When
I begin writing, the page is blank. Nothing on it except a blinking cursor.
Yet, I have this idea, sometimes a question, that pops into my mind. More than
likely, the idea or question has been percolating for a while before I pull out
my trusty laptop and begin pecking at the keyboard.
I
call it, “Pre-writing in my head.” Sometimes, I don’t hear what Kim or the girls
are saying to me because I’m wrestling with the idea and perspective. I can
tune them and the world out as I work it out, and when I write.
I
think the idea or question through. I look at various scenarios. I come at it
from different perspectives. Finally, when I begin writing, I’ve settled on one
perspective, though that might change as I write. I think that happens to many
writers.
There
seems to be an argument or debate among writers whether it is best to write
with the end in mind. Some, including me, don’t know the final scene until it
is written. In fact, for me at least, the end is nowhere in sight when I begin
my next story. It is only about the half-way point that I catch a glimpse of
it, but it is only a glimpse. And it is distant, and its shape is not recognizable.
The
end of any of my stories depend upon the characters. Now I realize that the
characters come from me and my imagination, but still, when I’m constructing
dialogue and action, characters come to life and they develop a mind of their
own. Much of what they do and the interplay between them moves the story forward,
and the reader (and the writer) arrives at an ending.
In
my latest novel, Betrayed, I didn’t know what the end would be until I wrote
it. Seriously. I began writing the ending scene (in the Epilogue). The characters
had their say, or not, and “it happened.” There was a scene towards the end of
the book when Brian sat in the dark of a bar/diner writing two letters, that
pointed towards the ending, but even then, at that point, I didn’t know what
the ending would be. Brian knew what he faced. He knew what was ahead of him
and his brothers.
That
scene with Brian was emotional for me. I wept. I struggled to get Brian’s
feelings and what he had to say right. I believe I did, at least for him. It
isn’t perfect in the sense that he’s a sixteen-year-old boy, and after working
with kids for forty-four years, sixteen-year-olds don’t necessarily get it
right. Close, but usually not on the money.
I
have to say that the ending in Betrayed is one of my favorite endings of
anything I’ve written. It’s human. It’s raw, and it has a heart. It is
satisfying, even in a somewhat unfinished and questioning way. Like life, I
guess.
Back
sometime ago, I heard a story about Michelangelo. He is quoted as saying, “Every
block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to
discover it.” He also said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I
set him free.”
Now,
I am no Michelangelo. I am not James Patterson or John Sandford or Stephen King,
who are three of my heroes in writing. I also don’t pretend to be. I make no
pretenses for who I am or what I write.
There
is a point to this, however.
In
life, we are faced with a blank page or a block of granite. Each minute of each
day, we make choices and make decisions. We can choose to begin pecking away at
the keyboard until we see the possibility of an ending, or like Michelangelo,
we can look at a block of granite and see the angel. We might see an ending or
we might not. What we decide to do or say, how we act or react in the minute or
day we have in front of us is up to use. We can write our own endings. We can
carve our own block of granite. Make it satisfying – for us and for those around
us. The choice it up to us. Something to think about . . .
Live
Your Life, and Make a Difference!
For
My Readers:
Betrayed is now available
for Kindle preorder to KDP Select at Amazon at:
https://amazon.com/dp/B08GCTV2XH and it is also available in print at: https://blackrosewriting.com/thrillers/betrayed
A
late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, and no one is talking.
“To
call Betrayed a thriller alone would be to do it a disservice. It’s a social
inspection of Navajo reservation culture and life, and its probe of the roots
of love and connection are wonderfully woven into a story of adversity and the
struggle to survive on many levels. These elements make Betrayed particularly
recommended for readers who look for psychological depth and complexity from a
story of violence and evolution.”
— Diane Donovan,
Editor; Donovan's Literary Services; Midwest Book Review/Bookwatch; Author of
San Francisco Relocated.
“Betrayed
is at once an emotional chapter in author Joseph Lewis’ continuing
coming-of-age story and an intriguing thriller. Following both law enforcement
and a group of teens searching for a missing boy on Native American land,
Lewis’ latest also provides a unique view into Navajo culture. A layered story
that explodes into a bullet-riddled climax.”
— Rick Treon,
award-winning author of Deep Background and Let the Guilty Pay
Connect
with me on Social Media:
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
Spiral
Into Darkness:
Named
a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He
blends in. He is successful, intelligent and methodical. He has a list and has
murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no
clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go
on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send
a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and
damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, have no idea
they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local
law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm
Caught
in a Web:
A
PenCraft Literary Award Winner!
The
bodies of high school and middle school kids are found dead from an overdose of
heroin and fentanyl. The drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors and the
Milwaukee Metro area is controlled by MS-13, a violent gang originating from El
Salvador. Ricardo Fuentes is sent from Chicago to Waukesha to find out who is
cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has
an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had
killed his cousin the previous summer.
Detectives
Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the
drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else,
especially George or members of his family. The three detectives discover the
ring has its roots in a high school among the students and staff. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696
Caught
in a Web is now available in Audio format. You can find it at: https://www.beaconaudiobooks.com/audiobookreleases/high-school-drug-rings-gangs-and-revenge-are-all-encompassing-in-caught-in-a-web-by-joseph-lewis
Book
One of the Lives Trilogy, Stolen Lives:
Two
thirteen-year-old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and
his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all
the others- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the
possibility exists that one of his team members might be involved. http://tinyurl.com/Stolen-Lives-J-Lewis
Book
Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
Six
men escaped and are out for revenge. The boys, recently freed from captivity,
are in danger and so are their families, but they don’t know it. The FBI has no
clues, no leads, and nothing to go on and because of that, cannot protect them.
http://tinyurl.com/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis
Book
Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
A
14-year-old boy knows the end is coming. What he doesn’t know is when, where,
or by whom. Without that knowledge, neither he nor the FBI can protect him or
his family. http://tinyurl.com/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis
The
Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI
Agent Pete Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of
six boys left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they
don’t know one another, the lives of FBI Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern,
and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys
become interwoven with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand.
The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their lives
are in jeopardy as each search for a way out. http://tinyurl.com/Taking-Lives-J-Lewis
Photo Courtesy of Kelly Sikkema and Unsplash
