the future of the TANDEM novel... second draft strategy for the WAR WORLD.

now that I know how the TANDEM novel ends (I wasn't sure I was going to 'enjoy' writing that bit, until I did) and with the content coming out at about three single-spaced document pages or so per chapter, what I intend to do is

GO BACK IN

go back in and extend certain specific aspects and meanings of each chapter so that the whole book has a more unified feel and appeal. I might even introduce some rude dead ends for the reader, because I detest him/her so. I want to get to the point where each chapter is five (or at least four) single-spaced document pages. This means writing around the content and/or exploring an aspect of that chapter not fully explored, or skimmed past, in the first-draft version. Should be quite fun.

Fear not, oh fans of the angsty/jumpy/spontaneous Hertzan Chimera 'get on with it you sick bastard, show everything now, don't piss around with filler' material you all know and love. What's going to happen is ... you know when you stub your toe on that door edge? Well, that, only more vivid, more excruciating, more tortuous. I intend to INJURE the reader with every unified chapter and get his/her head in a place where he/she will DREAD the next chapter and not want to turn the page. I'm going to blind him with side-events and confuse the hell out of him, until the wondrous climax.

Blindly led to blindness. Lambed to slaughter.


SEVERAL DAYS LATER UPDATE: based on my expansion of the first fourteen chapters (already) the word count for each second-draft chapter comes to about 3,000 words or more. I had a bit of a cheeky combine of some part-chapters and reduced what was 26 chapters to 24 @ 3,000 words each still gives me a projected 72,000 words total. That'll do for a decent novel length.

"War World!" say it like you mean it.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY ON THE WAR WORLD.