Chapter 15 Again... What to Do?

Numbers. My number 1 obsession. (And yes, I have them ranked. Why wouldn't I?) Because of that, I am breaking the rule in the post, and using all numerical values instead of words where it comes up.

Being a writer is difficult enough - raking through your brain to be as creative as possible. Finding words that make sense, but haven't been used before. And then trying to fit those perfect words within the constraints of proper grammar, syntax, AND voice.

Now throw on top of that rules that don't exist outside of your own brain, but are just as real to you. That's the life of a writer with a slight case of OCD. (Ahh, now you get the title of this blog, don't you? CDO is OCD with the letters arranged in alphabetical order like they should be.) I've started this blog to give you an idea of what it is like to have to write a story that is outside the box, and then be asked to force it into a box. (Disclaimer: I'm not complaining about it. I love to write, and I enjoy a challenge... after it has been solved.) 

So what do I do when I come across the fact that, when numbering chapters, I came across 2 chapters numbered 15. This gives me a total of 23 chapters in the book.

The problem? I hate odd numbers. Stupid, bizarre, I know, but it is my illness. When I run, I run even numbers of miles, and make it so that I finish in an even number of seconds. When I watch TV, the volume has to be on an even number. I even delete emails to give myself an even number in my inbox. (If I haven't returned an email of yours, that's why. I deleted it to be even. Sorry.) I can deal with 5, sometimes, but not 1,3,7, or 9. Do I need to tell you now how much I hate the automatic word count at the bottom of my Word document?

So, 23 isn't good. Not only is it odd, it's prime! (Don't get me started.)

So what do I do? Here are the options as I see them:

A. Make the Prologue a chapter. 
B. Find a long chapter and split it up.
C. Write a new chapter

Any of the above will add 1 more number to my book, giving me 24, and 24 is a great number! So many GCF's... Ahhhh. Which one will I choose? I haven't decided yet. Probably Option B because it requires less work, and I want this book out now.

I really hope you are entertained by this post. It's gotta be good for something, and a laugh's as good as anything. You can look forward to the craziness in these short posts and be thankful that there is at least one thing in your world that you don't have to worry about. 


Everybody's got a little crazy in them. I'm just putting mine on display for all to see!

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