It is that time of month again. My last update saw progress on my novel temporarily halted, while attention turned to a DoD sequel. However, as any regular reader of these blogs should by now know, my plans are liable to change without warning. Allow me to demonstrate:
Fan Fiction
The DoD sequel I was working on showed promise, but had issues. It involved Taelord and Runa, set against the backdrop of Vydar's impending betrayal. However, it relied on Runa acting a certain way throughout the story, and as I developed further, it became increasingly clear that her actions were out of character. Not only that, but she would in fact naturally do the exact opposite of what the story required. Additionally, I couldn't just replace Runa with someone else. Runa had certain connections which, thanks to Utgar's paranoia, no one else would believably have.
Thus, I was stuck. Taelord's arc made perfect sense - I may well recycle it one day for a future sequel - but Runa would not work. I pondered for a time if there was something I could change, some way to fix or salvage the story. Sadly, there was not. The DoD sequel I was working on has as a result been scrapped.
All hope for fan fiction is not lost. I would still like to write an interim story - explaining how the alliances shift - at some point. When this will happen, I cannot say. I considered trying another premise once I realized the sequel wouldn't work, but at that point I had spent a month on a story which ultimately led nowhere, and I needed to get back to my novels. However, I do still expect to write something to follow DoD at some point. If my current idea for the fan fic competition works out, it will be one such story, taking place a year or two after DoD. We'll have to wait and see if that story makes it to completion.
Novels
With fan fiction unfortunately shelved at the moment, I have returned my attentions to my novel. The break from the development was good. I was able to take a look at everything I had, analyze what needed to be redone, and form a plan to tackle it.
It starts with the magic system and the world. The magic system I have is still holding up - it just needed to become more of an actual system, rather than a collection of abilities. That's fixed now. The world - based on the magic system - was also too limiting. It felt isolated and sterile. That's also been fixed, yielding a world with much more potential for future stories.
The main arc for the main character - which defines the structure of the plot - is in place for the entire trilogy. Following some foundational worldbuilding, I plan to tackle that arc, and figure out exactly how things happen. I expect GPT to as always be instrumental in this brainstorming phase. The stakes for the main character are already in place as well - I don't foresee those causing any issues.
Following the main arc, I will need to look into arcs for other characters, such as important side characters and villains. That will add to the plot. Once all the various arcs are in and I know exactly how they all happen, (which I would estimate to take anywhere from 3 to 6 months) then I can detail the outline. That will take another month. Once the outline is detailed, then I can write the final draft of the story. That will take another 1-2 months, with editing taking a week or two after that. This all puts the tentative completion date (barring fan fiction interruptions) for the writing of the first novel in the trilogy at anywhere from the middle of July to somewhere in the middle of November.
Of course, as we all know, anything is possible. Plans may change. I could magically complete my novels this weekend. I could be hired by Renegade to write the entire HeroScape lore. The internet could implode, plunging us into a future where we fight ChatGPT for survival. My point is, my plans can (and almost certainly will) change.
That being said, keep 'Scaping, and I'll see you when I next release a 'Scape story. Or TAF finally completes his zombie saga. Whichever comes first.
~TGRF.
Fan Fiction
The DoD sequel I was working on showed promise, but had issues. It involved Taelord and Runa, set against the backdrop of Vydar's impending betrayal. However, it relied on Runa acting a certain way throughout the story, and as I developed further, it became increasingly clear that her actions were out of character. Not only that, but she would in fact naturally do the exact opposite of what the story required. Additionally, I couldn't just replace Runa with someone else. Runa had certain connections which, thanks to Utgar's paranoia, no one else would believably have.
Thus, I was stuck. Taelord's arc made perfect sense - I may well recycle it one day for a future sequel - but Runa would not work. I pondered for a time if there was something I could change, some way to fix or salvage the story. Sadly, there was not. The DoD sequel I was working on has as a result been scrapped.
All hope for fan fiction is not lost. I would still like to write an interim story - explaining how the alliances shift - at some point. When this will happen, I cannot say. I considered trying another premise once I realized the sequel wouldn't work, but at that point I had spent a month on a story which ultimately led nowhere, and I needed to get back to my novels. However, I do still expect to write something to follow DoD at some point. If my current idea for the fan fic competition works out, it will be one such story, taking place a year or two after DoD. We'll have to wait and see if that story makes it to completion.
Novels
With fan fiction unfortunately shelved at the moment, I have returned my attentions to my novel. The break from the development was good. I was able to take a look at everything I had, analyze what needed to be redone, and form a plan to tackle it.
It starts with the magic system and the world. The magic system I have is still holding up - it just needed to become more of an actual system, rather than a collection of abilities. That's fixed now. The world - based on the magic system - was also too limiting. It felt isolated and sterile. That's also been fixed, yielding a world with much more potential for future stories.
The main arc for the main character - which defines the structure of the plot - is in place for the entire trilogy. Following some foundational worldbuilding, I plan to tackle that arc, and figure out exactly how things happen. I expect GPT to as always be instrumental in this brainstorming phase. The stakes for the main character are already in place as well - I don't foresee those causing any issues.
Following the main arc, I will need to look into arcs for other characters, such as important side characters and villains. That will add to the plot. Once all the various arcs are in and I know exactly how they all happen, (which I would estimate to take anywhere from 3 to 6 months) then I can detail the outline. That will take another month. Once the outline is detailed, then I can write the final draft of the story. That will take another 1-2 months, with editing taking a week or two after that. This all puts the tentative completion date (barring fan fiction interruptions) for the writing of the first novel in the trilogy at anywhere from the middle of July to somewhere in the middle of November.
Of course, as we all know, anything is possible. Plans may change. I could magically complete my novels this weekend. I could be hired by Renegade to write the entire HeroScape lore. The internet could implode, plunging us into a future where we fight ChatGPT for survival. My point is, my plans can (and almost certainly will) change.
That being said, keep 'Scaping, and I'll see you when I next release a 'Scape story. Or TAF finally completes his zombie saga. Whichever comes first.
~TGRF.
