Writing Tracks

Razors is structured so that each chapter has its own narrative arc, but still connects to the larger story. This was inspired in part by the science fiction tradition of the fix-up novel, where writers would combine their short stories into a single book.

Chapter Four is about Serafin attempting to warn the establishment about the growing conspiracy and the recovery of the wayward Bennett heir. But if we assume each chapter will range from 5,000 to 10,000 words (a fair assumption, given prior chapters), then Chapter Four seems rather intimidating, considering it will likely be the length of a novella or short novel when all is said and done.

So, how can we break this down into manageable chunks? I use a method I call tracks.

I think of tracks as hidden stories, concealed within the larger narrative – essentially smaller chunks of material I can isolate and check for consistency. By following these tracks, I can adjust the aperture to work on individual components without becoming overwhelmed by complexity, or look at how two tracks intersect to make sure they’re interacting smoothly and organically.

Some tracks are obvious, like the sub-chapters. We can also follow specific characters through and make sure everything is connected properly, like George R.R. Martin does:

I do not write the chapters in the order you read them. Each of the point of view characters has its own voice and vocabulary. It’s difficult for me to shift from one to another, so I use to [sic] write consecutively two, three or four chapters of the same character. Then, I stop because I have gone too far or because I don’t know what will happen next. For me, changing from a Tyrion chapter to a Daenerys one, to put an example, is very exhausting. It demands a lot from me.

Since Razors is tightly focused on Serafin and ████, this isn’t as much of an issue for me, although I do check each side characters for consistency, and also spend time sketching out what they might be doing when Serafin isn’t around, so the reader isn’t left with the impression they simply collapse in a heap like marionettes whenever they aren’t on stage.

CHARACTER TRACKS

Here are some of the Chapter Four characters I believe require closer attention. For each of these, I ask the basic questions: what do they want? What are they trying to accomplish? How do they accomplish it? What is their philosophy of the world? How do they change over time?

  • SERAFIN: Our top priority, of course, although we’ve spent enough time together by now he tends to look after himself.
  • THE BUREAUCRAT: Serafin is going to meet someone at Aphelion who is very important in Part Two; since I’m aware of this, I’ll spend extra time on him now to make sure he can bear the load.
  • THE BENNETTS: I have some rough ideas about the Bennett family but need to make some decisions about the Concern and their role in the Corporative. The Patriarch in particular is only half-finished, but I’m not sure which piece is missing. Developing the company will probably help develop the family and vice versa.
  • THE GOVERNOR: Don’t have anything for him yet, but he needs to make an impression.
  • SERAFIN’S TEAM: I can see one of them, but I’m drawing a complete blank on the rest. I know one needs to appear again in Part Two, so they deserve more effort up front. I prefer to draw inspiration from real life whenever I can, so I’ll start looking at real mercenaries and look for someone interesting to build on.
  • JABBAR: Jabbar appeared in my head nearly fully formed, so I’m not terribly worried about him.
  • THE THUGS: Minor characters, but they should still feel like they belong in the world.
  • ███████████ ██ ████ ██████ █████ ███████ ████ ████ ███ █████ ███ ████ █████ ████ █████ ███████ █████ █████ ██ ████ ███████ ████ ████████ ████ ██ ████ ████████
  • CONTINUUM: Mostly finished with these guys, although I probably need to flesh out one of them more.
  • THE WAYWARD SON: At the moment, fairly generic, but we’ll see if we can find some nuance.

Here are some of the other tracks I believe will help with Chapter Four:

LOCATION TRACKS

The Aphelion Conference

Aphelion is the annual summit for high-level members of the UFA governance to meet and discuss policy. In terms of worldbuilding, this will provide readers with a sense of the current political climate and set up future conflict; in terms of Chapter Four, this represents Serafin’s best opportunity to share his concerns about the hidden threat slowly spreading throughout the solar system.

Collins Station

Deeply scarred by the war, the station is constantly on the verge of total collapse and desperately in need of resources. The station was also occupied by the Iblis in the war – the high-water mark of their campaign, in fact – and there is considerable bitterness and resentment on both sides. The UFA uses Collins as a military outpost, although they take pains to disclaim any responsibility for the station’s residents.

(This is a good example of checking track intersections: Aphelion and Collins stand in sharp contrast, and Serafin’s journey from the heights of Copernican society to the desperate dregs will help to establish the scope and complexity of this world.)

CONCEPTUAL TRACKS

Copernican Politics

There is a larger game going on behind the scenes in Razors, which will come into clearer focus and become more important as the series continues. I have introduced and re-introduced concepts like the Corporative and characters like Executive Abergel previously, but Chapter Four is a valuable opportunity to directly expose Serafin to the legislators and bureaucrats of the UFA before the chaos begins.

The Mercenaries

Mercenaries play a major role in Chapter Four, and will be a key area of focus going forward. In addition to hiring men for the Bennett rescue operation, Serafin will come into conflict with Continuum, an overzealous private security firm with connections to the intelligence world.

The Offer

Serafin’s meeting with █████ ████████ ████████ demands my best work, and will take the most research to cover properly. This section of the book needs to clearly establish ███ ████ ███████████ ████████ ███████ ███ ███ ███ ███ █████████ ██████, and clear up some common misconceptions readers might have about █████████ ████████.

This section is not intended to advance any particular ████████, but rather demonstrate that Copernica is a complex system, and that █████████ ████████ ███████████ are not lacking for intelligence and skill.

I assume writing this section will take more research and time than anything else in Chapter Four, but it is also relatively isolated, so I can comfortably break it off and worry about it later.

CHRONOLOGICAL TRACKS

Since I’m focusing on a single character, this is less relevant for my work, but there have been a few times when I’ve needed to sketch out some itineraries to make sure everything fits. J.R.R. Tolkien even went so far as to write out schedules for his characters:

tolkien time tracking.png

This isn’t really necessary for my project, but I do think about time. There’s a tendency in modern thrillers to constantly jam on the gas and throw in ticking clocks everywhere, which I’ve made a conscious effort to avoid in Razors. I’m not opposed to that sort of thing on principle, but it needs to be earned.

ONGOING TRACKS

The examples above are specific to Chapter Four, but there are also a few recurring tracks I check on regularly:

  • Serafin’s Family
  • Copernican Culture
  • The UFA Bureaucracy
  • The Intelligence Community
  • The Conspiracy
  • Technology
  • The Consensus System

TRACKING TRACKS

Tracks require some overhead to maintain, to be sure, but over the last few years I’ve found this mental model enormously helpful in managing the complexity and consistency of Razors.

One of the reasons I’ve considered making my own word processor is that existing software isn’t really designed for this sort of thinking. It’s theoretically possible in Scrivener, although I found setting up the binders so unpleasant and clunky I ultimately gave up on it.

Oh, one other thing I should mention: tracks are incredibly helpful in isolating Sticking Points, which we’ll talk about next week.