On Chapters, Segues, and Hooks
Credit goes to Carly Kewley @ckdesign
Something I struggled with (and only realized with help from my editor) and have been focusing on is the chapter-by-chapter segments. It’s good if a story hooks you, but what’s equally important is that the story’s individual chapters sink their teeth in too.
Ever read a book and not feel compelled to flip to the next chapter? Me too! In fact, I’ve written a few of those myself (ouch). The big focus of today’s update is on how integral these things are, and how hard it can be to write that thing.
I’ve been working on this rewrite for months now, struggling to make sure I craft a working, breathing world while ensuring it’s able to hook people. It’s hard. I’ve always struggled to learn things, regardless of how passionately invested I am. I’m hoping by breaking my focus into chunks I can better force my brain to understand these things.
And so, segue! (Does that count or is the joke lame? Both? Both.) I’m still on the rough draft, of course, but I hope to be done with it (relatively — weeks or a month?) soon. Fiona’s story is paced a little differently from Cheryl or Marie, in that her overall story takes place over a longer period of time (years compared to the overall days/week that the main timeline is set in). With each flashback chapter comes a lead-up, a reason to care (I hope!). As her story progresses, and the discoveries she makes grow more grave and concerning, she’ll find herself back in the modern day (post the initial argument on page one) and her story will resume in tandem with the other two. A way to mix things up, to keep it all fresh.
The hook of it all is what I’m placing at each chapter’s end: that little line or paragraph that I hope will make the reader not want to stop reading. Again, time will tell how well it comes out. I’m hoping to refine this as I progress as an author, and I know it won’t be perfect from the get-go, but that doesn’t mean I can’t (and won’t) give this my all.
Let’s see, main points covered! I’m putting a write-up out for S. A. Barnes’ Ghost Station soon, working on that Pathologic 2 review, as well as an eventual review for Alan Wake 2 and Silent Hill 2 (2024). Beyond that? The draft calls!
