Is it possible to have too many men in a Wild Side book? In one sense I very much doubt it, but in another sense I'm about to find out...
I'm at an interesting point in the latest book in the series 'Look to The Wild Side'. Without giving too much away, my plan is to break the book into three parts, set in three separate locations on three separate days. No big deal in any of that... but here is the challenge I'm setting myself. Each part will be told from a different character's point of view - the reader will get three different 'looks' at The Wild Side.
I've pretty much finished part one, which is seen through the eyes of Jaxon Marshall, a new recruit to Angus MacLeod's business empire, and set in Bears Den - Angus's slave training camp in Kent. That was the easy part, and I liked being in Jaxon's head. He's got an edge, and a lot going under that tattooed skull. It was fun inventing him and giving a different 'look' to The Wild Side. I even copied his hair style to get fully into the part (the Mohawk, but I passed on the skull tats).
Now I have to flick back to an old friend for part two of the book, which will be set around Soho in London. Nab McAlister has appeared in three non-Wild Side books so far, and he's got a big role to play in this debut in The Wild Side, especially in part two as it will be told from Nab's POV. If that goes well, then in the third part, it's over to Gangster Gaz, who obviously has to visit The Wild Side itself for the final 'look' and the grand finale.
But will it get too cumbersome? Will I be itching to say what's going on in Jaxon's head once he makes an appearance in Soho? Will it be impossible to stick to only Gaz when it all comes together (or falls apart) at the end?
I'm not sure to be honest.
I did something similar once before in 'Bad Boy Buddy', but that was written in two parts, and was a very short story with a very simple plot involving only two characters, so pretty easy to pull off. This has a cast of several dozen, and part one has already run to 20000 words, so it's going to be a lot more complicated.
Am I up to it?
All I can do is give it a go, because if I don't try new things, then I get bored. So having spent the past month in Jaxon's head, I'm going to trade it in for Nab's. He's a simpler soul in terms of cunning and guile, but a lot more mixed up than Jaxon. I know him very well, though, so I'll be clear from the start on how he's thinking. I just hope I can keep Jaxon at bay and use writing skills to convey what's going on with him.
Wish me luck.
Jack
I'm at an interesting point in the latest book in the series 'Look to The Wild Side'. Without giving too much away, my plan is to break the book into three parts, set in three separate locations on three separate days. No big deal in any of that... but here is the challenge I'm setting myself. Each part will be told from a different character's point of view - the reader will get three different 'looks' at The Wild Side.
I've pretty much finished part one, which is seen through the eyes of Jaxon Marshall, a new recruit to Angus MacLeod's business empire, and set in Bears Den - Angus's slave training camp in Kent. That was the easy part, and I liked being in Jaxon's head. He's got an edge, and a lot going under that tattooed skull. It was fun inventing him and giving a different 'look' to The Wild Side. I even copied his hair style to get fully into the part (the Mohawk, but I passed on the skull tats).
Now I have to flick back to an old friend for part two of the book, which will be set around Soho in London. Nab McAlister has appeared in three non-Wild Side books so far, and he's got a big role to play in this debut in The Wild Side, especially in part two as it will be told from Nab's POV. If that goes well, then in the third part, it's over to Gangster Gaz, who obviously has to visit The Wild Side itself for the final 'look' and the grand finale.
But will it get too cumbersome? Will I be itching to say what's going on in Jaxon's head once he makes an appearance in Soho? Will it be impossible to stick to only Gaz when it all comes together (or falls apart) at the end?
I'm not sure to be honest.
I did something similar once before in 'Bad Boy Buddy', but that was written in two parts, and was a very short story with a very simple plot involving only two characters, so pretty easy to pull off. This has a cast of several dozen, and part one has already run to 20000 words, so it's going to be a lot more complicated.
Am I up to it?
All I can do is give it a go, because if I don't try new things, then I get bored. So having spent the past month in Jaxon's head, I'm going to trade it in for Nab's. He's a simpler soul in terms of cunning and guile, but a lot more mixed up than Jaxon. I know him very well, though, so I'll be clear from the start on how he's thinking. I just hope I can keep Jaxon at bay and use writing skills to convey what's going on with him.
Wish me luck.
Jack
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