Spies and Plans

It's the quiet lull between contracts and projects, so what do writers and spies do? I still have my revisions to do, so there is work...there is always work, once a book is coming along--rewrites, revisions, copy-edits, galleys, so many things that are part of publishing a novel.

But the mind is always hungry for the unknown, you know? At the edge of consciousness, like that crack of light between a closed door and its frame, is that knowledge of another room out there...another story waiting. If I open the door and step out, I'm free and, yet, captured again. Sometimes I have an inkling what I'll find when I reach for that door handle, but always, there are surprises revealed--new characters and new twists. This is good. An uber-spy should always be on her toes.

Revision--revisiting the original "vision" of your story. To rewrite parts of a story. Sometimes it's a difficult tast, especially to a writer who is more storyteller than storywriter. And there is a difference between the two. Whereas storytellers spend less time on craft and more on chasing the characters in our heads, storywriters recreate their visions with words, chasing perfection of scene and pacing. Both are two entirely different styles, and to me, the storywriter finds it easier to revise because of their love for reworking a plotline.

For example, I can lengthen an entire conversation, add extra scenes to layer the emotions or enrich the story, but if I doubt I would be able to do a good job if I have to rewrite a secondary character into something different from the original. What if I was told T is too hard-edged and I need to rewrite an entire scene in which I let someone else do the killing, and not her? Because of course, there are readers out there who would not like their heroines to kill.

That's the dilemma of writer and uber spies. A kickass heroine should be accepted as what they are, especially if she's an operative. Please, she can't be a virgin. And she can't be squeamish about weapons and blood. Lastly, yes, she's trained to kill and a writer should be allowed to show this. Someone picking up a female spy-romance can't have it both ways--a kickass heroine who is innocent about the world in which she operates. There is no such thing.

So back to re-vision. How much does a writer compromise?

A spy always have Plan B. But it's never as good as Plan A, if you ask me.

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