Don’t get too excited – I haven’t yet started to write the thing – but I’ve just been trying to work out a structure for the new book. For the firstย two books I stuck to a format of a chapter perย day. That worked well for book 1 and I think I just about got away with it for book 2 but it wouldn’t work for book 3 which is based upon a journey that was longer in time (and probably distance) than the first two combined. How about this? 23 chapters of approximately 5-6,000 words each, giving a finished book of somewhere between 110-140,000 words…
Heading North on a Bike Called Reggie
Prologue: Cadiz, Estepona and Gibraltar
Part 1: Spain (19 days: 17 cycling, 2 rest)
Cycling Days 1-4: Tarifa to Seville
Cycling Days 5-10: Seville to Salamanca
Cycling Days 11-17: Salamanca to Pamplona
Part 2: France (24 days: 21 cycling, 3 rest)
Cycling Days 18-21: Pamplona to Arcachon
Cycling Days 22-29: Arcachon-Saumur
Cycling Days 30-35: Saumur to Paris
Cycling Days 36-38: Paris to Maubeuge
Part 3: Belgium and The Netherlands (5 days: 4 cycling, 1 rest)
Cycling Days 39-42: Maubeuge to Aachen
Part 4: Germany (14 days: 11 cycling, 3 rest)
Cycling Days 43-46: Aachen to Mรผnster
Cycling Days 47-50: Mรผnster to Hamburg
Cycling Days 51-53: Hamburg to Flensburg
Part 5: Denmark (9 days: 7 cycling, 2 rest)
Cycling Days 54-57: Flensburg to Mรธns Klint
Cycling Days 58-60: Mรธns Klint to Helsingรธr
Part 6: Sweden (8 days: 7 cycling, 1 rest)
Cycling Days 61-63: Helsingรธr to Gothenburg
Cycling Days 64-67: Gothenburg to Hรธysand
Part 7: Norway (32 days: 29 cycling, 3 rest)
Cycling Days 68-71: Hรธysand to Ringebu
Cycling Days 72-75: Ringebu to Trondheim
Cycling Days 75-79: Trondheim to Kolvereid
Cycling Days 80-85: Kolvereid to Bodรธ
Cycling Days 86-90: Bodรธ to Tromsรธ
Cycling Days 91-96: Tromsรธ to Nordkapp
Epilogue: Ships, Trains and a Bicycle
I think this format would work well, although you could consider separating the Nordkapp part so it has its own day, but it depends how much emphasis you want to put on the final cycle to your overall destination. Good luck!
Good idea. I like it. Thanks. ๐
I think this is a great idea Andrew. I agree with your analysis that the diary format worked well for Book 1 but maybe less so for Book 2. Moving away from that format would allow you expand your views & opinions on related cultural issues and other topics of interest. We don’t need to know what you had for breakfast on, say, Day 57.
Bonne Chance.
I’m looking forward to it already! I don’t think it matters too much about the number of days or miles per chapter, it’s more to do with keeping the story flowing. Your other two books worked well so go with your gut feeling about this one and see how it feels. Good luck with the writing!