Chapter 30
I finished Chapter 30 today. And it was more fun than I expected!
When I finished Chapter 29, I had two ways I could venture into Chapter 30. I had two point of view characters who could both relate the same information to move the story forward. One of those characters, Cormac, needed a final POV chapter to finish up his character development arc; the other character, Richard, needed a final POV chapter to finish up his character development arc. Both would work well for what the story needed.
So, what to do?
After two days of pondering it, I made my decision.
I went with both.
How can one chapter have two POV characters in a novel where all chapters are single POV character chapters?
I had to add a chapter.
Yes, I added a chapter to the end. It was necessary. There was no way to get around it and still have the end of the novel present strongly. It will take me a bit longer to finish the book but it will now be a better book.
So I wrote a Cormac chapter. I kind of thought that was the way I wanted to go when I finished Chapter 29 but I wasn't sure. I wasn't excited about it. It had to wrap up some things but nothing really exciting was going to happen. Not yet. It would say the things the story needed it to say and that would be that. I thought it would be short. I thought by the end Cormac would be placed exactly where I wanted him.
I was pleasantly surprised. The chapter became really fun to write. It came alive, more than I thought it would. I found a very fun way to introduce some cool new fantasy items and it worked. I got really into it. And Cormac's arc is solid and I'm happy with it.
It is also the last Cormac chapter of the novel! So part of the novel is entirely finished. That feels weird to me. It shouldn't, but I've spent a year with Cormac and now our relationship is over in this book.
The end is really feeling close now, in a concrete way.
As the word count stands:
So, that is 33 chapters finished. I have three chapters and an epilogue left to write. The epilogue I could write right now in my sleep. As for the chapters, it is the major climax of the entire book and I know how all three of them play out. Big things happen. I hope I am up to the task of writing it.
Chapter 31 will be a Bran chapter. It is the beginning of the end.
I will be done by the end of February. I hope to be done with the editing too by the end of the month. Then the real fun begins.
Todd Lockwood painted sketches. Querying. And patience, patience, patience...
When I finished Chapter 29, I had two ways I could venture into Chapter 30. I had two point of view characters who could both relate the same information to move the story forward. One of those characters, Cormac, needed a final POV chapter to finish up his character development arc; the other character, Richard, needed a final POV chapter to finish up his character development arc. Both would work well for what the story needed.
So, what to do?
After two days of pondering it, I made my decision.
I went with both.
How can one chapter have two POV characters in a novel where all chapters are single POV character chapters?
I had to add a chapter.
Yes, I added a chapter to the end. It was necessary. There was no way to get around it and still have the end of the novel present strongly. It will take me a bit longer to finish the book but it will now be a better book.
So I wrote a Cormac chapter. I kind of thought that was the way I wanted to go when I finished Chapter 29 but I wasn't sure. I wasn't excited about it. It had to wrap up some things but nothing really exciting was going to happen. Not yet. It would say the things the story needed it to say and that would be that. I thought it would be short. I thought by the end Cormac would be placed exactly where I wanted him.
I was pleasantly surprised. The chapter became really fun to write. It came alive, more than I thought it would. I found a very fun way to introduce some cool new fantasy items and it worked. I got really into it. And Cormac's arc is solid and I'm happy with it.
It is also the last Cormac chapter of the novel! So part of the novel is entirely finished. That feels weird to me. It shouldn't, but I've spent a year with Cormac and now our relationship is over in this book.
The end is really feeling close now, in a concrete way.
As the word count stands:
| 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 Chapter 18: 4725 Chapter 19: 5651 Interlude: 3687 Chapter 20: 4122 Chapter 21: 4537 Chapter 22: 4220 Chapter 23: 4275 Chapter 24: 4468 Chapter 25: 5046 Chapter 26: 5458 Chapter 27: 3715 Chapter 28: 4838 Chapter 29: 4698 Chapter 30: 5216 Chapter 31: Chapter 32: Chapter 33: Epilogue: |
So, that is 33 chapters finished. I have three chapters and an epilogue left to write. The epilogue I could write right now in my sleep. As for the chapters, it is the major climax of the entire book and I know how all three of them play out. Big things happen. I hope I am up to the task of writing it.
Chapter 31 will be a Bran chapter. It is the beginning of the end.
I will be done by the end of February. I hope to be done with the editing too by the end of the month. Then the real fun begins.
Todd Lockwood painted sketches. Querying. And patience, patience, patience...
Labels: The Dark Thorn, Todd Lockwood
posted by Shawn C. Speakman | 9:42 PM
13 Comments:
What word count do you anticipate for The Dark Thorn once its done and how do you anticipate this will affect your ability to find a publisher?
~Aidan
Aidan: Curious last night, I added up my word count and I am at 137,000 words. That's more than I envisioned. I thought the entire book would be around 105,000 to 110,000. When I am done with The Dark Thorn, it should be around 150,000, almost exactly.
Now, I have purple prose that needs to be eliminated and when I go through and do my initial edit I will be removing a percentage of those words -- probably 3%-5%. Somewhere around there. That will drop my word count down to 142,000 or so. Whatever agent picks it up with give me a professional line edit probably, which will lower it a bit more. So I am thinking the book will be anywhere between 130,000 and 140,000.
I don't think this will hamper me finding a publisher though. Fell Hammer was 200,000 and way too long, but 140,000 is more in line with what some people are publishing right now. The Warded Man by Peter Brett, for instance, is 160,000 and Del Rey didn't seem to worry too much about publishing him. So I don't think word count with this particular book will be a problem.
