A Family Project: Finishing Dad’s Novel

My husband, Stephen Bly, hated half-done jobs. He couldn’t stand a ‘to do’ list without immediate action. One big task for 2011: complete his novel, Stuart Brannon: The Final Shot. When he passed away on June 9th, 2011, my sons said to me, “Let’s finish that book.” They suggested we do it as a family project.

The idea grew. They had their dad’s creativity and wit. They’d collectively impart their father’s input. I also quickly discovered the value of their constant feedback and encouragement. I couldn’t do it without them.

How Family Project Began

The Center Point Thorndike Press editor gave us a four-month extension. This incomplete project became a family affair. Can a committee write a novel? We had the passion to find out.

Steve left us one completed chapter, a synopsis (with no suggested ending), and lots of character names. We carefully studied these details. “It reads more like a mystery than a western,” we four surmised.

This book must resonate like a Stephen Bly novel and resemble the early Stuart Brannon Series. Yet, this story’s different. Brannon’s older. He struggles to fit into the 20th Century. He also grapples with the game of golf on behalf of a celebrity charity tournament.

The Family Process

We immersed ourselves in the original 6 books of the series. Then, we scanned other Stephen Bly novels for Stuart Brannon mentions. I scoured Steve’s resources for a basic grounding in the western world he knew so well. I also skimmed our fiction writing books for tips and printed out excerpts for the sons. We finally decided to focus our main theme on fighting for justice, truth and mercy as we met weekly for the family project to brainstorm and critique.

Starting with a cluster diagram of all the known factors, spirited discussions stirred debate as well as consensus. We assigned each other research topics, then talked through and roughed out random scenes. After drafting an outline, listing plot points gave direction for which scenes to create next. We tried to include as much of Steve’s writings as we could.

Keeping Project Focus

To keep the constant additions discernable, I used a different color type each week that turned into a rainbow manuscript. Even with this trick and the outline, the key challenge remained to keep the story’s timeline straight. Then I took a trip to the Oregon coast, to discover and experience what Steve knew about the locale and we didn’t. This added much needed color and revealed critical mistakes.

The deadline loomed as we aimed for 75,000 words. I struggled to eke out 2,000 words daily. When Aaron devised an adventure scene and Mike produced the golf tourney and poker game settings, I knew we’d hit the target count.

After we actually exceeded our goal, we deleted scenes and characters that didn’t move the plot. This tightened the action and made it better. The last days and hours filled with frantic attempts to get this family project as perfect as possible.

At 10:36 a.m. on November 1st, 2011, son Mike emailed me, “Well? Ready to push ‘send’?” At 11:46 a.m., I did. We finished Steve’s last undone earthly task.

Janet Chester Bly
Copyright©2012