Numerology, Characters & Age

It's not often you hit the word count button and end up with a nice round number.

44,000 is today's word count. Woo hoo. It sounds big to me but it's only a couple of thousand more than it was a couple of weeks ago.

Sometime she go fast, sometime she don't.

The speed hump was caused by the buildup to an important scene. One of the characters had to ramble on and on and let out some clues in the process. But I couldn't get him to do this until I'd fleshed out the background details some more. This included the almost accidental introduction of a new character. The universe does the work of creation and then the character pops into existence at just the right point for just the right reason.

Mysteries work differently to other stories. I see these kind of characters as tools that are used to develop clues and plot points along the way, and a mystery - at least for me - needs a lot of these.

Sometime she do the same old thang, sometime she need some new vibration.

The new character is an old woman, somewhere past seventy. She's mentally unstable, but no doddering fool. This inherent contradiction gives her plenty of energy for a woman of her age.

I've always had a fascination with old people and I've often said that I can't wait to be sitting at a bus stop, complaining about the youth of today and spitting on the ground at random intervals. Add in a beige cardigan, some slippers, and a walking stick with a silver handle and I'm there. Count on it. It will happen.

But don't go thinking I'll be without a Hawaiian shirt and a hat, okay?

Danny Hawaii OUT