March is here, and with it is spring. Spring has always been my favorite season. I should probably specify, Spring in general. The March version of Spring I find by-and-large a little too cold and wet for my tastes. Late March, as in after the equinox, offers a much nicer version of Spring. The days will be warmer and longer, and the nights not as cold.

March is also the month my sister Laura was born. For a long time she was the only person I knew born in this month, so naturally every time the month rolls around I am reminded of her. That doesn’t mean I’ll get a present to her in time this year, let’s not got too carried away. Even though it’s still many weeks away, a big happy birthday to her.

My goal when I started 2023 was to have my novel Mind The Slice out in Beta by the time I turned 60 at the end of January. I missed that date by about a week, so not bad. Already I’ve received notes from quite a few people. If you’re following along, then please keep reading. I’m still several weeks to a month our from starting those edits. Maybe even longer. The suggestions have been super helpful.

Beyond tuning up MTSl, I’ve been speedily working on its follow up, MTS2. That’s what has been taking up most of my writing time each morning. So far I really like how it’s developing. I have much to learn before MTS2 can be finished, so I’m already getting books for my research. Topic include: Why humanity is so fucked up; the basics of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy process; and a few shortcuts into the history and culture in some random places on the planet. So far it look like I have one character from Lagos, and another from some undetermined part of China. Germany and France are also on the list, but that might change. Only the first two places are somewhat set. The rest will probably be laid down as needed.

I know how many humans I’m dealing with for the first third of the novel, but until I have all the issues laid down I’m not sure about all of their origins. I often have to write a chapter to find out about them. Oh, I know in a general sense, but its not until I sit down and write about a person that I learn all the small details that makes them come alive.

For me the process is a bit like driving across the country. If you were going from Los Angeles to Texas, you don’t need to know the specific address of your hotel when you first start off. Heading east is good enough. It’s only as you get closer that you need to know things more specifically; what part of state is the town in, which off-ramp do you take, which street is it on? It’s only when you are within blocks of your hotel that you need to looks at street numbers. In much this way, I write a story, starting from general to specific, letting the story and characters play out, and then going back and adding detail as necessary.

So far I know that MTS2 starts with 6 people, plus an extra (our girl Lilah), all packed on a space ship going to somewhere. Various robots are also along for the ride. I knew roughly where they were headed, but didn’t realize they were accelerating well over 40gs until I needed to stop and find a website for calculating distance, time, and speed. In the final novel this will feel natural, because it will come up in a natural way, but at the time I was writing it was an entire surprise, which meant I had to go back and edit a few previous sentences to make the unknown suddenly become cannon. Basically my job is to come up with problems and then walk my characters though them (or around them, or under them).

Speaking of problems, I’m also going back though some old stories, as I hinted at last week, with the idea of cleaning them up or otherwise making them useful. Little Miss Free Market is one of them, but there are a few more that I will go over in the next couple of months. If MTS2 starts to slow I’ll just jump on those. I’ve got lots of idea, far more than I have time to write, but good ideas that will make an excellent story are rare and need to be cultivated.

That’s it for now. There is much going on behind the scenes, and my work life is going though some big changes. Nothing scary, just a slight change up of clients, which is a constant for me. As an accountant once told us, “The freelance lifestyle is not for those who cannot handle a little chaos in their finances.” After 30 years of this I’m well acquainted with the ups and downs. Thanks to my wife (who manages the money for our circus) things remain nice and smooth.

Until next time.