Another month, another update. The last update saw my plans for a DoD sequel scrapped, and the renewal of work on the novel after a month-long break. So what new ground-breaking development has shaken things up this time?
Fan Fiction
I am not currently working on any fan fiction. However, ideas abound. The recent fan fiction competition prompt got me in the mood to write for DoD again, and the new prompt - featuring the Einar Imperium - definitely has promise in that area. I'd like to write a story showing what happens to Einar when he goes to the Erianor Empire - which is where we saw Utgar send him at the end of DoD. Unfortunately, an idea for a proper story has yet to strike.
Meanwhile, DoD itself is ripe for a sequel. Taelord has an arc basically all laid out for him. From the end of Valkyrie, I've known all along what I want to do with him. It's just that executing it is... challenging. The resulting story would be very experimental, testing the limits of what an author can get away with, so I'd have to be very careful with how I deliver it. It could be an amazing read, or it could fall flat on its face. I do want to write that story at some point - for science if nothing else. But it will be a while in coming. I could however set that story up with a direct sequel to the events of DoD. Time will tell.
Novel
On to the novel. Progress has continued. At this point a lot of groundwork has been gone over so many times that I doubt there are any more snags to hit. I've ironed out the thematic cores, detailed the setting sufficiently, and hammered stakes out until I KNOW they work. All that took about a month.
Going forwards, I need to drill down the development for the main character. This shouldn't take too long, a week at most. Then I'll be able to wrestle with his arc, which makes up the skeleton of the story. I need to know what he's doing and how, at every point. That can take some time. I would estimate a month. Once that is done, I need to tackle the side characters. There aren't too many of these, but I could discover more. It's unknown how much development they'll need. Thus, this section could take anywhere from two weeks to two months.
Then I need to iron out any lingering questions related to the plot, and exactly HOW things happen. This is usually the most troublesome phase. I would give this another month, though depending on how many questions there are, it could take two. Once done though, I'll be ready to detail the outline, which will take another month. I will then be ready to start writing the final draft, sometime between mid June and the beginning of September. Which is somehow earlier than I predicted last month, so...
Otherwise, not much has changed. I will continue to think of ideas for a story centered on the Einar Imperium. I will continue to work on my novel. And we will all continue to wait for the Odyssey which is the sequel to Apostle's Creed.
Until then, keep reading.
~TGRF.
Fan Fiction
I am not currently working on any fan fiction. However, ideas abound. The recent fan fiction competition prompt got me in the mood to write for DoD again, and the new prompt - featuring the Einar Imperium - definitely has promise in that area. I'd like to write a story showing what happens to Einar when he goes to the Erianor Empire - which is where we saw Utgar send him at the end of DoD. Unfortunately, an idea for a proper story has yet to strike.
Meanwhile, DoD itself is ripe for a sequel. Taelord has an arc basically all laid out for him. From the end of Valkyrie, I've known all along what I want to do with him. It's just that executing it is... challenging. The resulting story would be very experimental, testing the limits of what an author can get away with, so I'd have to be very careful with how I deliver it. It could be an amazing read, or it could fall flat on its face. I do want to write that story at some point - for science if nothing else. But it will be a while in coming. I could however set that story up with a direct sequel to the events of DoD. Time will tell.
Novel
On to the novel. Progress has continued. At this point a lot of groundwork has been gone over so many times that I doubt there are any more snags to hit. I've ironed out the thematic cores, detailed the setting sufficiently, and hammered stakes out until I KNOW they work. All that took about a month.
Going forwards, I need to drill down the development for the main character. This shouldn't take too long, a week at most. Then I'll be able to wrestle with his arc, which makes up the skeleton of the story. I need to know what he's doing and how, at every point. That can take some time. I would estimate a month. Once that is done, I need to tackle the side characters. There aren't too many of these, but I could discover more. It's unknown how much development they'll need. Thus, this section could take anywhere from two weeks to two months.
Then I need to iron out any lingering questions related to the plot, and exactly HOW things happen. This is usually the most troublesome phase. I would give this another month, though depending on how many questions there are, it could take two. Once done though, I'll be ready to detail the outline, which will take another month. I will then be ready to start writing the final draft, sometime between mid June and the beginning of September. Which is somehow earlier than I predicted last month, so...
Otherwise, not much has changed. I will continue to think of ideas for a story centered on the Einar Imperium. I will continue to work on my novel. And we will all continue to wait for the Odyssey which is the sequel to Apostle's Creed.
Until then, keep reading.
~TGRF.
