Moving Too Fast

Speed is a great asset; but it's greater when it's combined with quickness - and there's a big difference. - Ty Cobb

I'm writing up a storm all of sudden. Have you seen the word counter on the sidebar? I'm averaging just over 1000 words a day which has been wonderful! My characters are starting to come alive for me, though my heroine is more of a smart a** than I thought she'd be. In fact, that's in direct conflict with her character chart, so I'm going to have to think it through some.

BUT I'm finding myself going too fast. I'm rushing from scene to scene likes there's no tomorrow. I need this to happen, and then this, this and this. Just do it. Right?

Wrong.

This is the beginning of the book. It's the time for your reader to get hooked on the plot and to fall in love with your H/H. The way I'm plowing through plot points, you hardly get to know them. They're running from point A to point B without the slightest pause.

Do you ever find this happening to you? You think you've got a 65,000 word novel going, but if you continue the way you've started it'll end up more like 20,000 words?

Tomorrow morning I'm going to take a deep breath and s-l-o-w down just a bit. I'm going to take a peek back at what I've written and figure out what I can make a little deeper, more descriptive without being boring. Hope it works.

Incidentally, yesterday my seven-year-old DD who is currently reading the "Redwall" series (she's on book three) discovered the hook at the end of the chapter. Before bed, I told her she could read to the end of the chapter she was on and she said, "But, Mommy, that's when it's the most exciting!"

I talked to her about how authors use a "hook" to keep you turning pages because the chapter end is a logical place for you to stop reading and they don't want you to stop.

She clearly took this to heart. Yesterday she wrote a four chapter book called "Sara's Scary Adventures".

Chapter One ends: She fell into the depths below.
Chapter Two ends: She did everything she could, but each stroke made it more painful.
Chapter Three ends: She tried to jump out, but he held on and got to the police station.
Chapter Four (the ending) ends: Sara got safely home.

Phew!

Gosh, she's cute. I think I'll keep her.