Saturday, December 1, 2012

Here's the skinny on "A Formula for Murder"

Facts about “Formula”


“A Formula for Murder” took five years to write. After developing the initial storyline for the book, I did a 10,000 word first draft. Initial reviews were very positive.

Once I was confident that “Formula” was a pretty darned good story, I pushed ahead with a first re-write. I shuffled events around in the book, fleshed out characters, and started developing underlying themes that meshed with the overall storyline.

At every turn, I tried to add detail, color, and humor. My 10,000 word first draft grew to about 50,000 words.  Literary agents and publishers I had talked to encouraged me to make 80,000 words a goal.

With that in mind, I started a second re-write of the book, again shuffling the storyline, adding plot twists and infusing more background info about the main characters.

This also is when I decided to substantially change the ending of the book and open the door for a sequel to “Formula.” If the book generated enough interest, I could pick up the story where it left off and develop a whole new adventure.

The final result is 83,540 words presented in 254 pages and 36 chapters.

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