Clearing Hurdles with Aplomb

ot only did I flip through a few screenplays and index the range of terms that I encountered, but I've gotten a better feel for the software, Final Draft, and today I adapted more than half of the first chapter of ACYW.

I've stopped, momentarily, as I've hit a small wall - one that I saw coming and which I believe, with some thought, can be hurdled with aplomb. Throughout ACYW I go into detail about Detroit, Dearborn, Michigan, the local, state and national economies, and then later as we experience the fall of 2008, the stock market. The wall is, how do I present these important figures? Chances are, my characters are not going to have memorized obscure, but important, statistics nor will they be able to recall the level of the Dow on specific dates.

This wall gives me an opportunity to present the information in creative and indirect ways. It can come from a radio in the background. It could be grazed from the covers of newspapers read by people in the background of a scene. Those are a couple simple ways to do it, but I'll need to give this more thought.

Checked out

Now that I've decided to return to New York on Sunday, my mind has already checked out. I've edited the prologue, the first chapter and outlined changes for chapter two which will need a lot of work. But it's work I'd like to tackle back home.

Till then, I'm doing things in the area that I haven't been able to yet. I spent today in Ann Arbor. Tomorrow I'm going to tour Henry Ford's estate and, hopefully, go to a hookah bar. Yesterday I went to a local Arab restaurant. All in all, I've met good people who have done an excellent job of answering my questions and helping me better understand the area, its history and its people.

Unfortunately, I never got to work for a local Arab bakery which would have been a lot of fun and educational. Business locally's been slow and the bakeries I inquired at didn't need any extra part-time help.

There will be no shortage of distractions at home, but I've got into a good editing rhythm lately, working hours at a time unlike the first draft where I'd bang out some copy in an hour or so and call it a day. Plus, being this close to the end with so many people asking me how it's coming along, is only more incentive to wrap it up strong.

Double Sessions

I reckon I can edit pritnear all 19 chapters before leaving Dearborn. This'll mean one a day, but probably more like editing double sessions. I prefer to read through a chapter first making notes as I go (eg, add description here, what's another example of this there, etc...) and then to go back and fill in the blanks. At one point or another I typically hit a wall which is where reading or baseball comes in to provide a break so splitting the editing into two sessions a day should work well.

As I edit I've set out some goals:

1) Smooth transitions: Make sure you get from one word to another, one sentence to another, one paragraph to another and one chapter to another smoothly. Don't leave the reader behind without any bread crumbs.

2) Physicality: A complement to conversational humor is physical humor. Physical description also gives the reader a better feel for the characters. Lastly, it breaks up conversation which may move too quickly without it and with it may help build up a sequence.

3) Know your characters: Few of us know everything about those in our lives, but we know a few key things. This is an area where I need to do a better job. Plus, the more you know about a character, the more flexibility you have for humor, action and conversation.

4) Keep it tight: Every field of work and every couple have their own jargon. So does this book. The book's jargon touches on cars, U.S. history, Eddie Murphy films, baseball and Arab culture. What I can't do is extend references or allusions too far beyond that already wide swath otherwise I'll lose readers' interest, frustrate them and ask them to do too much work. While I enjoy reading good books more than once (mining them for more because I probably missed something the first time), the reader's reward should not come in the second or third reading. A reward should come the first time around.

Make no mistake, I refuse to "dumb down" this book. I refuse. Standards are already low enough out there.

Sweet 16

Chapter 16 is in the books. Yeehaw. I've also written up outlines for Chapter 17 and the short Epilogue.

Question: Do you read Prologues and Epilogues? If not, why not?

So now you're thinking, OK, those two chapters and he's done...right? Kinda. Then there's Chapter 1.5. I realized a while back that there ought to be a chapter between the introduction (Chapter 1) and the beginning of action in Dearborn (Chapter 2) where I give the reader more background on the history of Dearborn. Sounds boring, but it helps the story make more sense if you can understand the transformation this area has undergone in the last 80-100 years. In some ways, Dearborn was akin to Williamsburg, Brooklyn when it was one of the places to do business before the area's decline and then subsequent rise with the Hipster; that is, except for the rise part. When I've asked locals if they think Dearborn could become the next Flint I have yet to hear a denial or refusal. Usually there's just silence and/or a "maybe." Kinda scary.

