needs-to-be-loved

We all know and love the feeling of being glued to a book. “One more chapter, one more page, one more paragraph.” But absorbing whole novels in 1 sitting isn’t the best. We forget loads of stuff that happen!! It just happens.

Every 5-10 chapters I leave it at a good stopping point. A character goes to sleep with no imminent threat waking them up, a good conversation ends with well wishes, a part of the story is wrapped up, and it’s a nice place to put the bookmark and close the cover.

This is good!! This isn’t a bad thing at all!! Some people only have the attention span or ability to read 5 chapters or so. Some people have to work early and want to sleep and not feel obligated to finish a book in one sitting. Some people need to pee!!

Brains will be given the chance to absorb things. Did your character just start a romance?? Win a battle?? Deliver a speech that would win Emmys?? Let your readers take a minute (or day) to process it. To savor it. To think about your characters and story while they go along their daily life.

“Boy I sure hope Alexandria and her girlfriend start a good adventure in the next chapter.”

“The Battle of Darenzal ended on such mixed terms. We lost two names characters but still prevailed. I hope it’s talked about more in the next part.”

“The Queen’s speech about her husband’s death, and the shoutout to our protagonist was lovely. I hope after the ball we see more of her.”

The best books that I’ve read have given me places to stop. To take a breather, to get a glass of water and stretch and THINK about the things that JUST HAPPENED in the last 5-10 chapters. Willingly giving your readers a rest doesn’t mean you’re sacrificing a page-turning best seller, it means you want people to turn pages a bit slower, take it a bit calmer, and have time to think and formulate about your story.

I wrote a scene once where two characters were chilling in an abandoned house for the night, and one started telling a story. Second guy made a comment that just set them off, and they laughed so hard they were on the ground, abs burning, unable to remember why they were laughing in the first place. Based on the reviews I got, it was the most popular part of the chapter by a long shot, and people felt like the two characters and become closer friends because of it. Give your characters breaks!!

Here’s the thing: Any chapter of a novel needs at least one of three things

Plot advancement

Character development

Theme

A good chapter will have at least two of those things.

A great chapter will have all three.

But here’s the thing, not every chapter needs to be great. In fact, not every chapter can be great. Which means you can still have a really good chapter and it only includes character development and theme. Not every single chapter even needs to forward the plot–though, of course, you shouldn’t have more than one or maybe two chapters in a row that don’t include plot advancement.

So let your characters sit around the campfire and talk about favorite childhood games! Let your characters go out to dinner to talk about the big thing that happened at work the other day. Let your character go home and snuggle their dog and watch TV for a few hours to unwind. (Just make sure that the reader is getting some good character development and a glimpse at the book’s theme while you’re at it!)

Trust me, everyone will thank you for it.

A large boy and friend is helping me work on Chapter 2. I have a few more hours of writing in me before I have to shift gears and focus on a Pathfinder game we're starting tonight.

When did it come to this?

To me not wanting to be myself around her when she is supposed to be my love.

To her looking at me, frowning and asking with a raised voice, "WHY?!"

To me flinching as she walks or raises her hands in a way too familiar to the last time she hit me on accident.

I fear her disappointment, it makes me panic and feel like the ugliest fucking creature alive.

When she looks at me because of a joke or comment I make and calls me, 'an evil little thing.'

My heart aches and I just want to fucking cry when my chest aches and the anxiety rises.

She's a good fucking liar and I know it, if she truly wanted to she'd trick me, I wouldn't be an wiser to it.

She's a trickster just as I am, while she is not as sinister or thorough, she's more emotional and genuine. We fall for each other's traps.

I doubt everything and it fucking hurts because at the same time I love her.

I trust her.

But I just know one day her or I will snap and this will fall apart.. It's 'good' right now..

Only because we never speak of the things that we don't like and-

              TIMELESS TRAVELER

     There blue and green are, fluently passing me by. I don’t try to catch them, I let them wander freely. Look,there, in the corner they turned into orange. Then yellow passing in front of my eyes and finds its green. Together they turn into red. Now, all the colors starting to wander disorderly. An order comes to life from their disordered moves.

     Suddenly, I find myself in the middle of voices, voices that whisper the sound of the flowing fountain, chirps, conversation beetween high council of trees and working-bees gathering pollens.

     I, feel the whole mystery of the very universe, and I integrate with the universe; understand all species, discern all details of objects. I can hear the lowest sound, I understand running of the universe. Most importantly, I can embody the time and control it. I feel that I am using hundred per cent of my brain.

      I guess achieving nirvana feels like this. I forgot to hate and learn how to love. I learn to empathise. I learn, not to prejudice but try to understand the reasons. I realise that, with learning these, life is too simple and all problems can be solved.

     I woke up and feel every little cell of my body, I feel the blood flows in my veins. 

but we have outgrown each other.

My feet long

to travel in a new direction,

though I don't know where yet,

I just know that there's

a new destination