When I think about it, and you know I do, being more than 50% finished with a book means I'm on the back end. I'm leaving the forest rather than running into it. I'll still deal with the various trees, creeks, animals, and whatnot, but I am wrapping it up even as I'm making things make sense to the reader.
I love introducing new characters. A lot of the characters I write about will only be seen or heard in the chapter in which they are first discussed. You may never see or hear from them again, but they needed to be there when they were made public. You can't magically have something happen; people make the world go around and you need to connect an event with a person, not just have something happen. Readers let you know fast if they are unhappy with your characters. My characters tend to have feelings, emotions, and backstories. I'll go back into the chapters and develop them even further during the fluff and stuff stage.
Right now, I'm sitting at 54% finished if I am aiming for an 86,000-word book. I have just under 47,000 and things are heating up!! People are dying, people are being caught, people are running away, and others are simply taking their tea by the shores of the Great Lake, Lake Michigan. They have no idea what's going on right behind them. These are blissful moments to be cherished.
I wrote four chapters today and only hinted at a little lovemaking. There hasn't been any real sex in this book except when the bad guy does the self-loathing thing and I won't discuss that here; you'll have to read the book. I'm not happy about needing to write it, but it is a symptom of one of the manic disorders that the guy has; so yeah, it was needed. There will be sex though. I'm going to write it tomorrow actually. This will be as you may have suspected, between Nick and his fiance, or the woman he considers to be his wife, Elaine. They're really very much in love. I like them a great deal. They have a child together; he's adorable.
I'm on Chapter 18 now, so I've got about 12 more to go. I keep my books around 30-32 chapters; I think Murder Book has 35, but this one will probably end up with about 30; unless I have to add something that makes it all make sense. I do that too. I'll throw in a chapter for the purpose of tidying up a few loose ends. Before I write the book entirely I write out what I think the chapters will have and I try really hard to keep the book on track - - not saying it always works. I need to go back over my Murder Book notes and see if I need to add things to this book that I forgot to include in the other. I do that too.
Right now, I'm closing in on one of the killers. I think one will get away and live to tell about his exploits in another book - - maybe two....maybe three. I'll introduce other bad guys, more good guys, women and children, clerks, and doctors. I'll add police, librarians, and maybe even a Thanksgiving Dinner. You just may have to read a bit more to find out. Someone in my neighborhood today asked me if I saw the OU game yesterday, and I have to admit, I'm a fan, but I don't spend time watching games anymore. I write. I don't watch television, I write. I could think of something to do other than write, but that doesn't make me anywhere near as happy as writing does, so I like to write.
I'm hoping to be hired this week by either an insurance firm where I can be an investigative claims analyst, or with an attorney where I'll do the same. I kind of hope it's the insurance company as the attorney is an individual guy and you never know what can happen if he dies -- I'd be out of work. I need more security than that, but I do like the guy. I like both of my would-be potential bosses. I even wrote one of them into the book - - I told him I would. He's a bad guy - - he loves it. OK, well that's it, and I'll catch you later after I've tucked Nick and Elaine into their bed for a romp or two; maybe they'll bring little Alistair a kid sister or a little brother. He may like that.
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