Projects Under Way: CrimeNovel1

I know it’s hard for people to develop a connection to a work titled as generically as CrimeNovel1, but bear with me, it’ll get better. CrimeNovel1 is an old project; I shudder to think of how many years ago I started it. To say this was a new genre for me and that I struggled with it is an understatement, but I think I’ve got my head around it, or my version of it, at least.

I’m going to go over each chapter again, proofing and editing. At this time, it is currently 48,889 words long. I probably won’t start adding words to it until I’ve finished doing the chapter-by-chapter revision, and *then* we’ll be cooking with gas.

A taster? Here’s the first paragraph. Feel free to let me know if you’d read on.

The girl’s mouth was open, screaming. Her lips were stretched around the gag blocking her cries. Mascara tears formed thick rivulets that disappeared into the band of cloth pulled tight across her face. She seemed to be leaning forward, straining against something as though trying to pull away from something else. I could not see if she was bound; the picture stopped just below her shoulders. I just assumed that she was tied. Why would anyone want to paint anything like this? And who would agree to pose for it, in the first place? I peered more closely at the girl in the frame.

This is, I think my first ever venture into writing in first-person perspective. It’s what the story wanted.