The tone I want for this blog is still eluding me at the moment, but I am not too worried about it. This week is more of a stream of consciousness post rather than a planned topic like last time we talked, just to see how I feels from a writing standpoint. I will not make multiple drafts this go-around, what we get is what we work with!
The Book.
I have officially passed the halfway mark! It’s only downhill from here! I definitely underestimated the though needed to make a mystery/thriller interesting, there are a lot ideas that I am having now that I will have to implement in a later draft.
I did not have a set ending when I began writing. I had a premise, a character, and town called ‘Weatherton.‘ It was supposed to be a 10,000 word short story in the beginning, but the more I wrote the more I knew it needed. I’m projecting it being about 35,000 to 40,000 words when it is finished.
Originally it was set to be in five parts, but when the story naturally grew this became a very hard thing to work around. I realize that I am a “gardener” type of writer now, so I’ll be sure to give myself more room in later drafts and projects. The document I am currently working on now is still in those five parts because it would be a little harder to find the switch from one act to another, in the second draft they will flow more into each other rather than feeling like episodes in a television show.
Writing the raw narrative then cleaning it up with outlines and more defined character motivations might be the way I write longer stories going forward. To me that just feels write. Like I am carving the story out of granite.
Thoughts on the New Schedule.
As far as the writing schedule goes, I really love it! It makes writing feel more attainable in my mind. Which just makes me feel foolish from not following given advice earlier, but I do not dwell on it. Since I have begun measuring my writing in increments of time, it has given me more ways to measure the my progression through this rough draft like with work counts. I now know I average about 500-700 words per hour. This is great! Now I am better able to map out my longer-term goals. I am expecting to be finished with the current version of my story in mid-to-late October!
I am so excited! It is hard to convey the weight that has come off of my shoulders. Writing now feels more purposeful now that I have an end in mind. I don’t feel as though I will be writing the same story forever. Which is the other side of my victory, I know when I can start on a few of my smaller story ideas!
Which brings me to the next thing I want to mention.
New Ideas!
The past few weeks have felt wonderful as far as brain-storming is concerned, placing an end on one project has let my mind wonder about what to write next. Most of the new projects will be supernatural in some sense.
There is a Sci-fi series that has lingered in my head since I was in High School and I believe I have found an idea that can act as a prelude to one of the characters I have always wanted to write. It is strange talking about my plans while being so vague, but I am hoping he is just as horrific on the page as he is in my mind!
A few of the shorter one offs I have planned involve two brothers on the run, an uprising in a gentlemen’s club, a girl looking for a home that does not exist, and an old man’s trip to the after life being derailed by some familiar faces. While I think they vary in originality, to do believe I am going to have a blast writing them. Odds are a few of these will probably be submitted before my current project is.
I have an inkling for a fantasy world. A playground where I can keep all my smaller stories as well as my bigger ones. Nothing too expansive, I’m looking at Brandon Sanderson and the Cosmere when I say that.
I do feel like my literary interests are more represented by my future projects than my current one is. Not to say that I don’t love what I am working on, there is a real danger getting stuck as a genre writer and that thought scares me a bit. While I do see the use in pseudonyms, I personally would like my name on my ideas no matter the genre.
Reading.
I have been reading ‘The Way of Kings‘ by Brandon Sanderson. I read the perspective of a hurricane travelling over Roshar, did not expect that nor how much I enjoyed it! It is the second novel I have read by him, the first being ‘Elantris‘ his breakout novel. I have enjoyed both, though I was not planning on going from a standalone into an uncompleted series. I love the imagination in this book though. The characters are charming and their stories are fun. I am looking forward to finishing it and moving to one of his smaller works before I try to tackle book two of the series.
Another recent read of mine is ‘Fevre Dream‘ by George R. R. Martin. Vampires and Mississippi Riverboats! Goodness I love this man’s writing style. I have read almost all of his earlier works over the past year and it has been nothing but fun. I have not tried ‘Game of Thrones‘ yet though, but they are sitting on my shelf whenever I am ready.
That is about all I can think of at the moment. I liked this though, feels less stressful than the past post so I might keep this up. Next week I might talk about how I came into the possession of my cats in a part of my post because I love them! Okay, that is all.
Stay safe and happy,
Jachin
Echoes from the Dreamscape 
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