I cracked the 45,000 word mark. Most excellent. 5,000 more words to ‘win’. Maybe this week? So here is what I found out about word counts and novels per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_count;
| CLASSIFICATION | WORD COUNT |
|---|---|
| Novel | over 40,000 words |
| Novella | 17,500 to 40,000 words |
| Novelette | 7,500 to 17,500 words |
| Short story | under 7,500 words |
Here I was thinking that the minimum word count for most novels was 80,000. The Huffington Post had this interesting article with some comparisons of famous books. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/book-length_n_1334636.html and make the argument that the “average” book is 64,000 words. I know some of my favorite novels and novelists average about 80K to 120K words so I think that is my goal.
What does this mean to The Return. Well. I think I’m about halfway through the book, although I might be 1/3rd of the way into the book based on my plans. Currently Luke and Leonessa have met and are talking, planning, etc. They are going to have to track down Leonessa’s missing crew and then fly off to save the Athena colony, or crush the Caliphate. Not quite sure yet. Leonessa has been saved from the Tonkan and both Leonessa and Luke are starting to realize the Topa might be manipulating them and have some ulterior motive. They are also starting to realize a few other things as well. Not sure how I’m going to have Brita play into this yet but I want to develop her and Doc some more. Maybe Carmichael and Burke as well. Bebchuck may or may not survive. I’m really curious to see how that is going to play out. . . . wait a minute. I thought I was writing the book. Hmmm. Okay. I’ll figure that out. Better be good.
So here’s a picture I created week or two ago with Leonessa, Luke and Suresh.