Anyway, yeah, either I write 1.5 or I sprinkle in local history as I go.

Mining Suzan; Book Trailers

My new style Dearborn-native friend Suzan continues to be a wealth of information. So far today I've learned more about Dearborn's old mayor, Mayor Hubbard, who was such a fierce racist that blacks from Detroit heading west would intentionally go around Dearborn to avoid him and his police force; that to get a pass (even a day pass) to the local recreation center, you had to be a Dearborn resident and that Hubbard kept blacks out of Dearborn (as did Henry Ford) which means they weren't hanging out at the rec center.

We also drove by the old Montgomery Ward site. I say "old" because, well, they done blown that shit up. Yup, the place where two of my main characters had an office is now dust. RIP Montgomery Ward Dearborn.

I also got to canvass around Dearborn Heights today which I'll do again a few more times before election day.

Lastly, Suzan's family and I went into Detroit to see a film. Before and after the film, Suzan and her sisters pointed out a myriad of local landmarks (the Fisher Building, Hitsville, U.S.A. (the home of Motown), the Fox Theatre, the new casinos and their geneses, the Wayne State University campus and the Detroit Institute of the Arts, to name a few). I'll see them again Friday night and hope to speak to a brother-in-law of Suzan's who used to work for Ford. Needless to say, I've been very fortunate to meet some good, informative people pretty quickly.

In other news, supposedly "book trailers" are all the rage as marketing tools. I kinda like the idea, though it also kind of defeats the purpose of a book (and being a writer) if you still have to sell your idea/work via a visual image/film. Regardless, I came up with about five different ideas for trailers last night. Buiser, if you're reading this, I'm gonna knock on your door, bro.

Learning on the fly

In the last six hours, I've learned the following about Dearborn:

1) The local public transportation system is, even by locals' standards, laughable. The bus stops give no indication of a schedule, a route or what buses stop there. Helpful!

2) No handshakes, please, we're Arab women. While volunteering in town, I met a young Arab woman who I greeted with my name and a hand to shake. In turn, she put her right hand over her heart and bowed slightly. That's how they roll. Now I know. (She then went back to business...putting some of her make-up on another volunteer)

3) I've also been fortunate enough to meet a very informative local who drove me around town pointing out good places to food shop and eat (she now lives in the Bay Area), discussing the history of the area (there's been not only white flight because of blacks, but because of Arabs) and who has helped me better understand how the Arab community has flourished here.

4) I also stopped into a local bakery where I'd like to work. My contact there wasn't in, but I picked up a slice of chocolate mousse cake, two petitfours and another chocolate treat for...$2.50! A delicious steal.

Last night I combined all chapters written so far into one document, standardized the names of my characters (I had changed my mind a few times on one, though she may undergo one more change) and will now go back to finishing up the final three chapters.

Tomorrow I look forward to canvassing through various parts of Dearborn and picking my friend's brain some more.

Michigan ho!

After numerous phone calls (with more to come) and inquiries, I've finally got substantive enough answers to move on. What am I talking about? I'm talking about a month-long sojourn in Dearborn during which time I'll volunteer on the Obama campaign (yes, I know McCain has withdrawn from MI, but there are few better ways to learn an area's geography and issues faster than campaign work) and, hopefully, do a stint at a local Arab bakery.

This is key as it allows me to be in the place where the story takes places when it takes place. I will also be living with a local and working with locals so I can get more local perspectives, get a feel for diction/accent and make the story truer where it needs to be.

I hope to leave October 20th at the earliest, November 1st at the latest with a return to NYC ahead of Thanksgiving.

Pointers from Thank You For Smoking

In an attempt to learn more about the genre (e.g., how to make fun of something without being an asshole), I just finished reading Christopher Buckley's Thank You For Smoking (1994) which takes on political correctness via the fight in the U.S. over smoking. My concern lately has been how to set a story in Dearborn without tearing the town to shreds. Here's what I learned from Buckley:

1) Ain't no shame in short (less than 10 page) chapters.

2) That it's important to give background info on characters so the reader can readily connect with them. I haven't been doing this. I need to become friends with my characters. Right now they're acquaintances.

