I tend to like the longer chapters as books develop. I feel
the characters are evolving.
Click here to read Laramie, Chapter 14.
This chapter is relatively long, but I could have easily
made it considerably longer. Back when I was posting Coffee at 9, “December”
was a massively huge chapter. It was among my favorites — ever. When it came time
to position that month’s events from Laramie’s side in Chapter 14, it was painful to not
include certain parts.
Natalie meeting Cooper at Joe for lunch, Cooper’s meetings
with Dr. Horwood, the development of Aiden, Cooper’s dinner party, Cooper’s accidental
descent into an agonizing love triangle — all of that was so relevant to moving
the plot in Book Five. It felt odd not to put all those details in this recent
passage. They seemed absent, like holes. But this is Laramie’s story, so I tried to keep the
narrative as it pertained to him.
Anyone interested in how everything stirred up in December
can revisit those sections here: Coffee at 9, Chap. 11
One thing repeated here is Laramie’s “bad luck” with the
sheets at Cooper’s mother’s house. How many of us have done something embarrassing
with families of significant others?
As I wrote Laramie, I had to reference the previous
book (a lot!) to make sure I aligned things correctly. Now, as I review each
chapter before posting it, I will find a spelling or punctuation error (in
Cooper’s segments), and I wonder if I did the same when posting Coffee at 9.
It’s a big “Aaargh” to me when I find errors on previously posted material. I
know it is unrealistic to expect it to be perfect without an editor, but it
annoys me. Posted or not, my main manuscripts are still somewhat in review even
months or years later. I suppose any author could finetune his or her work
indefinitely. (I’m sure directors feel the same about their movies.) As much as
I am digging the beginnings of Books Seven and Eight, a big part of me also wants to
go all the way back to Extracurricular and refresh it. If only work didn't get in the way, right?
This chapter officially takes us past the halfway point in
terms of page count. I hope you are enjoying the journey. Another half is yet to come.
I remember how long "December" was. It was a fantastic chapter. I had to go back and remember Natalie's stop in Joe. The two of them discussing Corey's concern of Laramie being alone at Christmas touched me ... again! I imagine Cooper and Natalie were a great couple when they started out.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I was only halfway through, I read the very end to see if I was right in thinking where you were going to end the chapter. I was, dammit, now I have to wait another week to read Laramie's thoughts on the big announcement!
ReplyDeleteI love your writing and love how you are letting us read Laramie's narrative. The intimacy between Laramie and Cooper is very well written, hot but not over done.
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