One of the things I did when structuring “Zombie Cop” was purposely\u00a0divide the plot into 14 chapters, with 7 “scenes” (parts) each\u00a0chapter.<\/p>\n
I wrote about this before in February.<\/p>\n
(Before publishing it.)<\/p>\n
And, yes, I did the same with “Vampire Apocalypse” — which I’m\u00a0working on the second draft of currently.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Three reasons, Van Helsing:<\/p>\n
1. When information is presented in 3’s or 7’s it’s very easy for\u00a0the (uneaten, at least) human brain to accept and follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n I don’t know why this is.<\/p>\n But, I just know it works.<\/p>\n (At least I noticed it does in advertising.)<\/p>\n 2. It made the book a lot easier and faster to write.<\/strong><\/p>\n When writing these novels I am striving for a “24” pace.<\/p>\n I really dig that show.<\/p>\n And the reason why is, it’s so quick.<\/p>\n You barely even notice the time going by when watching it.\u00a0Something is ALWAYS happening — and it keeps you on the edge of\u00a0your seat and begging for more the next week.<\/p>\n So my goal was with “Zombie Cop”.<\/p>\n And so it is again with “Vampire Apocalypse”, too.<\/p>\n Fitting the story into this structure just… works… for my\u00a0storytelling style. It fits so well when writing I don’t even have\u00a0to consciously think about it. In fact, it just works out to be\u00a0that exact length (14 chapters, 7 parts per chapter) no matter what\u00a0I do.<\/p>\n Why fight it?<\/p>\n 3. It makes it a fast read.<\/strong><\/p>\n Here’s the troof:<\/p>\n “Zombie Cop” is definitely not high literature.<\/p>\n It’s not “deep” as far as characters go, either.<\/p>\n (Although I argue the plot has a lot more depth than other zombie\u00a0and monster stories out there these days.)<\/p>\n And, it’s certainly not “great writing.”<\/p>\n (Nor does it pretend to be.)<\/p>\n But, what I hope it is, and what it was always intended to be…\u00a0was entertaining. The kind of book you read and get sucked into the\u00a0story and have a hard time not reading it in one sitting because\u00a0you can’t look away.<\/p>\n And you know what?<\/p>\n I think it succeeds on that front.<\/p>\n At least, according to the amazon reviews.<\/p>\n Anyway, the point of all this?<\/p>\n I dunno.<\/p>\n I just felt like writing about this.<\/p>\n And, talking a bit about the process of writing novels, as I think\u00a0more copywriters and email marketers should try their hands at it.<\/p>\n That said, let’s get down to bid’niz:<\/p>\n “Vampire Apocalypse” will be ready by Christmas.<\/p>\n If you know someone who loves vampire stories, I think I have a\u00a0somewhat unique take on the monster they’ll enjoy, just as I\u00a0believe “Zombie Cop” has a unique take on zombies you’re not seeing\u00a0in Hollywood or anywhere else.<\/p>\n Makes a good stocking stuffer for ’em.<\/p>\n Just make sure they read “Zombie Cop” first.<\/p>\n That way, they know what’s going on.<\/p>\n To read the first couple chapters go here:<\/p>\n