Well, I've hit a milestone, folks. I've finally killed a character that's been rambling around in my head for the last fifteen years, a character who is only fourteen years old. That's right, the character has now existed in my head for longer than he has been alive in-universe.
So, he is now dead, which means... the story is finally heating up. The objective has been stated, the alliance forged, the quest begun. I am very excited and also feel very free. See, a while back, I decided that I wouldn't try to fit the novel all onto one Word file, and for several reasons. One, I need some kind of incremental feeling of accomplishment. It probably comes from all my years thinking in TV terms and writing TV scripts. So, being able to sit back after a block of chapters, say "I did it!" and start a fresh document goes a long way toward motivating me to continue. Two, I didn't want to have to scroll through an entire novel every time I opened the file to work. Originally, I had been going chapter for chapter, but that just seemed silly, so I decided I'd break it down based on story time. This leads us to the third reason: structure.
Seeing as the story follows the events of a school year, and the standard school year is ten months, I figured a section covering every two months would work out well. It also broke things down into a five-act structure, a narrative framework I'm rather fond of and comfortable with. What I didn't realize was how well it would enable me to pace the story. Now, the novel won't actually be split into these different sections; they'll just run from one to the next. No, these divisions are only for my own creative process. And to keep my beta readers from killing me.
Part 1 (September to October) introduces the characters and the setting. There are ultimately seven characters in the story from whose points of view chapters are written, though one of them ceases to be a point of view character upon, you know, dying. The seventh character's point of view doesn't premiere until after this loss, so there are really only ever six point of view characters at one time. Part 1 sets up these characters, their motivations, and their relationships.
Part 2 (November to December) will see the story begin to take shape, and that's what I find really exciting. Starting in Part 2, the characters start moving into new positions, taking on new roles. Our villain will put on his black hat, and our heroes will start banding together. This is where we up the drama, the fear, the intrigue, and yes, even a little romance. But in the new year... in the new year, the shit will hit the fan.
Right now, I've mapped out Part 2, and though it could very well change somewhere along the way, it seems like it will consist of eleven chapters, as opposed to Part 1's fourteen (including the prologue). It also gives me a great deal of satisfaction that bulk of those chapters will go to characters we didn't see much of in Part 1. That's the thing about an ensemble, you rotate people in and out as you need them, and just because Patrick is the main character, it doesn't mean he needs to be in the limelight all the time.
So, raise a glass with me. I'm 1/5 of the way through my novel, and right now, it's looking pretty fucking nifty.
