I have been doing something very weird with “Gimme Shelter” (my novella – working title, of course – for Lori Foster’s next charitable collection to benefit a local animal shelter) that I’ve never done before.

I’m writing on the Neo, but then when I add new text to the Word document for “Gimme Shelter”, I’ve just been adding it all in the same file.  Granted, the story only needs to be about 100 pages long, so that’s half to a three-quarters shorter than most of the projects I work on.

But still, I am a very linear, chapter-by-chapter girl.  I write in order.  I look forward to finishing a chapter & clearing seeing that I’ve finished a chapter so I can move on to the next.  Part of the fun is even beginning a new file for the next chapter.

This time, though, I’m just writing & writing & writing, & when I get a chunk done, I toss it on the pile, then go back to writing.  Scenes are broken up by pound signs (#), but I honestly have no idea yet where my chapters will end & begin.

On the one hand, this has been fun.  With only 100 pages to fill, it’s made it a little easier to track my progress…& also see both the words & pages stacking up in a way I don’t when I begin every new chapter with Page 1.

On the other, it’s a little awkward not to know exactly where my chapters start or end.  I mean, what if my scenes don’t line up?  What if the perfect chapter ending comes after 20 pages in one place & only 6 pages in another?  Eep! :peekaboo

But I’m not going to worry about it yet.  With luck, when I go back through to edit, everything will fall into place perfectly.  I’ll discover that I’m secretly a genius & subconsciously managed to write every scene at just the right length so that they all fit into equal-size chapters.

Oh, yeah, it’s gonna happen. :letitsnow

Comments

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1. 

   Heidi says:

   Just so you know, it’s driving me a little bonkers that “tingling” is misspelled in the above fig newton pic. I love it, it’s hilarious, but that bad spelling doesn’t just have my OCD sense tingling, it has them breaking out in a rash! :ahhh

   On January 7, 2013 at 12:44 pm

2. 

   KathleenO says:

   Good luck with your “tingleing” :cheers
   The only thing it did for me was a craving for Fig Newtons…. :l :reindeer

   On January 7, 2013 at 1:08 pm

   • 

     Heidi says:

     Mmmm. I looooove fig newtons. But just the regular ones, not the other fruit flavors they’ve come up with. :yummy

     On January 7, 2013 at 2:53 pm