I swear, when I say, “Oh, the next chapter should be a short one,” I’m lying my ass off, and I’m doing it to convince myself that I don’t need to worry about how many words I’ll have to write, it’ll be done pretty fast because it’s not gonna be that much–
I seem to do that a lot with this novel.
I did that with Chapter 16, ’cause how long could it be? 3700 words, that’s how long. I damn sure did that with Chapter 15, which I saw as being 5000 words, tops: it was 8500.
And the chapter I just finished? Naw, it won’t be long because the preceeding chapter was only 2250 words. How long can this one be . . ..
Almost 4100 words.
This last chapter was an interesting one, because I brought in a few vampires because my main character needed to cut a deal to keep her ass from being sealed in amber–don’t ask, but it’s not meant to be pleasant–and they were the ones who had hold of the strings that needed pulling. Not sure if I captured the creepy well enough, but I did what I could–and, hey, that’s what rewrites are for.
But I’ve already established that they can walk around in the daytime (and if that troubles you, Bunky, I have some comforting words for you here), and that my main vampire character loves bacon (and who doesn’t?) and that she’s a horny little bugger–okay, we don’t know that last for sure, but I’m gonna guess it’s true–so the reality is I needed something that might make them seem just a little different. It’s not much, but is there something about being in a room with someone who looks human but isn’t quite that can put you on the verge of a teeth-grinding fit? Then you know what I’m talking about.
So . . . three chapters to go and this sucker is done. And I do promise, this chapter I’m working on today–it’ll be short. I know it will–
Would I lie? Especially to myself?
Ah, who am I kidding. I gotta go scare some wizards. It’ll take 4000 words.
I better get started.
