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FFC #98 - November Update

Posted November 30th, 2022 at 01:30 PM by TGRF
TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #98

It feels like it's been much longer than just over a month since my last update. This is probably because it feels like it's been a long time since I worked on Dilmir 4. And it feels this way because that is exactly what's been happening. At least until recently.

For most of November, I made barely any progress on Dilmir 4. Several RL things conspired together to take my focus away from the fan fiction, and when I did sit down to work on it, various minor problems with the plot allowed my attention to wander to other things.

I finally forced myself to sit down away from all other distractions, with only what there was of the plot to work on. It wasn't much of a story. When I started work on it, I had a vague idea of how things would end, but not much else. Because I had planned on everything ending with book 3, I now had to invent or extend the arcs of the various side characters, and find ways to keep everyone involved. I didn't want to just take the easy way out and invent some unrelated conflict for the side characters to work through either; I wanted them involved in the main story, feeling like they belonged there.

So, when I sat down as I said above, I had less of a plot to work with and more a collection of character arcs, only loosely tied together. The main plot didn't seem to start until half way through the story, one side character's arc ended half way through, and another important side character literally left in the middle of the story and only came back at the end.

However, after addressing each minor problem the plot had as I found them, a main plot started to emerge. The main arc fleshed out to fill both halves of the story, and the other arcs filled in, connecting to the main story far better than they had been. After about two days, I had fixed all the minor issues the plot had, and things were sorted into a general sequence of events.

And that brings us to today. Now that I know the plot, I just need to create an outline for the story. I'll need to finish any sorting which isn't done, and then flesh out the scenes in detail, because this is the outline I have in front of me while I write. That could take a few weeks, one or two if I stick with it. Once that's done, then I can begin writing.

At this point, I'd say you can expect to see the final installment in Dilmir's tale around Christmas or the New Year. The length is looking to be close to books 2 and 3, though at this point that's just a guess and it could turn out much longer or shorter. I like the plot I've come up with: I think it makes the most out of some suggestions I've received, and has a sufficient number of twists to keep readers in the dark as to exactly how things will work out in the end... if indeed they do at all.

Concerning future projects: My novels are still on the back burner. The work I wanted to do on them before Dilmir 4 didn't exactly pan out, but I've since then come up with some new ideas on how to handle them. We'll have to see if they yield anything workable - they look promising so far.

As far as future fan fictions go... I'm pretty sure I've said before that Dilmir will be my last fan fiction. Technically, that's still the case. BUT... if I finish up Dilmir and my novels still need time to congeal into a recognizable shape (a very real possibility at this point), then I might turn to yet another fan fiction idea. I've had one floating around in my head for a bit, and wouldn't mind taking a stab at some of the aspects the Dilmir series is weaker on, such as more involved character development and proper escalation.

But those future plans are all unknowns at this time. For now, you can expect Dilmir 4 in around a month's time, maybe a bit more.

Until then, keep reading, keep writing, and keep 'Scaping!

~TGRF.
Posted in FFC
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Minor update: given the rate at which I'm fleshing out the outline, I'd put the release date for Dilmir solidly in January.

~TGRF.
Posted December 13th, 2022 at 01:08 PM by TGRF TGRF is offline
 
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