3) The use of industry specific knowledge. What's the difference between an amateur and a professional? The amateur may know how to turn a phrase, but a pro can do that and be an expert on the subject at hand. While I do not want to bombard readers with minutaie, I do need to prove I'm a cut above an amateur.

4) The importance of historical context. Buckley does a nice job of letting his contemporary audience know that tobacco has been an issue for hundreds of years, not just since the 1950s. He does this by finding the more relevant and cool stories from history and bringing them to our attention. If I can find parallels to my story from history, it would ground it and perhaps make it more acceptable.

5) Women. Buckley's women in this particulary novel are sex objects and savvy in business, if not downright ruthless. While one of my main characters is a female, most are male and the female voice is marginalized. I need to work on this.

Most importantly, I've come to the conclusion that the joke isn't on Dearborn, it's on U.S. officials who continue to encourage a way of looking at our country that may no longer exist (or maybe shouldn't exist), ie, that we're #1 and that everything's fine. If anything, the people of Dearborn in my story fight this when they see it does them no good.

7 Complete; MI interviews; On Deck

I just finished chapter seven and moved bits of it into 8, so that's started. I'm happy how the story is moving and how intrigue/tension is building, but it's still a little thin and could use some fattening up.

I sat down with a friend from Michigan yesterday to pick her brain about her time growing up there. Her most specific memories of Dearborn pertained to their Arab pastries. As a pastry baker, I should have no problem working them into the story and into my tummy, hopefully in October. I have also promised myself to email the Dearborn reporter/blogger and to get that ball rolling. This is my chance to do a better job of putting my finger on the pulse of local affairs.

Lastly, I'm close to finishing Buckley's Thank You For Smoking which I will discuss in more depth next posting.

6 in the books; Writing On the Wall; Thank You For Lampooning

Just finished writing chapter six. Seven's on deck for this week.

In 2000 I visited a friend in Oxford, Mississippi. While there I toured the home of William Faulkner. What I remember most is that he'd drawn on the walls of his workroom the outline for a book. On my desk I have various mementos from trips to Dearborn and other articles and tidbits, but am getting closer to taking a page from Faulkner. Hell, I've already slapped a "The customer can have...any color that he wants so long as it is black" magnet on my fridge as a reminder. So, basically, I gotta get past Ford to get to either ice cream or vodka.

Since I got in touch with a local Dearborn reporter and blogger, the question, "How do you poke at an issue and a place cleverly?" has nagged me. And then, yesterday, I saw that Christopher Buckley, author of Thank You For Smoking among other works, will be speaking in NYC in October. I've requested TYFS from the library and look forward to picking his brain. Till then, I'll continue to bang away.

Return to Dearborn: Highlights

I had a number of questions I wanted to answer on this second trip to Dearborn. In general, this trip filled a lot of knowledge gaps, but many still remain. Here are some of the highlights.

I had already written about a scene that takes place during the playing of a old time baseball game in Greenfield Village...now I've actually seen one. It was pretty cool. The players were dressed in old garb, played by 1867 rules and did a nice job of educating and getting the crowd involved. I can now visualize and hear the scene taking place in my head rather than just assuming how it'd all look and sound like.

I also took a lot of photos. I took photos of all the places where scenes take place (thus far) and of key points around town which may see action in the future.

I also got a better feel for the difference between Dearborn and Detroit. The outskirts of Detroit along Michigan Avenue were rather desolate. A lot of buildings were vacant and there weren't many folks around. Dearborn seemed to have more going on. It looked like a number of new restaurants had either opened or were about to open, but that a number of buildings remained empty and free to lease.

Downtown Detroit, though, wasn't as clear cut. I attended a Tigers game at Comerica Park (Detroit beat Baltimore 5-3, Verlander pitched great, Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Guillen homered) which is located right downtown. I liked the stadium and the Tiger fans, but from my seat in the left field bleachers I could see long empty buildings. While discussing the old Tiger Stadium which stands abandoned off Michigan Avenue no wrecking ball in sight (nor any other plans) with another fan during the game he provided me with a telling quote, "I don't know what it is, but Detroit likes to keep its crap."

