After weeks of negligence I finally finished Chapter 19 and made it to Chapter 20 of TBO last night. TBO– initials for the few who know their true meaning. Am I getting any closer to the finish? Hell no! I keep adding, adding and adding. The plot yet thickens again. I’ve taken my dear sweet characters on such a rocky ride I’m not even sure what is going to happen next. I’m excited to find out though especially in the next month or so. My finals finished on Saturday and I have over an entire month to dedicate myself to my novel. Yeahhhh!!!! The joy, especially around the holiday season, to be able to hang with my old friends again is such a real treat.
There is nothing like the utmost satisfaction of finishing a chapter. When you plan on writing a novel, which could be anywhere between 200 some to 800 some or more pages, chapters are the steppingstones that climb up to the very tippity-top to reach the ultimate goal – a completed manuscript. Chapters also make writing a lot less intimidating. A goal of twenty pages isn’t as frightening to look at than lets say 600 or so pages.
So far during my journey the writing is going a bit slow due to the fact that I’m going to school full time and my teachers love to gang up on me with assignments, however I’m doing my damned-est to write every single day. Since I started my 1-year writing project I have written two whole chapters. Despite the fact that my chapters are merely 8-10 pages long, at least that is two chapters more towards the finish line.
Chapters can also be however long you want them to be. I have chapters that are over twenty pages long and some that are a mere five. Chapters are little small stories that make up one big long story, like a sitcom during prime time television. There are also chapters in life. Some that we nostalgically crave to repeat and some we wish it would end as quickly as possible. But as in life chapters must end so a new one can begin. When should you end a chapter? That’s for you to decide my friends.
