sue me. And keep off other people's lawns!

And I look forward to the trannslation!