Some NANOWRIMO Thoughts

It’s probably obvious I haven’t been here for a while. My writing output has suffered with my new hobby of producing writing tools—turning pens. I’ve long collected pens and now making them by hand with a lathe has become a wonderful diversion. Even with that, though, my writing bug has not gone away.

There are as many writing processes as there are writers in the world. November being national novel writing months (NANOWRIMO), I thought I would jot down the way things work for me.

All my first drafts of everything I write exceeding a paragraph in length are handwritten—pen and paper. I envy those that can compose in front of a keyboard, but that is not me. My preferred tools are a fountain pen and pad or notebook. I love the feel of ink flowing onto the page the way it does from a well tuned nib. When the ideas are flowing fast and free, my hand can barely keep up with what my brain is producing. When the muse isn’t working, words on the page—any words—are better than nothing.

The second draft starts (it’s still really the first draft) when I type the handwritten content into a word document. Obvious mistakes are corrected, and word changes, easy edits, and similar content revisions happen here. These are not major; more of a clean-up.

Then the real work starts. A printer is my best friend. I edit and revise best on paper. Scribbles, scratches, revisions all get made by pen on the printed copy. For books, this doesn’t happen until the entire “first” draft is done, typed into the manuscript. The changes then get typed into the document and the process starts over again; print, edit and revise, type. On a book, I may do this five or six times before I consider it “done.”

Another part of the conceptual process is commonly divided into two schools; plotters or pantsers. Plotters have an outline which can range from simple to incredibly complex before they begin writing. Seat of the pants writers just let things flow.

For fiction, I fall into the latter camp. The story and characters tell me where they want to go, sometimes surprising me. For non-fiction, though, the outline rules. If this seems inconsistent, I plead guilty. All I know is it works for me. 

Writers spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about process and comparing theirs to others; not in a negative way but always hoping for ideas on how to get better. This is mine—for now at least—and it works for me. 

And now it's even more fun doing it with a pen I made myself.  

It's Out!

Now available on Amazon, The Education of Stuart McGrath. In paperback or Kindle. Grab a copy today right here

Stuart McGrath, the mayor’s erstwhile assistant, tells the tale of his meteoric rise (don’t meteors fall?) from volunteer campaign worker to chief of staff for third term Mayor Nathan Higgins. With a new degree in political science, Stuart is fascinated by electoral politics and Scranton, and when he gets the opportunity to fuse them by appointment as the high titled but low paid chief of staff to the mayor, his real education begins.

In the style of political satirists Christopher Buckley and P.J. O’Rourke, Gary Ryman looks at small city America as personified by Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Hard scrabble fading coal town, Joe Biden blue collar mecca, home of Dunder Mifflin paper, Scranton is all of these and none of these.  City government is however, a combination soap opera and situation comedy and Stuart is up for best supporting actor. With inspiration from television and newspapers—sources of questionable accuracy at best—Ryman puts his own spin on how the city runs (or doesn’t). 

The Education of Stuart McGrath

A New Novel On The Way!

I treat announcements like this with the importance of the birth of a child, an engagement, election of a Pope, or a projected retirement date—that one’s looking more important every day. Recognizing that others do not consider such news in the same categories, I humbly ask you to read on anyway, and share with your friends. 

Coming soon—which means hopefully within a month or so—my new novel, The Education of Stuart McGrath. This book enters new ground for me, political satire. While I profess no expertise in the political arena, in fact just the opposite—profound ignorance—I can read a newspaper and view the internet with the best of them. These days, that’s all I needed to inspire this work. 

So what’s it about? Stuart McGrath, the mayor’s erstwhile assistant, tells the tale of his meteoric rise (don’t meteors fall?) from volunteer campaign worker to chief of staff for third term Mayor Nathan Higgins. With a new degree in political science, Stuart is fascinated by electoral politics and Scranton, and when he gets the opportunity to fuse them by appointment as the high titled but low paid chief of staff to the mayor, his real education begins. Hard scrabble fading coal town, Joe Biden blue collar mecca, home of Dunder Mifflin paper, Scranton is all of these and none of these.  City government is however, a combination soap opera and situation comedy and Stuart is up for best supporting actor.

Updates will follow and as soon as I know more about the schedule, so will you. 

For Your Christmas Shopping Convenience

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Book Signing

Please join me at the B&B Family Restaurant, Exit 201 off Interstate 81 on Saturday, October 15th from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Available will be copies of my new novel Fire In His Bones as well as my earlier books Mayday! Firefighter Down and my memoir Fire Men: Stories From Three Generations of a Firefighting Family. Come out for a great breakfast or lunch and stock up early for Xmas!

It's Out!!!

Fire In His Bones is now available on Amazon


“Dave, we do a great job in this department with every victim we encounter except one, the one in the mirror. You’re a victim and you either don’t know it or won’t admit it,” Chief Mann said. Captain Dave Michaels attained his dream job as the company commander of Rescue Squad 1, one of two such elite units in Fairmont County. But the dream turns into a nightmare, literally, when his crew is first arriving after a North Korean sponsored terrorist bombing of a library slaughters a visiting Kindergarten class. The “old school” Michaels resists help as his life spirals downward. Removed from his company and saddled with a desk, Michaels faces the loss of his job, wife, and family. Assigned to develop a rescue squad training program, the project turns out to be more valuable than imagined, teaching him about himself and helping him deal with the mental trauma. The assignment and the help of a firefighter counselor reopens the fire house door. Restored to command of a truck company, Michaels works through his struggles to reach a stronger place, at the same time wondering if the deadly attack was a lone wolf or are more in the wings?

Paperback

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Coming soon...Fire In His Bones

My new novel and sequel to Mayday! Firefighter Down. 

