Time and Space and Backpacks

Today I’m working on a Sly As A Fox scene that’s based in a junkyard. I have to rewrite it, expand it, and add a few details.

I need Sylvia to call Johnson and Eccheli while she’s sitting in Aaron’s car, right after she sends pics of the VIN to Hixley, but before she gets arrested. Johnson will answer the phone and tell her they checked out the ownership and owner of the airstrip. They have also put a patrol on her house.

Sylvia needs to remember to check under the seats of the car. She also has her backpack with her. Does she get hungry and snack on the leftover ruben from her earlier meeting with Dawes? Does she rummage around in her pack for something, thereby moving the Browning pistol she brought with her?

Does she try to talk her way out of the arrest? Is she still on the phone with Johnson when the police arrive? What does she say?

What are her suppositions at this point?

She also needs to remember to bring her backpack with her. This is important because it sets her up to get in trouble once she’s arrested.

Is it still snowing? How cold is it? Are there stars? Moon shining down? Can she hear the sounds from the nearby bar?

Do the arresting officers comment to each other?

On and on and on. Then, further down the road, I’ll think of something else that I forgot to put in there. Or something that needs to be changed. Or removed. Or I’ll read the scene and decide it needs to be rewritten again.

Lots to think about. Then there’s the research.

On a side note, is it weird she brings a backpack to a bar? How many women do that? Is it something I would do?

What do the uniforms of the arresting officers look like? What about their police car?

How far away is the police station? What direction?

How exactly do the Miranda Rights go again?

And this is all just one scene. There are 65 scenes in a novel. At the bare minimum.

This is why it takes a long time to write a book. This is why writers often stare of into space with a blank look on their faces. This is why we spend soooo much time on the internet. And why our search history should never be taken seriously.