I'm 48,000 Words In...

[Straight Success]

As the title states I'm 48k words into my first novel. For the last few years, I've had this idea for a book/ screen play regarding certain aspects of the world that haven't been touched on too much. I started it to take my mind off of the BS at work, and progress was initially slow. Then when I was no longer working, I put the pedal down. On my free time while looking for a new job (you know chillin' at the beach, chillin' in hotel rooms on vacation, visits to different cities and tracks) I've been letting my imagination run wild. I just finished chapter 6, and I have three more chapters to knock out. Next, it's on to me proof reading it then sending it to a proofer/editor.

I promise you that any active member on the board will love the drama/suspense/action/adventure/and the realness of the story. Stay tuned and buy a copy once it's completed.

Let the questions fly, but I can't reveal too much.

[sonikaccord]

Is the title going to be Straight Success?
Can I buy it on Amazon?

[wtfisafleek]

What's the basic plot? Is there a hero car, and if so, is it a CB7?

[Straight Success]

Is the title going to be Straight Success?
Can I buy it on Amazon?

No, that will not be the title. The book is not about me or my life.

Yes. I plan to have copies available for purchase through Amazon. I don't plan to make this into a career (well, depending on how it works out). It's just something I've been working on and I want to see it through to completion. It would be really cool if I could sell 1,000 copies. Sh!t, maybe even shoot for 10,000 copies, or maybe even 100,000. Who knows the possibilities? My plan in the long run is to have it turned into a screen play.

I'll put it like this, if you liked The Little Giants, The Little Rascals, Doug the cartoon, and/or The Sandlot as a kid, and liked Heat, Scarface, Days of Thunder, Driven, and The Borune Identitiy as an adult, you're going to love this book. I assure you.

What's the basic plot? Is there a hero car, and if so, is it a CB7?

There is a CB7 involved, but not in the hero fashion. However, one does have a cameo. A simple '92 paint faded Rosewood Brown Metallic EX sedan (automatic with stock wheels) puts in a little work in one of the most action packed chapters.

The basic plot is about a group of friend sticking together to make their community better and open doors and opportuities in the process for people who will otherwise never have one. The friends didn't know that's what they were doing until they did it not realizing it in the process.

[Ralphie]

Hey that's pretty cool.

One of my close friends went to school for creative writing, and he has written a few stories, not sure how long they are, or if he plans to publish them, but they're pretty good as well.

I always push people to put themselves out there. Your book may just change someone's life for the better. Shit, you might be sitting on a gold mine. It might blow up, and influence millions of people to write or explore their creative side which is what its all about at the end of the day.

Either way, please keep us updated. Ive been trying to get back into reading, but with two small kids, a full time job, a part time job, and my wife now starting her own blog/fashion site, I have basically NO time for shit.

Ill buy a copy from ya though.

Good luck!

[CyborgGT]

Next to cars, reading is my other main hobby. I average about two books a month, and buy the next one when I'm about half way through the one I'm on, so there's never a break in between. I'll grab a copy for sure. Good luck with it.

I've thought about writing myself, but dont know what I'd write about. I keep thinking back to the days of Gran Turismo 4 and how people at the GTPlanet forum used the photomode to create stories... usually inspired by Initial D and Wangan Midnight, of course.

[Straight Success]

Hey that's pretty cool.

One of my close friends went to school for creative writing, and he has written a few stories, not sure how long they are, or if he plans to publish them, but they're pretty good as well.

I always push people to put themselves out there. Your book may just change someone's life for the better. Shit, you might be sitting on a gold mine. It might blow up, and influence millions of people to write or explore their creative side which is what its all about at the end of the day.

Either way, please keep us updated. Ive been trying to get back into reading, but with two small kids, a full time job, a part time job, and my wife now starting her own blog/fashion site, I have basically NO time for shit.

Ill buy a copy from ya though.

Good luck!

Thanks for the support, and I'll keep y'all updated. I'm just about to past 50k words as I'm trekking through chapter 7.

Next to cars, reading is my other main hobby. I average about two books a month, and buy the next one when I'm about half way through the one I'm on, so there's never a break in between. I'll grab a copy for sure. Good luck with it.

