Tag: thearrest

One of the first things I learned way back in college when writing fiction was to let the creative juices flow and hold off on editing until after you’ve got the first draft ready. There are some valid reasons for this, but it’s human nature to make changes if they just make sense. Such is the case with the title of this novella. I chose the title, “The Arrest“, originally because it described the opening scene of the story and I needed a name to save the file. I had every intention of changing the title when the time came.…

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…

For those that don’t know, a novella is longer than a short story but shorter than a full-fledged novel. So, I’m currently writing my first novella. I figure this novella will have about 25,000 words when it is complete. I didn’t have the intent to make it so long when I first began, but I must have nudged open a creative spot in my brain because I cannot stop writing about it. One scene flows right into the next. That’s right, this story has multiple scenes and characters. Don’t ask me how many it will have when complete because I…