What Was The Middle Part Again?
I started Chapter 12 on Tuesday, and ran into a jam. Some unexpected things came up in real life and my writing day had to be cut short. No problem, I thought. I figured I was maybe two-thirds done with the chapter, and I could transcribe into the computer what I'd written thus far, review it as I did so, and then pick it up this morning and finish the chapter.
Well, a funny thing happened after I typed up what I'd written on Tuesday. The chapter seemed complete, and at a natural ending point, complete with raised stakes and a cliffhanger sort of line, except the main action that I'd intended to happen in that chapter hadn't occurred yet.
Ordinarily, I would just end the chapter, start the next one, and pick up the storyline from where I'd just left off. I realized that the primary action I'd wanted in the first part of the chapter but hadn't got to yet would provide ample material for the new second part of the chapter, but because I was writing three separate story lines in support of two plots, I'd either have to write back-to-back chapters on the same story line (i.e., have two consecutive chapters in the book devoted to the same plot, which so far hadn't happened previously in the book), or write chapters out of sequence (i.e., write the second part of the chapter, which according to my Book Outline was Chapter 15, then go back and write Chapter 13, which picked up the original story line of Ae-Cha meeting her new boss in Koreatown).
This may not seem like a big deal, but it threw me a little. If the book altered its structure so two chapters in a row were devoted to the same story line, it could throw the reader off as they were assimilating the plots. If I wrote chapters out of sequence, it could mean awkward transitions between chapters as I jumped around on the Book Outline, and I'd risk screwing up the continuity of the story.
In the end, I decided to write the chapters out of sequence and leave the Book Outline as originally intended. So I went from finishing Chapter 12 to writing Chapter 15, which I completed today. I like how both of them turned out, which is good. Tomorrow I'll start with Chapter 13 and see how it goes.
This is all part of the fun of writing a book. It could easily turn out that Chapter 13 will actually need to be split into two chapters just like my original Chapter 12 did, and then I'd have to decide between writing Chapter 16 or setting aside that story line to write Chapter 14. And Chapter 16 on the Book Outline would become Chapter 17, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera (for everyone 50 and older, imagine your best Yul Brenner impression here).
This is why first drafts need to evolve into second drafts, third drafts, and so on until you can read your book start to finish and be happy with the roller coaster ride the multiple story lines provide.
The book is up to 19,107 words and 13 of 39 chapters have been written. That's Chapters 1-12 and 15, for those of you scoring at home (or even if you're alone – thank you, Keith Olbermann).
The week is half over, can you believe it? Enjoy your Thursday and read something today that is for nothing but pleasure! Thanks for reading. -Jon
