Birth of a Novel Part 10

This is the sixteenth entry in my Birth of a Novel series of posts, where I talk about the development of my new YA urban fantasy. Yes, sixteenth, even though the post is entitled Part 10.

I usually name each chapter after I've written the thing. With Mythos, however, there are no chapter names. Just the stark - Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and so on. If I were to name my chapters, though, I think I'd call chapter thirteen: "The Aftermath, Part I". I kind of like that. On the other hand, I've been reading The Lightning Thief, which has really cool chapter titles like, "Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death". Now that's sweet. I could call this chapter, "Magenta Blows Me Off But The Fat Guy Is Still There". Something weird like that.

I should say that from this point on in my Birth of a Novel posts, I'm going to be purposely hazy about the plot details because I really don't want to give the game away. This also makes it more difficult for me to include snippets of the chapter.

So life has seriously begun to suck for Zydeco. Life has changed for him, and he's lonely and miserable. And now that I've written it, I realized he's not acting and thinking as miserably as he ought to, given what's happened. This won't be hard to fix, but I know I need to go back make the dude more depressed. Mind you, he can't be a total "layabout-hiding in the dark-never climbs out of bed-doesn't eat-sleeps all the time-reeks" for long. Readers like him. He's my boy. I want people to still like him. And he's nothing if not resilient.

How we handle tough times defines us. It's a simple truth, but also makes for great fiction.

When I suggested "The Aftermath, Part I", it was a hint. Bad things happen to good people... or griffins, or whatever. Notices that it's bad things, not bad thing. There will be a second aftermath, and this is where Zydeco will show his mettle. That begins in chapter 14.

Today's snippet.

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I was thinking of lost moments in the library with Tameina when I nearly crashed into Lex on the school’s front steps. The look on her face seemed appropriate for visiting a sick friend. “How are you?”

Crap. I wasn’t in the mood for the instantaneous cranial stupidity her voice instilled in me. Much to my surprise, I was able to force a few words out of my mouth, but my voice sounded weak to me. “I’ve been better.”

A group of guys in red varsity jackets burst through the doors, but stopped like a flock of birds crashing into an enormous window.

Lex shot them a scathing look. “How many times do I need to tell you boys? I don’t like jocks.”

They grumbled as one and went back inside.

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Chapter 14 is a little slow going right now. Apparently, the Inner Evil Editor has made a return visit. I guess he missed me. Thanks for checking out this BOAN (Birth of a Novel) post, and stay tuned for more.

To read about the last chapter, saunter on back to the previous entry.

To check out the next chapter, you might want to shimmy over here.