Dear Readers,

With the new year underway I suppose it’s time for another update on all that’s going on. Before I start, though, I’d like to thank those people I had the chance to meet while I was on tour. The crowds were large – and that’s much appreciated – but I was particularly touched by the fact that nearly everyone remained upbeat, no matter how long the lines happened to be.

So what’s going on, aside from the annual list of New Year’s Resolutions? I’m steadily at work on my new novel. Finally. I’d hoped to start the new book as soon as my tour concluded, but sadly, that just didn’t happen. Not for lack of motivation… sometimes, it just takes a while until the story is fleshed out enough in my mind to begin the writing process.

Before I begin writing, I need to be relatively clear – even at a subconscious level – about three things: story, structure and voice. What exactly does that mean? For the story, I need to understand the general outline, I need to know where the novel begins and where it will end, and I need to know a few of the “turning points.” That answers “what am I writing.” Understanding the structure means that I have to know “how best to write it.” Finally, voice – in this instance – refers to the characters. More specifically, “Who are the characters that can best tell the story? How do they sound when they talk? What do they think about? What are the life experiences that drive them?”

I can’t start writing until I know those three things, and for three months, I kept getting stuck. I’d come up with a story (or most of it), but I simply couldn’t figure out the best structure to use to tell the story, or even the proper voice of the characters. I’d sit and think for hours and nothing would come. As you can imagine, it was a bit frustrating. Actually, it was very frustrating.

Still, I kept at it and on Sunday, November 29^th, I finally had an “aha!” moment. I already had what I thought was a very good idea but I couldn’t come up with the structure. And then, after months of thinking, the moment came. I can’t tell you what it is (I don’t want to ruin the novel), but by tweaking one idea slightly, the entire novel suddenly seemed to unfold clearly in my mind. The new idea isn’t complicated – I could sum it up in six or seven words – but that was enough to allow me to finally start writing the novel.

Think about that. Three months to come up with a slightly different take on an existing idea and all of a sudden, the entire novel is clear in my mind. And yes, the concept of experiencing a single, simple “aha moment!” that clears up everything is just as amazing to me as it probably sounds to you.

And what does that mean? I’ll have a new novel out in the fall of 2010. Which you probably expected anyway.

What else is going on? I had the chance to see Dear John and The Last Song in November. Like many of you, I was anxious to find out how good the films would be. I think I mentioned in my last letter that films essentially reflect the director’s vision. It’s one of the reasons I don’t ever get too worked up about departures in the film versions from the novel. I had the chance to present my vision in my novels, and in all candor, I’ve been fortunate to work with directors who – for the most part – shared my vision (albeit in a different style).

Which leads, of course, to the million-dollar question: Were the movies any good? And most importantly, will you like them?

I loved them. Both of them. Dear John was great and The Last Song was great. Were they exactly the same as the novels? Of course not. That would be impossible. Were they close, though? Did they capture the spirit of the story, and the spirit of the characters? Absolutely. I couldn’t be happier and I can’t wait until all of you have the chance to see them. You can watch both trailers – just click HERE for Dear John and HERE for The Last Song

I’ll be at both premieres, which should be fun. I always get a kick out of those things, especially the “media” part. I’ll walk the red-carpet, stopping to do an interview every couple of feet and patiently answering the same question over and over; about a thousand pictures will be taken of me. And then, of course, the next day, I’ll learn that virtually every segment and picture taken ended up on the cutting room floor. And no, it doesn’t bother me at all. I’m a novelist, not an actor, and I’m perfectly happy to remain out of the limelight.

I hope that all of you have a chance to see the films. Dear John comes out on February 5th, The Last Song debuts on April 2 — you’ll love them.

Until next time...