The Reveal

I feel like that Goodreads poster who keeps telling everyone that "the outline for chapter 112 of...is complete!" If my novella had actual chapters, I think I would have surpassed that writer by now (except I don't do outlines).

But I do feel like I've written scores of "chapters". More and more incidental characters get added in, so much so that I'm grasping for names; not that their names matter. They are simply devices to segue into a new scene: "Xuforj Batyzkl" arrived for his appointment. Except I have to assign them actual names. I took to scrolling whatever other tabs I had open (Twitter, etc.) to find acceptable monikers. 

Housekeeping aside, my MC finally figured out who the actual "bad guy" is. The trouble is, the police don't believe her. Ever have those moments in real life, where you "know" something to be true, but you can't seem to prove it to anyone? You know, intuition; deduction. No, you don't have reams of data to back you up, but the truth is right there for anyone who's not too pigheaded to see it. That's where my MC is finding herself when presenting her case to the one law enforcement officer she knows. In his defense, though, he can't just arrest someone based on the complainant's anecdotes.

That is where I left off yesterday. 

I'm still struggling with too much dialogue and not enough exposition. I'm biased toward dialogue, because in truth, that is how people reveal themselves, if one listens closely enough. I'm terrible at, "As I drove along, I was captivated by the beauty of the lush countryside, emerald green, with a sprinkling of majestic oaks, their weathered trunks shearing the wispy clouds." What? 

I'm more of: "Hey, look at those tall trees!" "Yea, awesome!" (except something a bit more scintillating than that).

I do wonder sometimes, though, if readers get tired of all the verbal back and forth. I really do try to limit it, but I generally fail. It's just how my writer's mind works. Maybe I could call it "my style" and people would feel like they should appreciate it. "Her writing is so stylish!", rather than, "Stop talking already!"

Well, it hasn't hurt me before. I've gotten good reviews.

I've now reached the point in my story where the bad guy has to make himself known -- somehow. I haven't figured out how to do that yet. Then there's the added complication that two different characters know this person, but by completely different personas. So I'll need to resolve that, too.

It's true that I want to be done with it, but I have to create a satisfying conclusion or I've wasted two months of my time.

At least I'm getting closer.