I've thought about writing myself, but dont know what I'd write about. I keep thinking back to the days of Gran Turismo 4 and how people at the GTPlanet forum used the photomode to create stories... usually inspired by Initial D and Wangan Midnight, of course.

This one will not be as long as your typical 400 page novel. I think I may end up with about 250-280 pages, but the content is there and its good. It has got some action and suspense for us all.

[CyborgGT]

One of my favorite books is less than 150 pages and has no dialogue, but is the most beautifully written piece of fiction I've ever read - and I've made a point to add a lot of classics to my collection. Quality over quantity.

[Straight Success]

I'm attempring to do that exact thing right there. I want to have the content hit the readers like, WHAM!

[verothacamaro]

Next to cars, reading is my other main hobby. I average about two books a month, and buy the next one when I'm about half way through the one I'm on, so there's never a break in between. I'll grab a copy for sure. Good luck with it.

I've thought about writing myself, but dont know what I'd write about. I keep thinking back to the days of Gran Turismo 4 and how people at the GTPlanet forum used the photomode to create stories... usually inspired by Initial D and Wangan Midnight, of course.

I envy people that can sit down and ready a book to completion.

48k words is no small feat. Good luck

[Straight Success]

I envy people that can sit down and ready a book to completion.

48k words is no small feat. Good luck

Thanks V. It's been a minute.

I'm now almost 54k in. It's likes, once I start something and I get a good amount of momentum going, I just pluck through whatever it is until completion. I think it's from all the times my mom used to yell at me stating I didn't complete anything. Although I completed a lot of stuff, it was her way of... ahhh, nevermind.

As to the small feat, no it isn't. There are/were times I had to do research to bring reality to the book so that the reader can really be engaged. Other times I had to change up and manipulate entire paragraphs to flow correctly. Then as the writer, I had to match up tense and timelines. Even further, I had to step out of my own element many of times to put myself into the shoes of doctors, lawyers, racers, bicyclist, ENGINEERS, law enforcement officials, poor people, wealthy people, regional managers, low level drug dealers, business owners, drug addicts (pot heads), sheikhs, etc... It's no easy task, believe me - I don't do or sell drugs, I'm not in law enforcement, and I'm not a lawyer although I have several. It takes up a great deal of time reading to write something from the correct perspective.

[CyborgGT]

Research is definity important for a believable story; you never know who's going to be reading. Even seemingly innocent books can involve a TON of research most readers would never notice. Harry Potter, for instance, is chock-full of references to different ancient mythologies and folklore. In fantasy, you'll commonly get completely unrelated stories by different authors years or decades apart that have certain detail similarities because they're often rooted in similar 'established truths.'

Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite writers mainly because his stories often give an incredible sense of location. He'll live in these cities for a while, staying in other people's homes while he writes even just a small part of a book, and actually get to know the place first hand in order to include details you might see or experience if you were to actually go there. I've read several books, as well, where credit and thanks were given by name to police officers, lawyers, doctors, etc who worked with the author to supply input from their careers to help with accuracy on things the writer wanted to include for even bit parts.

Deeper books take a lot of time to develop. Look at Game of Thrones. There are supposed to be two more books in that series, but since the last book (#5?) was released, the author has helped start and complete the entire series in live action - I think they're about wrapped up shooting the final season, anyway. The first book was released in '96.

[Straight Success]

Exactly.

That's exactly what I'm going for. I'm telling you, people that enjoy fast cars, racing, action, suspense, philanthropy, true friendships, rare items, and REALITY, they're going to enjoy this book. It even briefly explores the very bottom of slums to the wealthy enjoying themselves on the weekends.

Living in California for approximately two years helped bring some parts of it alive as well.

[Straight Success]

Chapter 7 is now completed.

I just finished chapter 7. The way I initially outlined the story, it only contained 9 chapters. Now I only have two more to go. As of now, I'm 54,912 words in. It's 85 pages long now which equates to about 201 manuscript. I'm ballparking the final word count to be about 67,000 before editing and proofing. Then we'll see what happens from there. Time will tell.

[Straight Success]

Update!!!



I'm entering the home stretch. I'm about 93% complete.