Black Hours Diary entry no 12: Superstitions and Risks

Over two years ago now, I blogged about how well The Hoard of Mhorrer was writing. It was the 1st draft, and I was scooting through it with all the ease of an Olympic ice-skater on, er, ice. Little did I know, the surface would go all-cobbly twelve months later, and I would lose my footing quite spectacularly during the 2nd draft.
Now, I’m a foolish, superstitious writer at best (I’ve wished upon falling stars, I even wear a lucky Celtic cross when I write, and don’t get me started on those silly rituals I undergo when I submit something for publication) so I feel like I’m tempting fate by saying The Black Hours is writing well (I’ll just whisper it, that’ll be okay, won’t it?). But it is going well.
Very well.
And it is the 2nd draft, and the 2nd draft is where those fucking enormous plot holes appear, the size of the ozone layer - yet plot holes in The Black Hours are so far pretty tiny. Pin-pricks, actually.
And the writing reads a whole lot better than previous books, which is personally gratifying (I stand by my writing-mantra of bettering myself with each project).
It all adds up to a big serving of ‘confidence-pie’ complete with a big-dollop of ‘self-belief-custard’ on the side.

So, and with another whisper, when I finish the 2nd draft earlier than anticipated (I’m on chapter 12 at the moment, so I should get it done before December) I’ll be taking the unprecedented move of letting someone read it at the 2nd draft stage. Or perhaps more than one person.
You see, I do feel confident, but I’m not feeling too objective because it’s such an easy write. I feel I’m too close to the project. I might be missing something on Tone. Or Plot. Or Character. A second or third pair of peepers would be valuable even now. (I have in mind who; it would be just a question of whether they have enough time on their hands). Yep, there is a danger that I’m letting external opinions influence the book at an early stage, perhaps too early, but that’s the risk, and I’m a big boy. I can take their opinions like an adult, or throw my laptop out of the pram. But the benefits… well, if it reveals a flaw that I’m not aware of, it could save a few months of work. It could even save the project.

Or, alternatively, if the response is wholly positive then I might be ahead of myself by several months and Pan Macmillan will get a copy of The Black Hours around Spring 2009 instead of late Summer. And the closer that happens, the closer I get to seeing a third book on the ol’ publishing schedule.

Now that is worth the risk.