Heroes and Writing Goals from James W. Ziskin

Whom do you consider the greatest hero you’ve read, and why?

 

I’m going to interpret the word “hero” literally as a person of strong character who performs marvels and is possessed of noble qualities. And you know what? That kind of character in a book is usually boring. I had a professor long ago who asked her students who was a more interesting character, Melanie Wilkes or Scarlett O’Hara. Melanie was a kind, wonderful, upstanding, decent person. And she was strong. Who wouldn’t want to know her, be friends with her, love her? But, as a character? I vote for Scarlett. I find her more interesting.

 

The heroes I prefer in books and films are more of the quiet variety. They are heroic in subtler ways. Maybe it’s simply being decent or wanting justice to prevail. Or maybe just overcoming fear. They don’t have to wear capes and they don’t have to sacrifice their lives to save strangers. Not that I would object to that kind of heroism in real life; it would be inspiring. I simply don’t see that kind of book very often. 

 

Wait a minute. Now that I think of it, there was a powerful book five years ago with a beautiful, moving example of this kind of hero. A pretty bad guy sacrifices himself to save others. The book received lots of attention and took home several awards. But if I name it, I’m giving away spoilers. Message me if you really want to know, though I’ll bet many of you have read it and enjoyed it as much as I did.

 

So let’s put that to one side, shall we?

 

This week I’m taking a different road because it’s November. And November is NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month.

 

For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo is that lovely time of the year when writers challenge themselves to get at least 50,000 words of a novel done. Whoever decided November was a good month to do that must have had no family or friends. The month only has thirty days to begin with, and Thanksgiving week is essentially lost to the holiday.

 

As for me, when I’m not staring off into space, thinking of something to write, I teach high school French. And I love doing that. But it means I don’t have much time from September to July to concentrate on much else. Teaching swallows up more time than just the hours in school. There’s curriculum planning, correcting, grading, meetings, professional development, and administrative duties as well. All that takes a toll on the writing stuff. Which leaves me little more than the summer for my writing. So, this year, July and August were my NaNoWriMo.

 

Over the course of thirty-nine days, I wrote an 85,035-word first draft of a new standalone, tentatively entitled The Prank. That came to 2,180 words per day. I spent hours at the library six days a week, toiling away on my novel, then many more at home and on Sundays doing the same. At first it seemed an impossible task, but as the days—then the weeks—piled up, the end of the journey appeared somewhere off in the distance. Far away, for sure, but it was in sight. So I wrote faster and, encouraged by my progress, I committed to crossing the finish line before September came. And I did. That’s how you write a book. One word after the other. One day after the last. Even when you don’t want to do it. Even when you’re tired and doubting yourself. When you don’t feel like it. When you’d rather watch TV.

 

I’m just now putting the finishing touches on the fifth revision of the book, and I’m sending it to my agent in hopes that she might sell it. I’ll keep you apprised of any news.

 

The Prank

 

Set in December 1968, The Prank is the story of two mismatched souls who forge an odd friendship over the Christmas break in the fictional Central New York town of Hephaestus. One is a thirteen-year-old sociopath named Jimmy. The other is his seventh-grade English teacher, twenty-four-year-old Patti Finch. They’re both reeling in the aftermath of the accidental deaths of Jimmy’s favorite teacher, Rick Voohrees, and Jimmy’s close friend Artie Lionel. Patti was involved in a secret love affair with Rick and is devastated by his death. As the new year approaches, the unlikely pair grow closer, even as their “forbidden” friendship is a scandal waiting to be discovered by investigating police and nosy reporters. But what Patti doesn’t know is that Jimmy was responsible for the fatal accident that killed Rick Voohrees and Jimmy’s best friend. And Jimmy’s not done causing chaos yet.