My Writing Journey: "The Ghost of Forsyth Academy", Part 4

A few months ago, I set a goal for myself of getting to 50,000 words in the manuscript before the end of the year. Because of (yet another) writing slump, it took me until two days before the end of the year, but I did hit 50,000 words.

The book is not over by a longshot. I've still got quite a ways to go, but the end (of the first draft) is near. After that, I'll shelve it for a few months before coming back to it for editing. There are definitely a few things I want to work on. I feel like at the moment, the school is very empty. There are only two students - Ella and Charlie - and a handful of teachers. Mrs. Screven gets taken out of the picture, her husband the sheriff follows, and I forget about them. I need to fix that.

I also need to better develop Ella's characterization, and I think with this comes a greater focus on the gardening club because a) that allows me to give Mr. Axson more screentime, and b) she's supposed to like botany and gardening.

Speaking of Mr. Axson, I think I need to change up his characterization a little because I realized he'd make the perfect red herring. What if he previously attended Forsyth and benefitted from their college admission scam? Maybe it's discovered that he arrived earlier than Ella thought and lied about it, but he actually was there when Alex was murdered? Then Ella and Charlie can suspect him and it casts some doubt on the obvious murder suspects.

And finally, I need to work on the vibe of the story. I realized that I have set the scene perfectly for a Southern Gothic, but I'm not quite there yet. With a little work though - and some more focus on the surroundings, and on the fact that the school used to be a plantation - I could definitely market this as a Southern Gothic. I think that would be pretty cool.

Anyway, I have a lot of work to do before this book is done and ready for querying, but I'm getting pretty damn close to finishing the first draft, and I'm genuinely excited.