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I had originally planned to write Dig Down in chronological order, but there was one major issue that kept me from starting: the scene where Rob comes to Preston asking for help. The dilemma was broken up into two problems. One: why would Preston refuse to help Rob. Two: the length of the scene.

I felt the length of their scene together had huge ramifications for the rest of the story. If it was too short, it might not only feel rushed but like it was one big exposition dump. If it was too long, I felt the shift from a conversation between father and son to that the chase that followed would be too jarring of a transition. I didn’t want the story to feel like Tuesdays with Morrie turned into Speed halfway through.

The idea to write Dig Down as two alternating timelines solved both these problems for me. Although half the chapters were devoted to the conversation between Rob and Preston, I could make them any length I wanted, and these chapters tend to be the shorter ones in the book. So the conversation is still a significant part of the story while the chronicles of Rob’s escape still take center stage.

This solved the pacing issues I thought would be present when I tried to write it chronologically. Just as the tension was ramping up or after an intense sequence, I could give the reader a bit of a breather with a more calming (though hopefully emotional intense) scene, before throwing them and Rob right back into the frying pan.

Structuring Dig Down this way also allowed me to flesh out Preston and the relationship Rob had with him even more. Until this point, my only description of him was that he was Rob’s father and was sickly. I had yet to determine, other than he needed the money for his medical expenses, why he would refuse to help his son out. Part of the reason for that was I just didn’t believe I could devote as much time to the character that I eventually did if I’d written Dig Down in chronological order.

 I had originally envisioned the scene between him and Rob lasting as long as the opening scene in Dial M for Murder. That scene dishes out all the information you need to know methodically, just like the villain the movie centers around, but it also fit the tone and pace of the movie. One long scene like that didn’t fit the fast pace I’d intended for Dig Down. Now, by breaking up this part of the story, I’d create a new (but much more manageable) problem for myself.

If half of the chapters were now going to be devoted to the debate between Rob and Preston, I needed to be able to supply them both with ammunition to battle for so long. In order to do that, I needed to understand who Preston was.

What I came up with was that Preston was the opposite of Rob. Whereas Rob was lazy and always looking for shortcuts, Preston was a self-made man, and a strong believer in doing things the right way. He would have developed a steadfast routine and honed it over time, so that even when he was going through some tough times, that foundation would always be there to support him getting back on his feet.

But he’s also Rob’s father, and so even though they are fundamentally different, he’ll always have the best intentions for Rob in all his actions, even though Rob never sees it that way. When Rob is insulted by being offered a measly sales rep job instead of an executive position, Preston sees it as helping his son attain the discipline he didn’t receive when he coasted and underachieved through college. When Rob feels Preston is holding him back by not promoting him, even after he’s signed a record number of new clients, Preston views it as tough love, believing that Rob still hasn’t shed his lazy work ethic, and keeping him in the position until Rob is forced to learn the business. When Rob feels betrayed that his father would fire him, Preston believed he was choosing the lesser of two evils. Although Rob would be devastated being fired in the short term, Preston felt that if he continued to let Rob falter and drain the company’s money, there’d be no job for him in the future.

I went through the entire backstory I had outlined for Rob and gave a justification for every one of Preston’s actions that Rob would’ve felt was persecution. In doing so, I now had the framework for a great debate between father and son, that satisfied my need to make Rob look sympathetic on the surface, but would also reveal the love that Preston held for him every step of the way.

“B-B-Be qu-quiet,” Horace hissed at his cameraman, even though his own teeth were chattering louder than Ralph’s constant sniffling.

“S-S-Sorry,” Ralph said, wiping his nose with his sleeve. “D-Do you kno-o-ow how m-much—”

“Quiet!”

From their hiding spot behind some crates, Horace’s eyes studied the serene scene of the piers. Nothing had stirred for almost an hour now.

He glanced down with suspicious eyes at the notepad he had swiped from Ryan’s desk, even though it was too dark to read the young reporter’s scrawl.

Was the kid fed bad information?

“Hor-race,” Ralph whispered next to him.

“Shh,” Horace snapped. His growl was answered by Ralph’s stomach. “Keep that g-gut of yours in ch-check.”

“S-S-Sorry. I n-never got a ch-chance to eat be-before you sn-snatched me for this a-ass-ssignment.”

“You can eat when we’re d-done,” Horace snarled.

“H-How l-long do you think that’ll b-be?”

“Quiet!” Horace rasped.

To pass the time, Horace convinced himself it wasn’t as late as it felt. Then he insisted that what he came here for wasn’t going to happen until the dead of night. Then he started counting how many times Ralph was going to sniffle. He grew frustrated before he hit thirty.