The real problem, as always, is this: Is the book any good?
If it is, it will be published. If not, it won't. Pretty simple and I can live with that.
Your book I would imagine will be considerably shorter than my own, giving you probably even more avenues to visit, explore and use. That's pretty cool.
Interesting. It's good to hear that you're keeping the word count lower than [b]Fell Hammer[/b], especially given the Urban Fantasy trappings of the story. It seems to me that, in the end, word count matters less than the actual quality of the novel.
It's looking like mine will clock in at about 90k words on the dot, which is a pretty good sweet spot to be in. If anything it might clock in a bit under that. I worry sometimes that it's too short for the market, but quickly remind myself that the story should only be as long as it needs to be.
As for how good your novel is, you know I want to be one of the first to judge that, right?
;)
~Aidan
Aidan: I do know you want to be one of the first to read it. And I think you will be an excellent judge of what it is and how it reads.
I'm not quite ready to call it urban fantasy. It is close to it though. I think of it more like an "urban quest fantasy," if that makes sense, taking elements of both sub-genres and using them as I want. Might make it an interesting read; might make it crap. Time will tell.
And you are right. Your story should only be as long as the story needs to be. If you are writing a magical realism piece and it is like de Lint's work, which I think it probably is, then 90,000 words is perfect.
Besides, don't worry about that shyte anyway. Get the book done. Let it stand on its own. And then we'll find it a home.
My current #1 manuscript scraped in at just under 230,000 pre-edit. If I can scratch 5-10% off that first draft then I'll know the story is ready to stand on its own two feet, and won't need any fancy sixteen-dollar words for support. Concise and unrepetitive is the golden rule!
The Dark Thorn looks like a promising read, Shawn, as does this curious urban quest fantasy genre. Here's to a swift finish for ya, mate.
Cheers.
-Joe
Joe: Good luck with pitching and querying your book! And better luck with the edit!
I don't know who I consider the better artist: Larry Elmore or Todd Lockwood or Todd Lockwood or Gary Gygax. All three are superb. Who are you hoping to publish with?
Back in the early '90s late '80s my brother went to Gen Con in Milwaukee and got a personalized pencil sketch from Larry Elmore and two of the Artists signatures in the Art of the Dragonlance.
I'm hoping that I can interest a creative writing professor in the idea of editing my book--hoping to save money that way. But if not I can always try and find an agent or hire an editor like Andrea Howe at BlueFalconEditing. I already have a price quote from her. She would cost around 2500 for a full manuscript.
I'll edit using writer's digest's suggestions first though.
Anonymous: I have a hard time deciding between Elmore and Lockwood as well. For Song of the Fell Hammer I spoke to Larry about doing some sketches for that book and he was all for it. I just wanted the hammer surrounded by a ring of intertwined roses. Would have been fun to see what he came up with.
With Todd, I feel really comforatable because I know him, I know he'll read what I give him for his own unique vision, and I know he will work hard to help me out since we are friends. He's also just plain talented and I still think his best work is in front of him.
I should just give him the book as it stands right now, or at least the first four chapters, so he can start sketching/painting, but I want to send him the entire book, finished. As long as my book is edited and Todd's help is done by 2009 San Diego Comic Con, I'll be happy. If I don't have a book deal by then that's when I will really pitch it to those New Yorkers visiting San Diego.
As for who I'd like to publish The Dark Thorn, I have my preferences. I think everyone does to a certain extent. Since I'm tied to Terry Brooks and many of his fans already know me, I'd kind of like to keep it in house and go with Del Rey Books. I know everyone there and it would be a good fit I think.
I also really like what Orbit Books is doing and I know Tim Holman is a quality publisher and editor. Plus Orbit offers publishing in the UK and Australia as well as the US, a bonus getting my books on those other continents. So pluses and minuses for both.
beansidhe: I also plan on giving my book to my former professor of medieval and Arthurian literature. I want him to read it since he is an expert on Celtic lore and he'll help fix or add suggestions to make my Celtic gods and goddesses seem closer to their true origins.
I wish you luck in getting the book edited. If you do have it professionally edited, I really hope you have a good time with it. A good solid edit is eye opening. :)
Shawn, completely OT, but my Random House publicist forwarded your mail to me, and I just wanted to express my thanks to you. You did a great job, wrangling a panel with so many authors and still managing to get questions in at the end! I had a great time, and wanted to say so in person.
Congratulations also for finishing your chapter 33! (couldn't find a comments link there)
Tammy (Tamora) Pierce
Tammy: Thank you for the very kind words. I wanted to talk to you afterward but, well, you are one of those authors who intimidate me, no matter how illogical that sounds. :)
The panel was great fun. It was my first time moderating and I'm so happy I had a group of authors who made my job easy -- you made my job easy. You made that full room laugh often and that levity helped it all run smoothly. So thank you.
I'll let you know when the video of that panel is digitized and up on YouTube. It should make your fans happy. :)
All my best to you! Shawn
You're really burning the wick with this project, good job Shawn and keep us posted... (Folklorefehr from TB).
Folk: I'm doing a terrible job finishing this project. Are you kidding me? haha But I've had a busy time with other commitments and now that I've finished editing Terry's next book and finished Comic Con and got the new signings up on The Signed Page, I can finally get this book finished.
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