So there's this new thing called Teaser Tuesday going on at Absolute Writers, the oh-so-awesome site where writers such as myself gather to cause great mischief. Basically, authors (published and unpublished) post snippets of their WIP (Work In Progress) every Tuesday for all to read. I just found out about it and I'm pretty excited, because I want to join in the fun. Unfortunately, it's Thursday, so I'll have to wait until next Tuesday before putting something up. This is going to be the first time I've ever posted anything from my WIP on my blog for public consumption, so I'm quite nervous lol.
As for now, I'll just stick to talking a little bit about my WIP. I haven't sat down to properly write a synopsis or a query, as I'm still a long way from finishing the book, but I think I can manage to pull something out of the proverbial hat.
Book Title: The End is where I begin.
What it's about:
Giaan Taran leads a double life.
In one life, he's a popular, brilliant sixteen-year-old who lost his parents and older brother to a ghastly car crash; he lives with his perverse, socially awkward uncle; he dates one of the most beautiful and wealthiest girls at school; and he commands both devotion and respect from not just his friends but most of his classmates.
In his other life, he's a frightened, depressed sixteen-year-old whose brother and mother were murdered by his father, the most wanted and dangerous man on earth; he lives in constant fear of one day getting killed by his menacing uncle; and what he wants more than anything in the world (besides his girlfriend) is to leave his uncle, his father, his dark family history, and disappear forever – start a new life free of fear and violence. In a week's time, he'll be able to do just that.
But before Giaan can fulfil his dream, calamity in the shape of his father befalls him.
Through his uncle, Giaan is ordered by his father to carry out a mission. A mission so vile it could well mean the death of many innocent people. Giaan is terrified. He can't turn to his friends or his girlfriend for help, because this is the part of his life he has kept hidden from them. This is the part of his life he has determined they would never glimpse. So he turns to the only other person he can trust: Julian Foster, a pastor and a father figure.
However, Giaan's decision to confide in Julian instigates a chain of terrible events that has the entire of Britain gripped with terror and pits Giaan and his friends in the midst of a battle between two powerful organisations that has raged on for years.
That took thirty minutes to write, so please forgive me if it sucks :S.
The book is meant to encompass three or four volumes, with each volume made up of, at least, five or six episodes. Yeah, episodes. Not chapters. I opted for episodes because Giaan isn't the only character I focus on in detail. Each episode tells a story, starting with Giaan's, and as the reader delves deeper into the book, they unravel the mysteries of the plot. Also, all characters are linked to one another in some way – that is to say, characters either know each other intimately or they've met briefly or they've never met but know the same people.
For example: episode three, entitled 'Requiem for a Dream', spotlights Madeline 'Maddy' Atwood. Maddy is best friends with Aletea, who happens to be Giaan's girlfriend. Though Maddy and Giaan are classmates and friends, you won't find Maddy running to Giaan for advices or help with anything serious, because they're not that close, which is perfectly normal. I share that type of relationship with some people, as do you.
Sure, there are books that centre on more than one character and are written in chapters and not episodes, but I thought in my case, using chapters would clutter things a little bit. Plus, I thought writing 'Episode I' was way cooler than 'Chapter I' XD lol.
Some episodes will centre on multiple characters and their respective stories.
The one thing I must avoid is writing an entire episode that features a boring character. Alas, while all my characters are interesting in one way or another, not all of them warrant an episode. I like to think that I've picked the best characters to focus on:
In episode three, the reader finds out that sixteen-year-old Maddy has a big secret, like Giaan. She kills people for a living, and she does so without emotion and with amazing and terrifying dexterity. The idea is to get my readers wondering, is Maddy a monster, an eternally broken child or is she doing the right thing, macabre as it may be? None of Maddy's friends know of her extracurricular activities, and she strives to keep it that way.
Amina Moore gets her own episode as well. She's no friend of Giaan or Maddy, but she does attend the same school, and she's quite the popular girl. In her episode, things aren't going too well for her. Her mother is slumped in the passenger seat, bleeding profusely from the neck, while Amina drives as fast as she can to save both their lives from a crazed murderer who seeks a scientific document he believes Amina's mother possesses.
It may not look like it, but the events that occur in every episode (both the ones I've mentioned above and the ones I haven't) are linked by a common thread – powerful people, clandestine organisations, ancient artefacts. And a seemingly inexorable chaos that threatens the lives of everyone – Giaan, Maddy, Aletea, Audrey, Amina, Jon, and the rest – begins the instant Giaan discloses the true nature of his mission to Julian.
I'm going to stop here now, because I don't want to reveal too much. Next Tuesday I'll post a snippet for your pleasure.
Thanks for reading!
