Saturday 28 July 2012

You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off

Chapter eight is in the bag. 5016 words and, unlike some of the early chapters, I really enjoyed writing this one. Actually the last three or four chapters were good fun, with lots of death and blood and destruction. One of the casualties of chapter 6 was the plan. I'd written five or six bullet points describing what happens for each of the chapters 6 to 15. I don't know why I'm surprised but, just like in Echo, the story went its own way when I started wondering what the characters would do in this situation and the answer was not actually what I intended. Again This isn't always a bad thing. Having got themselves in a difficult situation I spent ages trying to figure out how to get them out of it. I needn't have bothered. By the end of chapter 6 York's crew are different starships and in mortal danger. Ok smartarses, what now. Fortunately they're a resourceful lot and they worked out a plan. York's crew like to have a plan. By the end of chapter 8 they're well on the way to sorting themselves out. Those of you that are writers will be nodding along to my comments. The rest of you will probably think I'm nuts To continue. That was too easy I thought. Actually it wasn't easy and lots of people died (don't worry, they're not real people) but I decided to intervene (interfere) so I've just created a cliffhanger for the end of chapter 8 that sees Echo trapped outside a spaceship with her oxygen supply leaking from her damaged suit and they're under attack. Will she survive? Of course she will, I've got another sixteen chapters to write. I'm making no promises that she'll survive to the end of the book though.

3 comments:

  1. Ha,ha, I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes I want to say to my characters 'What did you do that for?' To be honest they help me out though; I couldn't do it alone! Good luck with keeping them in control for the rest of the book.
    Gill Wyatt
    www.heartsease.org.uk/blog

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  2. I can see a Dolores Claiborne situation arrising here! Intimations of killing off echo?? Surely that's some form of blasphemy!?

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  3. I've said before, one of the main characters isn't going to make it out of book 2 alive. I think I know who it is but York's crew has a habit of going off piste and it may end up being somebody else. NOBODY is safe. Mwa ha ha

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