It's true, true facts...I'm not lying; I have written Chapter Two of the new book. I worked out the outline yesterday, so I know exactly what I'm going to do from one chapter to the next, but the fun part is telling the characters where to stand and then shouting "Action!". You really don't know what they're going to do or what they're going to say. I mean, it's not all that surprising to me, but it is - - I find myself changing my mind right in the middle of a thought. If I like it or where it's going, I keep it.
Today, I decided to take the three characters for Thai food since Charlie really likes Thai food, and there's a great little restaurant two or three doors from the church in the strip mall where he preaches. Leigh and Mathew went too...actually, Leigh paid for their lunches. She told Charlie and Mathew about her "hobby" or interest in studying criminals whose lives impacted their communities and the whole nation (even the world). She explained that the "seen" are often nasty, arrogant, pompous, and worse. She noted that not all people who are criminals are extroverted to the point of celebrity, but no one can say "Chicago Mobster" without thinking of Al Capone.
Once they dine and find themselves better acquainted, Leigh will head back up the shoreline to her new condominium and get situated. She'll live in the American Suites hotels for a minute while the maintenance crew gives her unit the once-over for its make-ready. The hurricane pushed everyone's schedule a bit behind. In the next chapter, Mathew Conner will have his words memorized for my future reading audience. We'll learn a little about his story, background, pet peeves, and what drives him to the point of seclusion -- he is one who won't be seen. It's strange how very different we all are.
Somewhere in the book, I'll go over the Myers-Briggs tests and the 16 different types of personalities there are in the human world - - it makes me wonder if dogs have more or less personalities to be boxed into. Who knows? Maybe I'll discuss that too. I will discuss just about anything else I want to. Knowing that Chapter Two is written feels good. It means I'm on the way -- running into the woods before I end up in the middle of it and find myself running out of it. What will we see, what will we hear, what will we know, or what do we think we know? That's the beauty of the journey I take every time I write a book.
With the second chapter written, I know I have 28 to go. I know I have completed 4568 words of the 86,000-89,000 words I'll end up with. I'll never delete those words, but I may add to them, tweak them, take a few of them away, and build something new inside of them. I know that at the end of the writing, I'll go back through the entire book and add adjectives, sensory experiences, and moments of movement and thought. I will try to bring the characters to life, trying to make them relatable. It's the tweaking, the fluffing, and the stuffing that really makes me happy. Love that part of the process.
Well, we'll see how tomorrow goes. If I can write one chapter a day, the book will be finished by the end of August. I won't write this Saturday, maybe later in the evening, but I'm driving to Tulsa that day with the kid and my bestie to see the other kid, my son-in-law and my grands. Another good friend is watching my place while we take off and explore. I didn't even have to twist her arm—she found out we were going, and she volunteered! You have to love that...and I do. Oh, one thing I did was purchase Grammarly Premium (again). I do that when I write -- it really makes things so much smoother. You just thought I was all that - - I'm not. I'm just smart enough to get Grammarly!!
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