Welcome to the author commentary for The Clearing. I love sharing behind the scenes details about the creative process, as well as the many mistakes I make in putting books together. There will be SPOILERS ahead. You have been warned!
A Mess of a Start
The Clearing was one of the most difficult books I’ve had the pleasure of putting together… so far. If you’ve read my intro to the commentary last time, you’ll already know how my original plan for the series was to structure weekly installments with two or three sub-chapters per week for readers.
The shift to novella format was a blessing and a curse. Mostly a blessing, as it allowed each book to breathe a little easier without the strict structure previously put in place. Because of that extra room available, I started to rework the book.
A lot.
The initial version of The Clearing focused entirely on Ben’s character. He’s the reader’s POV in entering this new organization and finding out all the craziness out in the world. It made sense to follow him throughout.
Except this isn’t Ben’s series. Not entirely.
The Ensemble Cast
Morgan Dunleavy has equal billing when it comes to the DSA. You can also argue for Susan Metcalf in that regard. The fact became apparent relatively quickly that centering every event around one character wasn’t going to fly. Every member of the cast had a role to play and their importance to the overall story was necessary to illustrate right from the start.
A Deviation
In writing about the ensemble cast, I remember back when I first conceived the series. In truly keeping with the episodic television show aspect of the DSA, I envisioned actors and actresses playing each of the characters. I heard their thoughts on the scripts as they were coming out and how they perceived their roles in them.
It might sound strange that way, but it really gave me the drive needed to beef up everyone’s role in the book. I took a step back to see why each character was acting the way they were, and what direction they were headed in the series.
For a time I thought about creating mock-interviews with these “actors” talking about their characters. That would have been fun to do. Maybe down the line…
The Many Mistakes of the Opening Sequences…
Knowing each character needed a moment to shine brought me back to the opening of the series. The Clearing had to sell the reader on these people and why they are important. Why do we care about any of them?
In order to justify their existence, I rewrote the opening sequence of events quite a few times.
The initial first chapter from the earliest draft was the Wilson Dupree scene in Bellbrook. It is the inciting incident and the main thrust of this book’s narrative, so it made sense to me to open with that.
Unfortunately, it created a timeline problem.
Recruiting Ben became infinitely more difficult because of that disaster hanging over the reader. Plus, it put the characters below the plot, in my opinion.
So Wilson and Bellbrook got shunted to Chapter 5.
The first four chapters in the book didn’t exist at this point. In the early drafts, once Bellbrook is established, the story picks up with Ben’s conviction and subsequent recruitment by Metcalf and we’re off and running.
No Wex Avenue house. No keypad to a secret facility with hints about something called The Utopia Protocol.
Just the trial and his chat with Susan.
There was even a draft where Metcalf fakes Ben’s death. The bus that was supposed to take Ben away explodes in the middle of their chat. Then I had to explain how a look-alike snuck on the bus (and then off the bus) before the explosion. It was a mess of explanation and did little for the story.
Finding the Right Story Beats
I pride myself on trying to key in on character more than plot. The people in the story serve a greater purpose than to bounce from event to event. They should be driving the action, the tension, the entire dynamic of the narrative throughout.
So when I started looking at how to open The Clearing, I realized character was the key. If Ben’s conviction is important, let’s show what happened and how it can link to his worldview. That’s where Wex Avenue came in play.
Looking at the DSA, a key event in the series is the fall of Jacob Grissom. Draft after draft came along where we never saw the fall, which if you’ve read the whole season seems like a terrible idea considering what happens to poor Grissom in the aftermath.
Chapter Two became that moment. Not only do we get a crucial piece of backstory for the DSA to drive their actions throughout the season, we get to see each of our characters react to the moment and provide the reader a starting point of who these people are. Lincoln is gruff. Ruth is a leader, but in name only. Morgan is the healer, fighting for every second of life for all those around her. And Metcalf… well, her cold, calculation gets her in a lot of trouble, wouldn’t you say?
It all started here, by pulling these moments apart and reworking the story.
Lincoln and Morgan
Lincoln and Morgan never had a story beat in early drafts. They were passengers on Ben’s journey. When I realized my error in this, considering their roles going forward, I needed a baseline beat to show the readers who they were.
That’s where Chapters 8 and 9 came from. Two small chapters that give you everything you need to know about Lincoln and Morgan. Through Lincoln, you learn how pragmatic he is when it comes to attachments, yet also how Ruth has somehow broken through that barrier in his eyes.
Morgan’s was more about residual emotions regarding Grissom. It set up the tension in Promethean, and her inability to have faith in Ben as a partner out of fear of losing another one.
