The following excerpt is from the beginning of the novella. I’m writing this in the first person since it’s easier to get my thoughts on paper quickly. This is the first draft and as I develop the story further, I will most likely change narrators occasionally and I’ll definitely add more scripted conversations between the characters. I am struggling with where is the best place to develop my characters. Should I pause the story whenever a new character is introduced and provide a semi-in-depth character backstory then, should I develop them in full whenever I introduce a new character or should I trickle their background as they come and go from a scene. I’m leaning towards the latter, but that may change.
Another thought that keeps popping up is the issue of illustrations. I’m more than capable of creating my own, but then that would take away from my writing time. Also, in my own personal experiences, I found I always enjoyed fiction that lacked illustrations. I considered them a nuisance and would quickly turn the page if I came across one while I was reading. In retrospect, I believe this is because I considered an illustration an intrusion into the relationship between me and the author of the book. It is the author’s job to paint a picture of events using words and it is the reader’s job to interpret those events and see that picture in their own mind. When the author also provides an illustration, especially in a work of fiction, a disservice is done to the reader. Their imagination is lessened. So, at least for now, this novella and most likely, many of my stories of fiction won’t contain illustrations.
Without further delay, here’s the excerpt from “The Arrest”
“You have a warrant for your arrest.”, I told the driver.
“Please step out of your car. Don’t reach for anything and don’t make any sudden moves.”, I continued.
“What’s it for officer? I’ve paid all of my tickets.”, the driver replied. “Are you sure the warrant’s mine?”
“Yes, it’s been confirmed. Go ahead and step out and we can talk about it more down at the station.” I said and I reached down and opened the driver’s door.
The driver stepped from the car and when she stood up, she allowed the bath towel she was wrapped in, to fall to the ground revealing her completely nude body. Her legs and thighs were golden brown and toned and revealed she was athletic. I averted my eyes but not before I caught a glance of something shiny in her right hand. I moved to my right as she swung her right hand forward with full force into my left side. The foot-long Bowie-style knife she was holding buried itself to the hilt in my body armor and sliced into my left side. I could feel my blood and possibly my guts oozing out.
I dropped to my knees and grasped my side with my left arm and drew my handgun with my right hand. She had sat back down in her car and used her left foot to kick me away from her car. I fired one maybe two shots into her car as she put it into gear and drove away, leaving me laying on the ground bleeding out. My ride-along passenger saw what was happening and came running to my aide. He was just a teenager but he knew enough about first aid to recognize I was going into shock. He removed my body armor and applied direct pressure to the wound. Other cars had stopped and before long, additional officers and an ambulance arrived on the scene. The last thing I remember before waking up in the hospital was someone using that bitch’s towel to stuff into my open wound to help stop the bleeding.
