​I let the manuscript for my third book in the Ian Murphy series Dead Reckoning cool off in December with the self promise to begin the re-writing/editing process in January.  I followed my plan and have finished with the read through.
I promised to be honest with myself and all of you who read my blog.  I have a lot of work ahead of me.  One overwhelming problem is assuming that readers know some things because they have read both Murphy’s Troubles and Out of Darkness.  The final story has context and to be honest it is a mystery to me on how to provide that without a tremendous amount of back story in the final book.  It is probably more honest to call the books a trilogy rather than a series because it is one overarching story not different stories with the same primary characters in each book.  If anyone has experience writing a trilogy, please e-mail is at: [email protected] with suggestions on how to handle this conundrum.
The second major problem is that the first several chapters contain good material on the inciting incident that propels Ian Murphy into his final journey.  What the chapters don’t do well is establish the primary conflict or explain what Ian desperately needs to complete his journey.  I know that will require substantial re-writing.
Following the initial chapters I was fairly self-satisfied with the plot, pace and story until I reached Chapter 16.  After reading Chapter 16 I had to ask myself why I wrote the Chapter because it didn’t contribute to the story or move the plot along.  In fact, it was a solid granite mountain in the story, that chapter must go.
The final problem is the last chapter of the manuscript.  I wanted it to be the ‘Final Solution’ to Ian’s life with a flair for the dramatic and emotionally satisfying to the reader.  It fails those goals totally.  The last chapter is like milk toast and I closed the story abruptly.  Fortunately, I’m submitting the last chapter to author/teacher/friend Christine DeSmet for a critique in conjunction with the 2017 Wisconsin Writer’s Institute.  I will still need to do some serious editing to get rid of the sloppiness before sharing the draft with Christine.
The first read had opened my eyes and confirmed the truth that all good writing is re-writing.        

​Fences
 
Part of our family live in a suburb west of Dallas and north of Fort Worth.  I’ve learned that local residents call it the megaplex.  From my visits there I would agree that is an accurate description of the area.  Even the airport is called DFW (Dallas Fort Worth) – there is another airport closer to downtown Dallas – Love Field, that name must have been an oversight – DFW fits the area much better.
Our family lives in a gated community.  You can drive in the entrance without passing through gates or a guard posted on duty but every home – repeat EVERY home is gated.  It is a requirement to live in the subdivions.
Most fences are wood from four to more than seven feet tall.  The tall fences are called privacy fences because it’s impossible to see through or over the fence to whatever is going on in that space.  Some fences are three foot high decorative metal.  I guess those folks don’t mind if you spy on their daily living.
One home, just a few houses away from our family has a metal electronic gate on their driveway.  It’s quite elaborate and there are also cameras visible – guarding against possible intrusion.  Almost every home has a sign placed visibly by the front entrance that they are protected by security.  I’ve always thought it would be cheaper to build a fake sign and stick in the ground rather than paying for the expensive service.
So, walking around the neighborhood with my grandchildren I wondered what all these homeowners were afraid of.  Why do they want to live in a fenced off community?  Who exactly are they excluding?  Are they afraid of me?  Are they expecting terrorists?
No one in America should live in fear.  Do we really need gated communities?  If we do, we’ve got a problem.   

​Not a Movie Review
Several weeks ago I saw the movie “Fences” starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis and need to share the experience with my readers, not as a movie review but as a writer.  While I find movies entertaining I strongly prefer live stage performance.  We subscribe to our local professional theater, attend several American Players Theater productions every year and support amateur civic theater when possible.
The movie was originally a stage play by August Wilson based on a series of 10 plays he called The Pittsburgh Cycle.  Each play is set in a different decade and relates the black experience in northern cities (Pittsburgh and Chicago).  “Fences” covers the decade of the 1950’s and was first produced at the Yale Rep in 1985.  “Fences” as won the Pulitzer Prize, the Tony Award, and the Drama Desk Award.  Both Denzel Washington and Viola Davis appeared in the Broadway play and in the current movie.  Their experience with their roles comes through vividly in the movie.  Denzel Washington also directs the movie version.
Washington plays Tory, a garbage man living in the inner city – not poor – he owns his own home but not yet middle class.  Tory is flawed and as an audience member found him difficult to like and the character does not make any transition.  At the close of the movie it is Tory’s inability and unwillingness to change that transforms him into a tragic character.
August Wilson has a talent for presenting black lives and their struggles in a way that is understandable and sympathetic.  He is also able to move through time by the dialogue.  One of the most riveting scenes in when Tory tells his wife he has been having an affair with another woman by announcing to her in the kitchen that he’s going to be a father.
Wilson’s writing is both universal and specific.  It is specific to the time period and experience of African Americans while at the same time universal to any time period or group of people.  Many times the pace of the dialogue is very fast and I had to lean forward to capture every word.  Washington is able to develop a cadence to the dialogue that captures you for more than two hours.  For about 2/3 of the movie Viola Davis portrays a submissive wife doing what she feels is right while knowing her “place”.  With the birth of Tory’s daughter from another woman (who dies in childbirth) Davis catapults out of her submissive life to be extremely strong and independent as she agrees to raise the child as its mother because the child is, of course, innocent.
The writing is intriguing because Washington’s character believes with his whole heart that he is doing what is right and expected by being “responsible” for his family – a roof over their heads, three square meals a day and clothing.  In a unique plot twist he uses his accomplishments in fulfilling his responsibility as an excuse for his extra marital affair.
“Fences” is simply excellent writing and I would encourage readers to read the play and or attend a live production or the movie version.  It will change your life.           

​It seems appropriate to devote my post for the first of the New Year to the idea of legacy.  Over the holidays we hand friends over for dinner.  My friend retired after working over 40 years at UW-Madison.   I consider that quite an accomplishment.  The only other person I know to work for one organization for that many years was my Dad.  It just doesn’t happen any longer.
My friend is struggling with his new found freedom.  While enjoying a few appetizers and a knock out bloody Mary (we do live in Wisconsin after all) he said he wanted to have a legacy.  He wants to do something that he is passionate about and would represent his legacy.  He’s worried that he has maybe only 10 active years left.  It is a mystery to me why he thinks he only has 10 active years left because he’s my age 65.  I fully expect to throttle into my 90’s.  He said he’s searching for something that he can contribute to build his legacy.
I found his idea surprising and unusual.  In fact, I couldn’t get to sleep that evening because what he proposes to do was unsettling and I didn’t know why.  It took me about a day but then the answer popped out of my subconscious.  
We are not in control of our legacy.  Others will decide for us if we’ve done work that deserves to be viewed as a legacy.  Also it is unusual to have the purpose of your work to be to create a legacy – it is a form of hubris.  Work that you are passionate about is done for its own sake – not with the intent to create a legacy.
Having a legacy implies that you are dead so you won’t be around to bask in your laurels or remembrance.  In the final act of my life I want to spend my time working on things I’m passionate about – writing and being a leader at my local library.  I don’t have time to worry about leaving a legacy.