Writing Update

Writing update:

 

It has been a why since I have posted anything other than reviews and Pewtory the Lesser Bard so I thought I’d update you on the main reason why I started this blog in the first place i.e. writing the books!

 

Before I get into that, can I just say how challenging and rewarding I am finding writing Pewtory the Lesser Bard at the moment. The weekly deadline is horrific (all of my own doing), but boy does it keep me focussed. It is such a different tone to Ritual of the Stones but works as it is set in the same world. What it has allowed me to do, is inject more humour into my writing. Something I limited in the first book as I wanted it to be serious.

 

Over on SFFworld where Pewtory is also being published, I have started to receive a few comments on the work which is nice. It is a weird one, as I want to see what people are saying about it, but I also don’t want my thoughts to be influenced as I am deciding where to take Pewtory next.

 

One thing I have discovered with serialised writing, is that a story that I thought would be over in 10 chapters has increased quite a lot from that. Pewtory’s performance at the Falconer’s Stump for example was only supposed to be one chapter – it ended up being 4.

 

Still as I said, I am enjoying writing about the eccentric bard and his fish and I hope you are too. Somehow I have managed to fall into a regular routine of doing a chapter on Pewtory a week (around 1,200 words) alongside a review as well.

 

That doesn’t sound like much I hear you say but apart from the usually challenging hectic life of a full-time job/fatherhood blah, blah, blah (send your medals in the post), it leads me nicely into the progress I am making on book 2.

 

Book 2 (no title) update:

 

The no title thing is starting to irk me just a little now. Every now and then I sit down and list a number of possible titles. I select one that I think works and the next day I hate it. 

 

I guess this shows that I am learning from experience. Book one Rob Donovan would have blogged about the title straight away and then been stuck with it!

 

In terms of the writing, as well as the aforementioned Pewtory chapter and book review, I am managing a chapter a week on book two. This usually equates to between 4,000 to 5,500 words. What this means is that as I only work weekdays, I am averaging consistently over 1,000 words a day. Which I am stoked about.

 

In terms of the quality I am producing? Yep, I am happy on that front too. Even I can see how much my writing has improved. I am now being more subtle, allowing events to unfold slowly, rather than having an issue arise and then solved later that chapter or the next. This does not mean the pace of the novel is slower, just more balanced.

 

Currently I have drafted just over 100K words. I estimate I still have another 18 chapters to write. I wanted the first draft completed by March 2014. At this rate, I am on schedule, but who knows what will crop up in the next couple of months.