Well, in my humble, but biased, opinion at least.
Here’s why:
I purposely structured my coming “Zombie Cop” novel to have 14 chapters, each with 7 “scenes” or parts.
Why so precise?
Because, for one, I have noticed in my copywriting & marketing ventures the human brain accepts and follows information more smoothly when it’s presented in 3’s and 7’s. This is nothing new. I have heard John Carlton teach for years on the power of putting 3 benefits, etc in headlines and bullet points. And I have done 7 part auto-responder series or used exactly 7 bullet points in short ads with a lot of success, too. And so, I decided to see if using this structure would make the book flow better and be more easily comprehended. (Can’t have you forgetting about it and not having nightmares — where’s the fun in that???)
And guess what?
When I did so, a funny thing happened:
I noticed the plot was MUCH easier to wrap my mind around.
It was very easy to fit the story into this exact frame work — while it was much harder to do so before I created this structure. For example, I started the first few chapters without direction, then, later, decided to outline it — when I did the outline, the plot practically filled itself in when I limited it to 14 chapters of 7 scenes.
Coincidence?
I don’t think so.
And, I will probably structure the sequel(s) the same way.
Anyway, the table of contents is below.
You can sometimes tell a lot about a book by its TOC:
1. Azriel
2. Chief Rawger
3. The Blue Pills
4. The Doctor Of Death
5. Dirty Revenge
6. Unholy Appetite
7. Belasco Woods
8. The Meat Locker
9. The Monster Hunter
10. Too Late
11. Finius
12. Second Helpings
13. The Zombie Cop
14. Azrael
Two things to note:
(1) At a glance the first and last chapters seem to be the same.
They aren’t.
They are different names.
With different meanings.
And, with different impacts on the overall theme. They also both play a part in the theme of future books.
(2) I don’t read a lot of fiction.
But, I do watch a lot of movies.
And, when I was in community college, I was obsessed with becoming a screenwriter. I even wrote a couple papers on the subject (which forced me to read and study several screenwriting books).
The point?
This novel is not structured like a “novel.”
It’s structured like a screenplay:
Tightly plotted, action-packed, and (hopefully) fast moving.
(Just like effective emails are, my little ghoul.)
My goal is not for this to be the best “written” novel.
(It’s not.)
But, perhaps, the most entertaining novel you read this year.
Will it accomplish that wicked deed?
Only time will tell…
She should be published in the next 2-3 weeks.
I will let you know when it’s ready here:
Ben Settle
