Synopsis: 415 pgs into 20

Diamonds From Hell
I have been working on a book project called: Diamonds From Hell. A French-Canadian businessman was thrown in jail in Africa because he was double-crossed by his own Canadian partners when they decided to hang him out to dry over diamond debts they owed. He spent 348 days on the inside with no trial, no lawyer, no charges, no warrant, no due process and no crime. The Canadian Government did little to help him. The various players involved tried to get rid of him by having his 'cellmate' poison his water with arsenic. But through strength of mind, character and his ability to build life-saving relationships, he survived. His survival has come at a heavy price. He lost everything -- all his investments, his ability to work at the same pace and intensity of focus. His post-traumatic stress disorder is similar to someone like General Romeo D'Allaire's -- nightmares, unable to sleep through the night, extreme paranoia, difficulty adjusting to 'normal' life, exhaustion and much more. While his symptoms have calmed down quite a lot, they are never quite gone. And one thing is for sure: he's never been the same.

The Business Updates
I met Ray in January, 2006, so it's been three years. It probably took 1.5 years of actually book researching, interviewing, writing so far. I'm not happy with the product yet, though we do have a 415-pg manuscript (ms) he has sent to various 'key people'. I have tried to stay unexcited about the business buzz of this project because nothing in this business happens fast. When Ray tells me, for example, this week that I've got to put together a 20-pg synopsis of the book so that his contact in LA can pass that to a publisher he knows from Time Warner, I just dig in and write it. Because I've heard lots of updates before about various stages of Hollywood interest and film producer discussions as they are apparently doing a movie. When stuff happens with this, then great. Until then, I need to stay focused on the book.

The Manuscript
I spoke to Ray on Tuesday as he filled me in on his contact and how they wanted a synopsis asap. He agreed to pull together some of the material he'd already written when he tried to write the book in English. He stopped the writing at the time because it brought back too much of the trauma. He sent me those pages and then I would craft from that or start over if I wished. I must say that I have been given excellent creative license on this project. It is always a challenge to work with drawing out someone else's story, but it can be rewarding in the end. Naturally, I'm not happy with the status of the ms just yet. It's quite weak in certain parts, in my mind and desperately needs a professional editor's red ink pen to carve through the rough spots. I'm ready for that. I'm ready for a re-haul, to be honest. But that's ok.

The Synopsis
This weekend, I worked on the synopsis. I have 20 chapters (thus the request for 20 pgs) broken into 4 sections. I've put together 17 pgs and still have 7 chapters to go through yet. I suspect I'll just need to keep going at this level of detail and then go through once more and revise down another level all at once. I've told Ray I'd send back to him by Wed. Last night, however, I did give him an update and sent him the 17pgs. Time to tackle another chapter.