The first draft of chapter 4 is now complete! Unexpectedly, there is another character in the mix, necessitating some additions to chapter 2 to lay more foundations for dear Aunt Prudence. Somehow I know she had been there all along. Our heroine just hadn’t mentioned her yet. Again there was the balancing act of sufficient background revelations without becoming boring or giving too much of the plot away. Aunt Prudence was one of these revelations, and brought with her a change to my planned outline. This resulted in a change in title of the chapter – Of Traitors, Ghostmen and Despicable Acts.
My favourite passage from the first draft:
“Miss Meriwether stood defiantly among them, looking quite dishevelled. She brandished a red parasol, swinging it in her hand like a golf club. Her bonnet hung precariously, held by the remaining hat pin, revealing a less than pristine coiffe.”
I have now set aside chapter 4 and have begun ruminating on the sequence of events for chapter 5. After sifting through a pile of notes and ideas, I have pulled out those in the most logical order. I have jotted down notes on where to fit unwritten plot points that have rolled over from chapter 4. This is an expose chapter. We learn more of one of the secondary characters and the fate of others. Let the writing begin!
If you don’t count the six hundred-odd words of sequencing and notes for Chapter 5:
Manuscript Word Progress:
Revised Words:
Total Words:
At 1st draft only: