Insight Into Development of The Valley of American Shadow

After almost two years of work, The Valley of American Shadow launched yesterday. I thought it prudent at this time to talk a little about how this project got here, for other writers who are working (and perhaps struggling) on theirs.

The big thing, for me, was being OK with the fact that some ideas weren’t going work. I had several ideas that I “pushed” through the sausage maker and when it came out, it tasted rotten. I think part of it was the writing, the craft. But the other part was a lack of conflict. Because conflict is the biggest part of any story. Some of the early stories I wrote were just a bunch of things that happened, no drama. No feeling of drama.

No conflict between characters, or at least conflict within oneself.

There were a lot of late, late nights and early, early mornings where I had to push myself hard to drive that conflict forward. And then, of course, there were times where I had to stop working on a story because it just wasn’t working. The conflict was weak or nonexistent.

That happens now, too, but as a writer, you have to be OK with that. Not every idea is going to work, no matter how tantalizing it may seem.

I am a true believer in the notion that the question, “What if…?” is the harbinger of good things, i.e., good ideas. Sure, that’s true. I use it all the time. But I’ve gotten more savvy from the standpoint of taking that “What if…?” and immediately begin analyzing where the conflict is. If it isn’t there, then the story can’t work. If the story can’t work, then I, at my age, can’t devote the time to it.

See how it all works together?

I think the stories in Valley are compelling because there is a certain science that went into them, not just the art and craft of writing. In business communications, we talk about strategy and tactics – in fiction, the strategy is the thinking, the tactic is the acting (writing).

I’m free to discuss this further with anyone who’s interested. Just put a comment below. If nothing else, I’d like to be a resource for other writers who, like me, struggled with their ideas.

And if you haven’t yet, I’d love it if you’d get your hands on a copy of Valley and share your thoughts with me.