That being said, I took a close look at the Montgomery Ward building in downtown Dearborn. There is a lot of talk that it'll be razed very soon, but from the look of it, it just appears that nothing is happening. If anything there are scary signs pertaining to asbestos within its entrances.

I had reached out to a local reporter/blogger before visiting, but didn't hear from him until my return. Nevertheless, I look forward to picking his brain and learning more about what's going on on the street. If all goes well I'd like to return in October for a few days as that's about when the story wraps up.

Chapter 6 continues to roll along. Hopefully I can finish it up this week. Events are starting to mount and the stakes are getting higher. While I have certain events in mind, others are sprouting here and there which have provided extra flavor and, hopefully, fun to the story.

Chapter Six Underway; Return to Dearborn

While I got a good start on Chapter Six this week, I did not finish. I did, though, get back to Dearborn for a follow-up visit which went very well. Will post more about that trip in the following days while working to finish Six.

Another week, another chapter

Finished a draft of chapter five this past Sunday. Have a start on six already and have some new plot threads from the end of five to work in that'll continue the conflict's escalation.

A minor theme that is emerging, and that I'm enjoying, is the lack of control we have over life; how we seek success in one place only for opportunities to appear elsewhere; or perhaps how few incidents are without a ripple effect. Intended or not.

Will spend some time this Wednesday reaching out to people in Dearborn in anticipation of this weekend's visit. Would like to pick the brain of a local blogger, in particular.

Address please?

In Chapter Three, the Batswana (the curious plural of people from Botswana) move their offices into the heart of Dearborn, specifically what has been the vacant Montgomery Ward building which I mentioned earlier. Well, after re-reading that link I'm confused. It seems that there is the Montgomery Ward building and then there is the John H. Schaefer building. I need to find out which is which and which I want to include in the story.

It also appears that the Montgomery Ward building may be torn down by September 1st to make way for a new building. The future of the Montgomery Ward building has been in limbo for a number of years with various plans having come and gone to no avail. I'll have to keep an eye on this development as it raises key questions:

1) If the building is torn down by 9/1/08, how does that impact my story which takes places between 08/08 and 11/08?
2) Can I ask readers to suspend their disbelief to accommodate what may be an anachronism?
I probably can, but I don't want to and there's the rub.
Till I have concrete answers, I'm gonna keep on truckin'. Revisions to Chapter Three are moving right along with characters and events taking on more depth and precision.

Booked

I made plans to return to Dearborn in August today. Specifically, I'm going to watch a historic baseball match and then off to Comerica Park to see the Tigers take on the Orioles in Detroit. I also need to peek into the Montgomery Ward and find out more about it's current status. This visit will give me a better idea of what the characters would see and feel as the story takes places between August and early November. My February visit gave me a good overview, but was a bit out of context as I froze my balls off.

Dearborn Day Three: I Got Your Setting Right Here, Pal

On Thursday, February 28, 2008, I toured the Ford Rouge Factory and watched the assembly of a Ford F-150. There were also two films, one on Henry Ford who had more of a Lincoln-like story (failed in business at least twice before making it) than I had ever known. The second film was about the factory and the steps and the people involved in the making of the F-150.

As one tours the factory, Ford, Bill Ford in particular, makes no bones about their dedication to the environment – until you realize that all their references to being green regard their processes (their Green Roof, use of fuel cells and recycled materials), not their vehicles.

There are no immediate plans to include the tour in the book, but I reckon my time at the factory will come in handy down the road. If nothing else, it's an essential part of the community and one that I needed to make myself familiar with.

Another part of the community that cannot be overlooked is the fantastically empty and dated Montgomery Ward department store smack dab across the street from City Hall, caddy corner from the Arab American National Museum, a stone's throw from a local newspaper and right on Michigan Avenue. One would think this makes for prime commercial real estate, but from what the innkeeper told me, the building's been vacant for years. According to that link (from 2006), offices within the building were rented out. Looked like a ghost town to me, but I'll have to follow up.

Well, one community's abandoned relic is another writer's central setting. Where better to set the rebirth of a local economy than from a beautiful building long overlooked?

Before leaving Dearborn, I picked up as many local papers as I could. I look forward to returning in a few months and taking in a Tigers game at Comerica. Now it's back to writing.

Day Two in Dearborn; A Book Title is Found?

