Starting to click, writing update

My final revised version of Monster Hunter Vendetta is pretty much done. I’m just going to wait until this weekend so that I can look at it one last time with a good solid time block, and then it is off to Toni.  She had me make a few small changes, all of which were good suggestions. 

And I do believe the consensus is to leave in Pwn.  Though once you read the character, you’ll understand why.  His name is Melvin. He’s such an unpleasant thing that he even brings out the worst in Trip.

Meanwhile I’m working on Monster Hunter Alpha.  My problem is that I always start slow. The first 25-30,000 words of a book are the hardest, and by the time I get done, those usually get chopped and edited a bunch anyway.  The characters tend to evolve as I write, and it is usually by half way through the book that their voices have really jelled in my mind.  But once I get past that initial hurdle, the next 100,000 words tend to fly by.

I’ve finally reached that point on Alpha, and I’m pretty excited. The big challenge with Earl is that he is such a remarkable badass, that you don’t want to mess up the mojo by explaining him too much. He just is.  Earl is a force of nature.  This is a man who has issues with authority, thought of himself as indestructible even back when he was normal, and once punched out Jimmy Carter.   

One of my bad guys finally clicked the other night, and I’m having a lot of fun writing from his perspective now.  I won’t say too much, but lycanthropy for him is kind of like multiple personality disorder, only your other personality is like an angry Freddy Kruger on a bender.  This guy hung out with friggin’ Stalin. 

Earl actually gets a love interest in this one, and if you are a Southern, chainsmoking, Thompson weilding, fearless, nearly invincible maniac, you need a very special kind of girl. 

MHA takes place in northern Michigan, up in the U.P. during winter… and Earl has a bazooka. (well, actually a Karl Gustaf, but close enough)

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Pwned

26 thoughts on “Starting to click, writing update”

  1. “Earl actually gets a love interest in this one, and if you are a Southern, chainsmoking, Thompson weilding, fearless, nearly invincible maniac, you need a very special kind of girl.”

    Who doesn’t mind fleas.

  2. “and once punched out Jimmy Carter.”

    I’m already dying to read it. Putting that teaser out there is just cruel.

  3. So when does Earl get to say the line, “My name is Earl, I carry a bazooka.” Cause, y’know. That would be fun. Especially if it was followed by a nice, juicy explosion.

    Don’t look at me that way. Explosions *can* be juicy.

  4. it’s just unfair the way you tease us.
    “once punched out Jimmy Carter”
    are you kidding me, I would read the book on that alone.

  5. So, this means Earl’s picking up a life outside MHI again? Interesting… one would think that knowing he’s cursed with having to watch everyone he ever gives a rip about grow old and die around him over the decades that he’d be reluctant to ever let anyone get that close to him again. Then again, that’s being logical, and the heart does want what it wants, and Earl still has one of those after all… so the worry is, what happens if they do hit it off, he knocks her up and ends up fathering half-werewolf kids?

    Dittos to Julie and Daniel!

    Thor, if Alpha is a prequel, Abomination probably won’t even exist yet. However… can you link to some reference material? I might see about grafting one onto the Abomination I’m building, if current tech and legality allow it…

    1. +1 using 3 against us before 2 is out is cruel and unusual punishment.

      how about an MHI comic book or something in the mean time.

      1. I second Mr. Almanack’s proposal. A graphic novelization of MHI would be ideal considering the first person narrative, heavy action, and potential for awesome visuals.

        But were to find an artist who could accurately depict the guns, vehicles, and the characters?

  6. Ok, I have given in to the idea that Earl is a bad ass of all bad asses, but to see the line, “My name is Earl, I carry a bazooka.” would just rock all kinds of awesome. C Kelsey, you now have my most favorite comment here at MHN.

    Larry, maybe you can give Earl a version of my hammer.

  7. See, here’s what’s cool about Larry. He does his homework to make sure he doesn’t make sloppy, avoidable mistakes in his book. It’s a mark of professionalism.

    For instance, many authors would just call it a “rocket launcher”, or they’d call the Carl Gustav a rocket launcher.

    The Carl Gustav is in no way a rocket launcher. It’s a recoilless rifle. The 84mm projectile it fires does not have a rocket motor. There are, in fact, rocket-assisted projectiles, but that does not turn it into a “rocket” per-say.

    Honestly, in the age of Wikipedia, there’s no excuse for budding authors to throw in wrong facts or inaccurate details. Either leave the details out (which is a perfectly good way to go about it for some writers) or do a little bit of homework.

  8. I agree. Accuracy in weaponry is UTMOST! And the most important. One of the things I liked about MHI…You can count on Larry to get them right!

    Now I’m waiting on the 84MM….

  9. Oh Larry, I am so happy you are wearing out keyboards!

    I snuck a copy of MHI into my husband’s pile of ‘to be read’, near the top, and when I got back from my latest trek to the coast to check up on our boat, he was deep into it, laughing out loud and reading me passages. I wasn’t sure he was going to like it but he LOVED it. Can’t wait for the next one!

    Good luck and I hope you sell millions of copies! Well, only if you promise to keep writing even if you are doing it from your own private Fantasy Island.

    Fair Winds,

    Cap’n Jan, aka, the Wallflower

  10. I couldn’t put down MHI once I started it – can’t wait for MHV to come out! and a third. Originally bought the book for my 17 year old to read – then swiped it from her.

  11. Go U.P!! Someone knows about us! Can’t wait for both the new books to come out, you’re killin’ me with the teasers.

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