Fire In His Bones will be released this fall. From the back cover...

“Dave, we do a great job in this department with every victim we encounter except one, the one in the mirror.  You’re a victim and you either don’t know it or won’t admit it,” Chief Mann said. Captain Dave Michaels attained his dream job as the company commander of Rescue Squad 1, one of two such elite units in Fairmont County.  But the dream turns into a nightmare, literally, when his crew is first arriving after a North Korean sponsored terrorist bombing of a library slaughters a visiting Kindergarten class.  The “old school” Michaels resists help as his life spirals downward.  Removed from his company and saddled with a desk, Michaels faces the loss of his job, wife, and family.  Assigned to develop a rescue squad training program, the project turns out to be more valuable than imagined, teaching him about himself and helping him deal with the mental trauma.  The assignment and the help of a firefighter counselor reopens the fire house door.  Restored to command of a truck company, Michaels works through his struggles to reach a stronger place, at the same time wondering if the deadly attack was a lone wolf or are more in the wings?

A Writing Update

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing.  To the contrary, in the last few months I’ve completed the first draft of Fire In His Bones, which is the working title for the sequel to Mayday! Firefighter Down.  Editing and a second draft is well underway on this manuscript and I’m jotting down ideas for the third and final book in the series.  In Fire In His Bones, Dave Michaels fans can follow him with his promotion to Captain and assignment as the company commander of the elite Squad 1.  It will be an exciting ride…

At the same time, I’ve finished the first draft of another novel on a non-fire topic, which allowed me to creatively stretch a bit.  This book, entitled The Education of Stuart McGrath, is political satire set in the satirical gold mine which is Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Stuart is a young grad school political junkie who by the force of sheer competence, an unusual commodity in Scranton electoral politics, and a cheap salary, rises to the illustrious if deceiving position of Chief of Staff to the mayor.  This manuscript is fermenting in the bottom drawer of my desk for another few weeks before I begin the revision process, but I’m excited to take a fresh pass at what I hope will be a fun book. 

Time to fire up the coffee and get back to work….

An End of Winter Teaser.

It’s been an interminable winter, good only for one thing, writing.  Work on the sequel to Mayday: Firefighter Down! is coming along, up to around 69,000 words so far.  Predicting when a project will be complete is an act of futility, but a “teaser” may be in order.  No plot or story hints right now, but here is a scene I recently finished. 

Mickey was on kelly day Monday, the next day Dave’s shift worked.  Firefighter Mark Perry, a five year man, was detailed in to cover the shift.  On overtime from the fifth battalion, none of the truck crew had worked with him before. 

            The morning routine proceeded normally until Dave walked into the kitchen around 8:15 for a caffeine refill and found the detail man sitting at the table reading the newspaper.  Before he could say anything, Pizza walked in. 

            “Have you finished your equipment check out, kid?” 

            Dave knew Pizza wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t already know the answer. 

            Perry answered without looking up from the paper.

            “I’ll get to it.” 

            Joe balled up his fists and started for the detail man until Dave raised his hand. 

            “Perry, my office, now.” 

            “Come on, Captain; don’t tell me you’re one of those rule book pukes.  I heard you were a straight shooter.” 

            Dave looked over at Pizza.  He used every ounce of restraint in his body not to grab the kid by the throat.  

            “Perry, either walk out the door and go on sick leave or get your ass in my fucking office now.” 

            The young firefighter rose, and faced Michaels.

            “Sure Captain, let’s go have a chat.” 

            In the office, Dave leaned against his desk while Perry slouched in one of the extra chairs.  The engine officer was out on a run. 

            “What’s your problem?” Dave asked.

            “My problem?  I’m here on an overtime shift, not to kill myself.  You want to give me that rule book shit, no problem.  I’ll be filing a grievance by lunch time.” 

            “Kid, let me explain something to you.  On this company, firefighting isn’t something we do, it’s who we are.  You just want to collect a check, go back to the fifth.  I don’t want you here.” 

            “Gladly, I feel like I’ve got a fever coming on anyway,” Perry said, rising from the chair.  Michaels walked past him and opened the office door, motioning him out.  As he hit the threshold, Dave said, “he’s all yours, Pizza.” 

            Outside the office, Pizza waited.  Perry walked out and Dave shut the door behind him.  Pizza grabbed Perry by the throat with one hand and lifted him from the ground, pinning him against the wall. 

            “You listen to me, fuck-wad.  You’re not going to file a grievance; you’re not going to file shit.  I know everybody in this department and I’ll make sure the rest of your short career will be a living hell.  You want to learn to be a fireman, stay; we’ll teach you.  You want to leave, be my guest.  I don’t give a shit which.  Now nod you understand.” 

            Perry’s face was red, verging on purple from lack of oxygen.  Pizza flexed his wrist to make the young man’s head bob like a puppet.  He dropped him to the floor, turned, and walked away.  Perry sank to his knees, gasping for breath, bruises starting to form on his neck. 

            Within minutes, Perry gathered his gear and exited the rear door, driving away without another word.  Dave walked across the apparatus floor to the battalion chief’s office. 

            “My detailed firefighter went home sick,” he told the chief.  The older man looked up from his desk and Dave, lifting one eyebrow. 

“Anything I need to know, Dave?”

“You may not want to take him in the battalion on any more details; seems prone to…illness.” 

            “Got it, Dave; you okay running understaffed until I can call somebody in?” 

            “Yeah, we’re fine.  Give Mickey a call.  I don’t think he had anything special planned today; might make it easier.”  Dave knew Mickey might appreciate the overtime he’d get paid for coming in on his day off.

            “Okay Dave, I’ll let you know.”