Chapter 17
With the Suvudu news out of the way (look at the previous post), I can now talk about how my writing is going!
You all know I am an outliner. I spent two months reading, researching, and constructing an outline for The Dark Thorn. Outlines really help me focus on what I want the point of the book to be, help me develop the characters in a strong way, help me bear down and actually write the book! It is really great to sit down every day, look at my outline, and know where I am at in my story and where I need to go.
Chapter 17 threw all of those notions out the window.
I began writing Chapter 17 two weeks ago. It was a Bran chapter, a pivotal chapter, where the story turns toward its end and climax. Sure, it had to be handled properly but it shouldn't have taken two weeks. So what happened?
In short, I got 2/3 finished with writing Bran's chapter when I realized, "Bran? I don't want Bran here! I want Richard!"
Imagine me, frustrated, crumbling pages and pages of paper and shooting them into my waste basket—for the first time ever!
As I grumpy? You bet I was!
I saved some of the dialog from the chapter; the point of the chapter was still there but it just had to be told from a different point of view, a POV that has its own distinct thoughts and feelings on events. For the last week I wrote Richard's new chapter, a chapter that was longish anyway... and I have to say it is one of the strongest of the book.
Just realize that even though I outline, sometimes the unexpected still happens!
The word count is now thus:
Prologue: 3045
Chapter 1: 4075
Chapter 2: 2973
Chapter 3: 3241
Chapter 4: 4144
Chapter 5: 4547
Chapter 6: 2793
Chapter 7: 3598
Chapter 8: 4939
Chapter 9: 4257
Interlude: 2372
Chapter 10: 3346
Chapter 11: 3185
Chapter 12: 3639
Chapter 13: 4878
Chapter 14: 4562
Chapter 15: 3840
Chapter 16: 3984
Chapter 17: 5441
The next chapter is a Bran chapter. My characters have been in one place for a few chapters and now they are making their way into the mountainous environs of Snowdon. There, they will meet coblynau and the dark thorn and... well... I shouldn't give it all away! Sheesh!
But all the while, Caer Llion grows stronger...
You all know I am an outliner. I spent two months reading, researching, and constructing an outline for The Dark Thorn. Outlines really help me focus on what I want the point of the book to be, help me develop the characters in a strong way, help me bear down and actually write the book! It is really great to sit down every day, look at my outline, and know where I am at in my story and where I need to go.
Chapter 17 threw all of those notions out the window.
I began writing Chapter 17 two weeks ago. It was a Bran chapter, a pivotal chapter, where the story turns toward its end and climax. Sure, it had to be handled properly but it shouldn't have taken two weeks. So what happened?
In short, I got 2/3 finished with writing Bran's chapter when I realized, "Bran? I don't want Bran here! I want Richard!"
Imagine me, frustrated, crumbling pages and pages of paper and shooting them into my waste basket—for the first time ever!
As I grumpy? You bet I was!
I saved some of the dialog from the chapter; the point of the chapter was still there but it just had to be told from a different point of view, a POV that has its own distinct thoughts and feelings on events. For the last week I wrote Richard's new chapter, a chapter that was longish anyway... and I have to say it is one of the strongest of the book.
Just realize that even though I outline, sometimes the unexpected still happens!
The word count is now thus:
Prologue: 3045
Chapter 1: 4075
Chapter 2: 2973
Chapter 3: 3241
Chapter 4: 4144
Chapter 5: 4547
Chapter 6: 2793
Chapter 7: 3598
Chapter 8: 4939
Chapter 9: 4257
Interlude: 2372
Chapter 10: 3346
Chapter 11: 3185
Chapter 12: 3639
Chapter 13: 4878
Chapter 14: 4562
Chapter 15: 3840
Chapter 16: 3984
Chapter 17: 5441
The next chapter is a Bran chapter. My characters have been in one place for a few chapters and now they are making their way into the mountainous environs of Snowdon. There, they will meet coblynau and the dark thorn and... well... I shouldn't give it all away! Sheesh!
But all the while, Caer Llion grows stronger...
Labels: The Dark Thorn
posted by Shawn C. Speakman | 3:35 PM
1 Comments:
Fantastic work. It is so neat to see the development of your book. I feel very fortunate to have stumbled upon your website a few years ago. I wish you the best in all that you do.
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