G’Day USA will be ready by March 1st. (Earlier, probably, but I’m sticking to that date.)
I’m 95% certain that I’m going to enroll it in the 90 day kdp Select program.
I know, I originally demonised the plan, but there is something to be said about a limited increased exposure for new books. I certainly wouldn’t take existing books off the market just to load them in this plan, but it seems like a good evolution for new releases.
G’Day USA will be available as paperback on March 1st, but distribution beyond Kindle, at least as far as I’m thinking now, will have to wait until June 1st.
(I’ll work out something for hose of you who have already purchased G’Day LA and want to catch up with Ellie in the sequel. Drop me a note if that’s the case.)
As enjoyable and rewarding as it is deconstructing a novel or movie, it takes up valuable writing time.
Jeep has fixed that for us. If you haven’t seen this ad yet, take a minute and watch.
Not a speck of dialog (unless you include a bark) and a precise minute long, making the deconstruction easy.
A quick review:
The story structure says there are three acts (I, II and III, naturally). The end of Act I lands at the 20 to 25% mark with the First Plot Point. If you recall, the First Plot point kicks the protagonist (Dog the Border Collie in this case) off the rails and on to another journey.
The end of Act II lands at the 75% point with the Second Plot Point. Usually this plot point is the final piece of the puzzle, allowing the protagonist to reach their destination, finally.
In the middle of Act II (at the 50% mark) is a context shifting scene. A scene that changes everything. The scene that has the protagonist say “Wha-a-a-a???” and realise it’s much worse/better/different/alien than they thought it was.
In the ideal story structure we see pinch points at the 37% and 62% marks, These show either the depth of evil the baddies can go, or the depths to which the protagonist will go to resolve their problem. We see them too.
ALL OF THIS IN A SINGLE MINUTE.
Okay, let’s break it down.
The ad is one minute long.
In Act I the audience needs to see the setup, hook and inciting incident. In the first 25% (fifteen seconds) Woman and Dog are loving life. She’s obviously single and loves running. Dog loves it too. An idyllic life, for both.
The inciting incident is the purchase of the Jeep. Life is even better for Dog as it leans out the window while Woman drives. What dog doesn’t love that?
At the sixteen second mark we encounter the First Plot Point. Enter the dude. This is as close to 25% as you’re going to see. The 15 second mark is actually a fade to black. And as a First Plot Point, it’s a winner. Dog’s life is changed. And we’re sensing not for the better.
At the 37% mark (22 seconds of a 60 second commercial) we see our first pinch point. It’s as bad as it could possibly be for poor Dog – Man and Woman are driving away without Dog.
We see dog next in the back seat – maybe it’s getting better for Dog after all. Then the mid-point of Act II, the context shifting, mind twist - the Man and Woman watch a baby stroller cross in front of them, then look at each other, meaningfully. Dog knows his life will no longer be idyllic.
Ever.
When do we see the stroller?
At the 30 second mark. Exactly 50% through the ad and exactly in the middle of Act II. Exactly where a context shifting scene needs to be.
The second pinch point falls at the 62% point, or 37 or 38 seconds. In this case we see exactly how far our protagonist will go. Dog is going through Woman’s lingerie. Ferociously. At 37 seconds.
Then the Second Plot waltzes in at exactly the 75% point – 45 seconds in a 60 second ad. At the 45 second mark, exactly Woman looks into the bedroom and registers Man waking up in bed with a bra-clad Dog.
Game over.
We have a few more seconds of Man looking like he’s not sure how he’s been so perfectly sandbagged and we transition to the end of Act III, Woman and Dog, happy again in the Jeep.
In one minute – sixty seconds of perfection of story structure. These guys know what they’re doing.
With a cast rivalling the population of a small Afghani village, plot lines as labyrinth as any he’s ever produced and a voice which switches between his and, I’m assuming, Mark Greaney’s, “Locked On” is a book I’d avoid if you want a ‘fun’ read.
Mark Greaney, the ‘with’ in the Author credits, must be right pissed. His name on the cover is a tenth of the size of Clancy’s, if not smaller, but if I’m right, he’s written the bulk of the story. I’m not sure what the division of labor was. Maybe Clancy mapped out the plot points and let Greaney loose, but this is only a Clancy novel by weight.
All of the familiar characters are here – Jack Ryan Sr. (many of you know him as Harrison Ford), his son Jack Junior, John Clark, Ding, Caruso – well, you really need a team sheet. There’s dozen’s of characters. Some even change their nom de guerre mid-stream. The bad guys are Russians, Pakistani Islamist radicals and Jack Ryan (Sr.) political enemies. I’m not kidding when I say dozens. Including two named Sam.
Clancy writes as if we all know who these people are – for those he’s introduced in past books – or spends entire chapters on new characters only to have them killed off shortly after.
The plot? Let’s keep it simple. Jack Sr is running for a second non-consecutive term as President (Republican, based on the tenor of the debates). He’s up against an old foe (you are never given the history – Clancy assumes you’ve read his previous books) who will stop at nothing to bring Ryan down. Including digging up old stories Clancy would prefer you read to understand. Available at good bookstores everywhere.
There are also obligatory stolen nukes, dirty spies, old Russian contacts (from previous books Clancy would prefer you read to get their history), references to Rainbow Six
(if you want any of their back story Clancy would prefer you buy the book, but in this case I do recommend you buy it – it’s much better), Pakistani – Indian hostilities, rogue CIA, it goes on and on and on.
As near as I could tell after reading it, Kealty (the Jack Sr. political foe) tries to link Ryan to some dirty deeds done dirt cheap by his friend and deadly assassin John Clark some 30 years ago, rogue ISI operatives want to start a war with India so they can take over the country, a rich Russian finds out he’s really Muslim, blah, blah, blah.
There isn’t a middle to this book, only a muddle. The ending is wrapped up nicely, though there are a couple of plot holes large enough to drive a school bus through. (How did the weapons techs not realise they were strapping a V-8 diesel engine to the rocket instead of a 2 megaton nuke?)
I give it a half-hearted *** out of *****
Some spelling mistakes (I shit you not).
This will be the last book I read by Tom Clancy. That is to say, further creations of his will not interest me. I may still go back and read Rainbow Six again. The Teeth of the Tiger is a good one of his too. Just nothing new until it’s just his name on the cover.
I’m teetering on the edge.
is a good one of his too. Just nothing new until it’s just his name on the cover.
