creating the game

Writing Playing the Game was a labor of love. I worked on the novel for many years, often taking weeks and months off at a time. I never worked from an outline. Each action in the story was a spontaneous thought. Writing this tale was a journey in my own mind, not sure where it was going each time I sat down behind my computer. I was having so much fun writing the story that I had to force myself to stop at 400,000 words and one-thousand pages. Sensing this was an excessive length for a debut author, I split the story into two novels. The first 200,000 words is Ryan coming of age and chasing his dream. The next 200,000 words is him living the dream. Play the Game and Play the Game 2 were born. When professionals within the writing industry suggested that I shorten each novel, I grabbed my scissors and started cutting. My heart ached each time I cut a joke, funny little side adventure, or exciting action from the book that didn’t contribute to the flow of the story. I removed 80,000 words from each book to get the stories under 120,000 words. Minus a few interesting facts and a few good laughs, I believe the shortened stories will resonate well with readers.

“Play the Game” is told in present tense using a first person, omniscient narrator. I chose this style hoping that it will keep my readers caught up in the action. I’ve been told this is an unconventional style, rarely used by most authors. Nobody has ever accussed me of being normal.

I hope you enjoy reading the novels. Maybe you will learn a little something from the challenges Ryan faced as he learned to Play the Game.