On Wednesday morning I toured The Henry Ford which "showcases the people and ideas that have fired our imaginations and changed our lives." More specifically, the innovative ideas of Ford (cars), Thomas Edison (electricity) and the Wright Brothers (aviation) complemented by other exhibits on guns, quilting and Dairy Queen. Obviously we're working with Ford's (contemporary) definition of who and what fired our imaginations and changed our lives.

While walking around I asked myself what my protagonists would make of the museum. A famous Ford quote hit me in particular: "You can have any color (Model T) you want...as long as it's black." This line has become well-known for it's humor, but sadly it contradicts what we like to think the U.S. is all about: democracy and open-market capitalism, ie, the freedom of choice. We'd like to believe that we can choose the color of our cars, the leaders who represent us and through this openness we progress in perpetual revolution. But here is corporate titan Henry Ford restricting our choice and laughing about it. Kinda fucked up. I'll return to this. Now I'm off to the Arab American National Museum.

The museum's mission statement is: The Arab American National Museum's mission is to document, preserve, celebrate, and educate the public on the history, life, culture and contributions of Arab Americans. We serve as a resource to enhance knowledge and understanding about Arab Americans and their presence in the United States.

Unlike the Ford, which seems to lose its focus, this museum does exactly what it sets out to do. And I can't get this to not italicize. At the same time, the museum raises some questions: 1) It discusses briefly the "Save the South End" campaign in Dearborn, but I'd like to know more; 2) How are the Gulf War and Iraq War Iraqi refugees doing in the community?; 3) How do the Arab Christians and the Arab Muslims in the area get along?; and 4) How are female Arab entrepreneurs doing in Dearborn?

After visiting the breeding ground of a major American car manufacturer and an Arab American museum (in the same town) I had the following horrible thought: What if unemployment is high and the economy is down in this part of the country because it is home to two of the most infamously stubborn entities (American autos and Arabs) this side of Red Sox fans and vegans?

I'd like to think I was proven wrong later that same day on a few occasions. First, Dearborn is not black and white, Arab and non-Arab. There are no stark residential boundaries. The local KFC offers Halal chicken. The Arab restaurant I had dinner at offered American standards. Women in burqas enjoyed hot drinks on cold Dearborn days in coffee shops on the other side of town.

Dizzy with the prospects of such subplots, I drew myself back to book's main idea and Ford's quote. The U.S. suffers when it restricts choice, and by extension opportunity. By rejecting the help of two successful (foreign) entrepreneurs, choice and opportunity take a hit. So what do you call a book set in Ford's backyard that stonewalls two African entrepreneurs from offering Americans choice and opportunity? Why, "Any Color You Want" of course. ;)

Tomorrow: The making of a Ford F-150 and the renting of Montgomery Ward.

Day One in Dearborn

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

I arrived at the Dearborn Bed & Breakfast on 22331 Morley Avenue at around 1:30pm; the snow so fresh that a number of driveways had yet to be cleared. Am staying in the Walnut Room on the second floor which is drafty, but beautiful and spacious - at least by New York standards. After getting settled, I spoke with the innkeeper about local attractions and posed some of the questions about the area.

The innkeeper, who has lived here for approximately 45 years after moving with her husband from the Cleveland area upon his taking a job with Ford, is a white woman probably in her sixties. She is very kind and hospitable. She also has a good sense of the changes that have taken place in the area, though I don’t think she’s one to be critical or negative.

She admitted that the local economy was not in good shape, mainly because of Ford and GM (also that white collar workers (like her two sons, who seem to be safe in their jobs) are often the first to get the axe) and that old Mayor Hubbard was not one for allowing blacks or immigrants to live in Dearborn: They could work here, but that’s all.

She said that the Arab population was mainly in East Dearborn (off of Michigan Avenue near City Hall and the old Montgomery Ward which has been abandoned for years) and Melvindale; that West Dearborn was mainly white; and that Inkster was mainly black. She added that there was a Mexican neighborhood in Detroit, but that there wasn’t a particularly large Hispanic presence locally.

