Yup. The urge hit me right then and there.
11 chapters now. Averaging 4,000-6,000 words a piece; which equals around 50-65,000 words altogether. Already past the "novella" stage, which is classified as being at 50,000 words.
Chapter 11, is not about bankruptcy, however. I had the main characters leave the hospital to go outside, which for Jake, would have been the first time in days, so that he could have a cigarette.
It's rather mundane on plot, but I'm not concerned about plot here. I'm interested in the interaction between Jake and Josh. I like how they are together. And in this new chapter, I gave them an extra bit of bonding time, to prepare them for the story ahead.
In this chapter, I had to throw in a twist, and the twist was Josh suddenly getting up and walking away. For no reason. Of course I already know the reason for it, in my head, but it won't be apparent to the reader until later on.
Choice excerpt:
Jake was tired of mysteries that he could not solve, and here was yet another one to wonder about.
He was so tired.
For a moment, his mind flashed back to the time he found an opened garage while wandering around as a child at night, looking for a place to sleep. Out from the cold, winter wind that was searing his cheeks and chilling his bones.
He remembered sliding under the crack of the door, his small frame easily squeezing through and huddling against a wall in the darkness. Shivering, alone. There was a roll of thick, clear garbage bags that he tore pieces from, to fit into a blanket so that he could stay warm.
The wind blew at him from underneath the door, as tears rolled down his face, thinking of how his parents had died.
Jake began experiencing what his younger self was feeling, and he sat himself back down onto the bench. His head awash with the sadness of remembrance.
We all have our stories to tell, he thought.
Looking at the hospital, he carried his sadness with him, as he walked around to the main entrance. Preferring not to enter the basement from where they had come.
Before entering, he took one last look around.
Josh was no where to be seen.
His watch read 2:33pm.
And his strange day was far from over.
It's not bad. Gave Jake a little backstory, mentioned what Josh does for a living, threw in a few pop culture references that I enjoyed thinking of.
I'll flesh it out down the road, and make it better. This is only the first draft.
Anyways, night shift tonight and I'm tired. Got up at 9:30am, and spent a good chunk of the day in bed.
I don't think I made it to 3am last night, even. It probably was around 1:30 or so when I passed out.
Well.. Got to go.
Wish me luck.
