Secrets & Scents - Day 14

I think I wrote another chapter out of order.

Today, I added Chapter 18, a summary of clues kind of chapter. It’s Sunday evening, Kelli & Jo have just finished Day 2 at the bookstore and candle shop (another busy day for them, so they’re happy). Now they’re heading to the 49’er Saloon (which Dex owns; he runs the bar) to check with him about any more news about this and that (no spoilers! lol).

But I need some Sunday morning action with my main suspect. So I’ll probably write another chapter soon and then break it into parts and insert the parts as scenes into Chapter 18, or maybe even swap out the end of Chapter 17. That means I’ll be moving scenes around a bit. Which I think a lot of writers do.

I’ve just not written a full 40k word story from start to finish before. My longest short story is about 23,000 words. And that’s why my previous 4 novels have been episodic. I guess those were extended scenes strung together.

Now I need to writer shorter scenes and put them in order. Same concept but on a different scale. One thing Scrivener (a word processing program that a lot of writers use) is good at is allowing the writer to add a bunch of “index cards” (story scenes) and then shuffle them around by clicking and dragging. It’s a powerful program, I just need to learn how to use it better.

Writing a novel is definitely different that writing a short story. I usually just go from A to Z in a day or two and the story is done. Not a lot of rearranging (although there have been a few stories where I’ve caught myself starting in the middle and going back to write the beginning, lol).

So fun learning curve right now in this muddle of a middle section of a novel.

 

Writer’s Tip…

            Don’t be afraid to write by scene and then move those scenes around so the story flows the way you want it to flow.

Progress: Writing Secrets & Scents... 

Introduction – Part 1: Launching a New Series 
Introduction – Part 2: The Missing Novel 
Day 1 - 3100 (Chps 1 & 2) - Total: 3,100 words 
Day 2 - 3300 (Chps 3 & 4) - Total: 6,400 words

Day 3 - 3150 (Chps 5 & 6) - Total: 9,550 words

Day 4 - 3100 (Chps 7 & 8) - Total: 12,650 words

Day 5 - 1550 (Chpt 9) - Total: 14,200 words

Day 6 - 3050 (Chps 10 & 11) - Total: 17,250 words

Day 7 - 1650 (Chpt 12) - Total: 18,900 words

Day 8 - 1500 (Chpt 13) - Total: 20,400 words

Day 9 - 1600 (Chpt 14) - Total: 22,000 words

Day 10 - 1550 (Chpt 17) - Total: 23,550 words

Day 11 - 1550 (Chpt 15) - Total: 25,100 words

Days 12 & 13 - 1600 (Chpt 16) – 26,700 words

Day 14 - 1600 (Chpt 18?) - Total: 28,300 words

~*~

UPDATE: Follow my Kickstarter project!

Here's a placeholder image for Secrets & Scents - A Kelli & Jo Candle Shop Mystery by yours truly. I'll be launching a Kickstarter Campaign Sept 13, 2022, for cozy mystery fans to acquire their exclusive pre-release edition of this latest novel with a brand new, professionally designed cover.

In the meantime, if you become a Patreon Subscriber, you'll be able to read Secrets & Scents as I write it! New chapters of my WIP every week, plus a backlist novel a month and bonus short stories exclusive to patrons.