I would only say that the book is coming along "swimmingly" if one or the other of the characters had been tossed overboard or something. I like doing that sort of thing. To be honest, the last couple of chapters have been dealing with personal and physical situations. I'm in the middle, which is where you would typically find the start of the climax of the book. My book, like all other thriller and detective books, will have an apt amount of killing, solving, sensual women doing crazy things to get a lighter sentence, and you know, the dog. There has to be a dog. I always have a dog in my books. There is one in this one as well. His name is "Keeper" and he's a little Jack Russell Terrier. Maybe someday I'll have a character actually adopt one or buy one, but so far both dogs in my two fiction novels have been found.
Last night I finished the mid-way point, and this morning I sat myself down with a notebook (and a real pen) and I bullet-pointed the next steps that would be taken by the characters in my book. I even penned the fact that one of them will die, and how he would die. It's sad really because now I'm over here writing about him, giving him things to say, do, and investigate, only to know that he'll end up on the wrong side of a bullet toward the end of the book. No, I'm not going to tell you who dies!! That would be crazy. He is a nice man, though, and he doesn't die in vain. I'll let you in on that right now. His murder will be avenged and his life celebrated.
In the chapters I wrote today I knew I would need to be a bit creative and throw in the obligatory sex scenes. I didn't want to be too graphic or toxic, this being a 1930s-style typical Dick Tracy type of book; think Perry Mason level of naughty. I do go into a tiny bit of detail, but I purposely let the readers form their own thoughts, giving them enough to do so. There is a murder in this chapter, a brutal killing, and cover-up. There will be clues in the next chapter and the one after that. It's time to bring the pot to a boil and let it stew momentarily while we add the pasta!
Maybe I'll write a book using a bunch of cooking analyses. That could be fun. The sex scenes would involve dripping honey and maybe some strategically placed peanut butter; I don't know. We could use foaming dishwashing detergent to clean the whole thing up and to tidy up the place before the owners came back to realize their kitchen had been the scene of a murder and romp-around! Now I'm thinking about flaked coconut and where I might want to hang a ring of pineapple. Stop!
This book, the one I'm writing now, has been really fun so far. I'm on Chapter 21, I think I'll end up with 14 more chapters if I'm honest with myself. With each having about 1800-2200 words, we can take an average of 2100 and multiply that by 35, so, 73,500 words? That's not going to be quite enough. I'll need to fluff and stuff a bit more. I'll do that when I'm completely finished. I'm just really wanting to get the skeleton onto the pages at this point. I will say that I had a good time bullet-pointing the book out to the finish today.
The dog and I sat in the big chair with coffee, and I put literal bullet points on the pages of the notebook so I could see what the next events would be to take place. It's up to me to put them in order, put them together, get them sorted, add this or that to them, and figure out the dialogue. There's a bit more dialogue going on in this book too. I have caught myself doing that. I don't mind, I really don't. I think it helps people understand what folks are thinking, they need to say it. I make them say it.
OK, next chapters. The man I just killed will be disposed of, found, and his killer will be tracked and caught. I won't tell you what happens when that happens. Then there will be a plea deal, a bargaining chip, and others will be sought. Aside from the main three murders that take place, there is a side murder (two) that keeps Scotland Yard jumping. That will need to be sorted. Hogmanay will be planned, as will Christmas and all the trappings that come with the season!
I really like this book. I do. I think it will be a great find, as well as a good gift for someone to give to another murder-book friend; I have a couple. Both of my murder book people are asking to read the book, but I'm not allowing it this time. I want it to be completely done before they get their eyes on it. It won't be published yet, because I do need them to go over the grammar, and spelling issues, and anything they think may add flavor. I just don't want them to jump the gun and figure out what I'm going to do in the end - - it's theatrical! I'll say that.
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