“Wh-what is it we’re w-w-waiting for?” Ralph broke the silence.

Horace rolled his eyes. The cameraman was insufferable. 

“J-just s-sit tight,” Horace commanded. “When this s-story br-breaks, you’ll be gl-glad you toughed it out.”

That calmed Ralph’s restlessness. For a few minutes.

“B-but what is—”

“Shh!” Horace said, clamping his hand down on Ralph’s shoulder.

They watched as a truck pulled into the parking lot of the docks. Then another car. And another.

“Get your camera r-ready,” Horace ordered.

Six figures emerged from the vehicles. Each of them was jovial, Horace noticed, as they cracked jokes and patted each other on the back.

They’re not even trying to hide their operation. They must think no one’s awake right now to notice. Still…very bold.

Horace was willing to risk Ralph taking a few shots. The clicks from the camera sounded so loud, but the figures on the dock took no notice.

“Who are th-those guys?” Ralph asked as he snapped away.

“Just take the p-pictures,” Horace said, never taking his eyes from the scene. He grinned as beside him, he could hear Ralph getting it all.

Horace couldn’t make out what they were saying, but the figures all began to make their way into the dock’s warehouse. The newsman decided to chance it.

“Come on,” he said, patting Ralph on the arm, the cold no longer phasing him. “Let’s get a closer shot of it.”

Once I had determined that Rob’s personality was going to be dominated by a martyr complex, I worked on giving Rob the fuel to drive that complex. I don’t believe we start out thinking the cards are stacked against us every time we face an obstacle. As babies, we’ll fail constantly as we learn how to stand and walk. We don’t just give up immediately when we fail constantly or think the world is out to get us, so I felt it was important for Rob to experience something that would convince him he was constantly being persecuted.

 It was at this point that I shaped the relationship that Rob had with Preston as a tumultuous one.  I made the decision that Rob was always seeking his father’s love and approval, and never feeling like he got either.

As with the previous layer, this is what Rob’s backstory looks like when viewed through the filter of a son constantly rebuffed:

As a kid, Rob always felt neglected by his father, who spent his time growing his company. Preston missed so many of Rob’s big moments growing up that Rob began to consider Franklin & Moore as Preston’s other child whom he loved more. After graduating from college, Rob believed he’d have a prestigious job waiting for him at his father’s company, possibly because his father had always promised him there’d be a job waiting for once he graduated. Preston had other plans in mind. Rob still strove to achieve his father’s respect by selling to all his friends, even setting sales records in the process. Preston kept him in the position until his pool of friends dried up. Rob began to struggle and massively overspent trying to attract new clients.

 On the brink of being fired, and in an act of defiance to Preston, Rob goes into business with Axel, the biggest client the firm has ever seen, and a shady businessman Preston would never work with. Part of him believed he’d never earn his father’s respect following in his footsteps, but if he could show the old man he could succeed by his own methods, he’d finally get the love and respect he always felt he lacked from his father.

The firm’s profits skyrocket as Rob and Axel conduct shady business. Even with the success, Preston doesn’t like that all of Rob’s recommendations benefit Axel. Their relationship becomes adversarial. Preston isn’t dad anymore. Even after achieving more success, Preston disapproves. The firm’s clients evaporate, and Rob doesn’t have the money to support his growing drug habit. Rob believes he can’t afford to fail, that he needs to beat Preston in order to achieve his respect. He agrees to launder money for the cartel. With money steadily flowing in, he lives a lavish lifestyle he’s constantly flaunting. He no longer wants to convince Preston he’s surpassed him, he wants to convince everyone.

Everything is going fine until Congressman Spears is arrested and the wheels start to fall off. Rob, like Preston, has built something, and though Rob’s creation is far greater than Preston ever dared to dream, the harder he works, the quicker everything collapses. Through it all, he feels Preston is the author of his misfortune, and goes to him to find out why his father hates him so he can try to understand what he has to change in order to get Preston to help him escape.

This change was fundamental to Dig Down becoming more than just an idea. It was important that Rob appear sympathetic at first, and I felt living with this chip on his shoulder accomplished that, giving his misguided actions plausibility. This also solved the problem I had when I came up with the idea in 2011 of why Preston wouldn’t help his when he came to him for money. In addition to being sick (which was always a part of Preston’s character), having this philosophical difference that torpedoed Preston’s life’s work and strained his relationship with his son to the point where they’ve been estranged for some time felt like perfect reasons for why Rob would feel like it would be a challenge to get support from his father in his darkest hour.

Next week, I go over Preston’s perspective as he watched his son’s downward spiral.