Taking London

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STOPWATCH

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STOPWATCH

My stopwatch died the other day. Ultrak 495. Matte black. Capable of recording 100 lap splits. I've been using an Ultrak for about fifteen years. To my mind, the best stopwatch on the market….t is a comforting talisman, my fingers clicking start-stop-reset without my conscious mind noting. It is my grown-up version of Linus's blanket, a security totem that soothes in ways I am not prepared to publicly examine. On race day, when staring at a final result, the watch gives me a small endorphin rush.

TAKING LONDON COUNTDOWN: THE PLAYERS

TAKING LONDON COUNTDOWN: THE PLAYERS

Fast planes, deadly dogfights, brave pilots: the Battle of Britain has no shortage of heroes. So as I sat down to write Taking London, the first challenge was figuring out which individuals would help tell the story, Winston Churchill was the obvious choice to be a primary character. He's the tentpole on which the narrative rests. Air Marshal Hugh Dowding was also indispensable. Though relatively unknown in America, his brilliance has led to monuments and postage stamps in his honor in England.

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TAKING LONDON COUNTDOWN: BEST RESEARCH TRIP EVER

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TAKING LONDON COUNTDOWN: BEST RESEARCH TRIP EVER

When I signed the contracts to write a book about the Battle of Britain, my first thought was that it would be easy to research. Plenty of other books about the topic. Lots of museum displays. Actual BoB aircraft still flying after all these years, as I knew from a previous visit to the Imperial War Museum's Duxford annex. But after reading Len Deighton's Fighter to better understand the story arc and begin to contemplate a way to tell the story from a unique perspective I realized I had a problem: too much information.

BOOK REPORTS

BOOK REPORTS

I get emails asking for writing advice. Everyone has a book in them and they want to know how to put theirs on the page. My response is always disappointing. There's no pixie dust. Just tell a story. If you get stuck about how to start, begin with "once upon a time." Write one page a day and in a year you've got a book.

But I never tell them about the book report. . . .

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BEST SHOT

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BEST SHOT

Taking London is the best thing I've ever written. These past two weeks making one final edit were like Christmas. I'd literally wake up at 3 a.m., eager to find better ways to tell the story. Then I'd force myself to go back to sleep, reminding myself a rested edit is a sharper edit. I'd dream about the characters, letting them tell me more about their arc.

EDITORS

EDITORS

Most writers don't love editors. I do. Back since Beth Hagman at Competitor Magazine told me to tell stories in the most linear fashion possible ("the horse pulls the cart over the trail by the fastest route"), the notion of editors crafting a story has been in my head. Through Jason Kaufman, Geoff Shandler, Gillian Blake, and Brent Howard, these wonderful people have made me better. And don't get me started on how much I love copy editors. This gushing deserves an explanation.