While she did delineate ethnicities and neighborhoods, she also went so far as to say that these lines were not so clearly drawn; that there was a good mix of black, white and Arab all around. She also said that there had been no white flight. That being said, she gave an example of a family that moved before their white child was to enter a school that was 99% black…

I had dinner at Miller’s Bar which the innkeeper recommended for their burgers. Miller’s is right off of Michigan Avenue - the main drag; it has a big, clear sign, but then no signs on either of its doors which gives it a prohibition dive bar feel, until you enter and it’s spic and span. Indeed, my medium rare cheeseburger – served bloody, thank god – was tasty and tender. The fries, on the other hand, had the backbone of the local economy. The burger was served with a slice of onion wrapped in parchment on the side and a jar of sliced pickles on the table. On tap? Miller or Miller Light. I chose Miller and was served what appeared to be a half-pint; which Lucy would order by saying, “One up” to the bartender. Two all day.

Eating at 8:20pm on a Tuesday night, I missed the main dinner rush, but as Lucy my server informed me, that usually hadn’t mattered. She attributed the low turnout to either the snow and cold weather, the economy or both. There wasn’t a soul at the bar, most of the patrons were middle aged and all were white. As was the staff.

I was informed that Miller’s is cash only and that they work on the honor system. I received no bill from Lucy; I just have to go up to the bar, tell the bartender what I had and pay him. And so I did.

As I leave it either begins to flurry or the wind kicks up and blows the earlier snow around. The parking lot in the back is all American made to a car.

My initial drives up and down Michigan Avenue (in tandem with my conversation with the innkeeper) draw some points of note. First, there are all the requisite chain/big box stores. Second, there are a number of empty stores, even stores of renown. I took these to be a sign of the weak local economy. The innkeeper mentioned that a number of stores and buildings had been torn down and replaced with new buildings (mainly residential apartments and lofts with a commercial presence on the ground floor) – so perhaps these empties are just awaiting the wrecking ball before new structures go up. If what she says is true, then the area probably benefited from the housing boom like the rest of the country. Whether or not the area can weather the automotive industry’s woes, the popping of the housing bubble and the sub-prime credit mess is another matter.

Like a moron, I left my digital camera at home.

Wednesday I visited The Henry Ford and the Arab American National Museum. More tomorrow.

So tell me about the book...

I just finished watching Gung Ho which, unfortunately, did not take place in Michigan, but rather in Pennsylvania. Go figure. Either way, 20 years on and the themes of that story are still relevant, if not more so in a world that is not just commercially bipolar (Japan and the U.S.), but multipolar.

While watching the film I said to myself that I could perhaps describe the book I'm working on in terms of an updated Gung Ho. The analogy, unfortunately, falls apart in a few ways. While Gung Ho more or less explores the Japanese-American work dynamic (with tastes of cultural differences), my story will most likely pull up a number of issues across the board (first world vs. third world; immigrants vs. natives (which, in the U.S., is still kind of a joke as only the Native Americans can really lay claim to that moniker); and, of course, baseball vs. soccer). That being said, when asked what the story's about, it's been a challenge to come up with a short and sweet response that accurately conveys the story's conflict and gets people interested.

This will be particularly important to nail down when the boy from New York City shows up in Dearborn. I've been thinking of saying, "It's about the conflicts that arise in a city dealing with economic and immigrant issues." I know, that's blindingly boring and not funny at all, but I reckon it'll get people talking and sharing their stories which'll help me paint a more accurate picture.

Punch My Ticket

It's official: With plane tickets and rental car secured, I'm heading out to Dearborn at the end of February. I've also put together a preliminary list of questions I'll need to answer (eg, where would my characters live? Where would they set up shop? Where's the most likely place for them to get into a car accident?) between now and the end of my trip.

I've also started ransacking the NYPL for books on Michigan and Dearborn so I can arrive with a sense of history and geography.

This being my first trip to the area, I hope to do so as a tourist more than as if I lived there, ie, I'll walk and drive around a lot to get a feel for how the area is laid out; will look into local museums and venues. At the same time, I'll be looking at the area through the eyes of my characters. Hopefully I'll meet some locals and talk to them about area to get a better feel for what's going on on the ground.

On the other side, I've been reading books in Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, a series which takes place in Botswana. The books have given me a better feel for the language, geography and diet of the country. The first book in this series has been made into a movie featuring Jill Scott to debut sometime later this year.