I did my usual thing of alluding to the whys and wherefores of the murders without having the villain tell you what it's all about, but since the Metropolitan Police are the main investigators in this I was also able to build a better sense of what's going on. I think I've got a pretty good mystery going, here, but you never really know. The main thing I'm concerned with is the development of Devlin's character from that of an animal to a caring human being. If I succeed at that, nothing else matters.
I know some people will look at this book and assign it to pornography because of the sex, and that's fine. If they can't see beyond the surface, they aren't worthy of the book or the characters. I grant that sounds arrogant, but I've got 3-D people in here, I know it. Not just Devlin but Tawfi and Reg and Colin and Diana and the rest, each with their own story and meaning.
I never really got this sort of satisfaction from writing screenplays. They are too dependent on others' interpretations of what was going on with the characters...and while that could be thrilling, at times, it could also be soul-destroying. Writing a book means I'm in control of what fills the page and the reader's mind, and when my characters trust me, I know it's right, no matter what.
It's hard to keep that sensibility. We argue and fight and don't talk to each other and play games on each other, but that's part of what makes it so much better than working up what is basically the outline of a story that's dependent on others to make it work. I hate the process even as I love it, get depressed by it even as I gain new highs. I can't imagine going back to writing scripts.
So I've broken with that past. I donated my collection of Hitchcock DVDs and books to the local library to do with as they wish. This was a big step for me. He was the reason I started down the path to film; it's fitting I remove him now that I've carved a new path. It was hard to do, but I feel lighter for it.
Decades lighter....
No comments:
Post a Comment