Third Draft

I have always loved the second and third draft stage of the writing process. After the first draft I am usually left with a very rough outline of the story and the character development. with the stage am at is the story starts to really take shape and become solid with texture and depth. It's now I can look over what I wrote through the first draft and see how good it was at capturing what I saw in my mind's eye back when I wrote it. Now is also when I can take that and tighten it up and give it the proper detail and emphasis I think it may need. Right now I am very happy with how the story comes together and more importantly how the characters work, and interact, and go another step into their overall character development. It has been said that writing is 10% writing and 90% re-writing. I definitely felt that sentiment the firs time around with Titan: The Midnight Hour, but right now I have found a very good groove and feel that it is 70% writing and 30% re-writing. I may be pushed back until June for the release of Titan: City Under Siege, but in the end I think it will be better and more exciting than its predecessor. we will soon find out.

Duality

I am finding something that is very satisfying yet also challenging about writing the Titan series is that it almost does feel like two different stories that are happening along parallel roads. I have the story of Michael Novak on one hand and the story of Titan on the other. that to me is a great part of the superhero dynamic. The alter egos play out separately yet together. With Titan you have him against all of these villains, the mayor, the police, and media. with Michael I have his relationships with his friends, his girlfriend, his grandfather and brother, and so many more. Yet, so much of the story of Michael is obviously impacted by Titan, but so many in his life have no idea about his secret identity. It does help while writing to think of them for the most part as two separate characters and then through editing bridge them nicely together. By the end of the series this will be a main focal point, this duality and maintaining it.

Spoiler Alert!

FYI, the following will contain some spoiler alerts for future volumes of the Titan book series!

As any superheroes alter ego, Michael Novak has two best friends that help to keep him grounded in the real world as his super alter ego continually pulls him into from the normal life and into the stratosphere. Those friends are Perminder and Dave.

Perminder is a tall and skinny kid of East Indian heritage. He comes from a rather large family and is usually light hearted and up beat, which is something that Michael needs in his life more and more. In 'The Midnight Hour' We didn't get to see a whole lot of him. Mostly I wanted to show who he was and something of his overall personality. In Vol. 2 we will see a whole lot more of him and in a very different light. Perminder will become the next person to discover Michael's superhero identity as Titan. It is something that happens purely by accident which makes it something that was not in Michael's control, but has to work with none the less. Michale now has to learn not only to handle it but trust his friend with this big secret, something he is not known well for. Carly also has her apprehensions about him knowing. She doesn't think that he will be able to stay quiet about it, and she is also a little jealous as up until now she has been the only person to know about Titan. In the end it is the beginning of an inner circle of support for Michael in all that he has to cope with as Titan and in his own life.

Dave is of a very similar build to Michael and of Chinese heritage. he comes from a rather strict but much smaller family than Perminder. Dave is generally a little more intense and sarcastic then Perminder is. We saw about as much of Dave as we did of Perminder in 'The midnight Hour'. In vol. 2 Dave's story takes a very different turn. We see Dave fraternise with Micheal's bully and suspected criminal older brother, Vince. This obviously does not sit well with Micheal. It also makes him much more protective of Dave finding out about his secret. This story line of Dave's will be further played out in vol. 3 'Shadow games'. In vol. 3 we will find that Dave is seduced, like so many others from his neighbourhood, by easy money for criminal activity. Michael will find out and it will send Titan on a race to prevent his friend from getting into anything over his head. In the end Titan will be too late. Dave will be shot and paralysed from the waist down, but that will not be the end of his story either...

Sibling Rivalry

Some of the most positive reader feedback that I have had for 'Titan: The Midnight Hour' is the feuding brothers in Michael and Vince Novak. Vince is clearly the arch enemy to Michael as Mr. Midnight is the arch enemy of Titan. The dynamic of these two characters has grabbed readers attention and I can definitely say that they will not have to wait long before they get to see this sibling rivalry play out even more. In 'City Under Siege' We will get to see plenty of Vince and he and Michael will be clashing head on before long. Unfortunately, Grandpa Dale may also get caught in the middle.

I also want to show a different side of Vince then we saw in the last book. I want readers to get to see a much more vulnerable and human side to Michael's older brother. By the end of vol. 2, my hope is, readers will come away with something of a different opinion of Vince and perhaps some very conflicting emotions regarding him as well, I think it's safe to say that Michael sure will.

This will be the next big step in the over all development of the character of Vince. His arc will see Vince go through a complete character 180 and will end somewhat tragic for him. there will be very little of Vince moving through the next couple volumes after vol. 2, but he will come back with a vengeance.

The Ice Queen

In the opening chapter of Titan vol. 3 Shadow Games Titan will be in the climax in an epic battle against a chilly foe called the Ice Queen. She will be a villain in the vein of Captain Cold or Mr. Freeze. I am currently in the throws of fully developing her and how her powers will work exactly. I am also working on what kind of henchmen or helpers she would have if any. All I know right now is that she will be in her ice fortress in the middle of Campbell Park, and Titan will be about to storm her fortress before she is able to completely encase Delta City in ice, leaving it at her mercy.  Vol. 3 will be the biggest Titan yet with a great number of villains and character development.the most pivotal books in the series.

Chapter Update

Sometimes, despite best laid plans, things just don't work out as you intended. Case in point, Chapter 8 of 'City Under Siege', originally titled 'Martial Law' now titled 'City Under Siege'. I had a rough idea of the things I wanted to accomplish with the chapter, but it simply didn't come together the way I hoped that it would. Sometimes, especially when I am guiding myself by loose plot lines and not being as structured, I just try and let the chapter take me away and see what comes of it. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. This time it didn't. But now I am coming back at what I have on the page and I think I have truly found something much better.

**Spoiler Alert!!!***
What I really just wanted to convey was the serious threat that could not be ignored now of Dr. Melodian. Also I wanted Grandpa Dale to picked up from the hospital by Michael and taken back home (no, I will not say why he was in the hospital.).  My ideas at first, though, for conveying the threat just didn't quite meld together all that well. But now I have added in a sweet little Titan scene that I am working on now. Originally there was no Titan in this chapter just Michael. Now there is and he even will have a little run in with the police. Once the chapter is done the book will be very close to done. Only one last edit to go I think.  

Superhero 101

One of the main purposes of my creating Titan was to be able to have a superhero character that could easily slip into anyplace on the time stream of traditional superhero comics as though he fit right and was there all along. In other words my hero had to feel timeless and completely conform into the parameters of what these heroes are. I had to fit all the cliches and trademarks to fit into the overall mythos.

my hero had to have a costume with mask and symbol, check.
He had to have a secret identity, check.
He had to live in a fictional or real city, fiction check.
He had to have an arch enemy, check.
He would need a rogues gallery, check
He had to have a mentor to teach him the ropes, a little unconventional sure but check.
He had to have a sidekick, to come.

And there's so many more that will be touched upon through out the series. I want to also be able to expand upon those characteristics as well. For example,Titan does have a girlfriend right from the beginning where as many heroes pine for their lady love over time. I wanted Michael to already have that relationship built and simply try to maintain it through these improbable circumstances. Plus, when it comes to sidekciks, Titan will get to be one and then later he will get one.