My writing - I'm back

My Writing – Final draft done

It has been a long time since I have written a blog post on my writing. Why have I decided to start blogging again now I hear you ask? Well I will tell you if you give me a chance!

I initially stopped blogging to focus on my writing. I had written four books and really wanted to write the final two books which would finish off the series.

It has often been said that the middle of the story is the hardest to write. I can’t say I found that to be the case. It is easy to carry on writing about the adventures of your characters and throwing more and more obstacles in their way. The more you explore them the more they surprise and delight you in how they react to certain circumstances. Characters you thought were going to be heroes turn out to be cowards, whilst others who were minor suddenly become major players. 

It was concluding the series I found difficult. I have always struggled with the end of my books. Not in regards to the content but more because at a certain point you have to start plotting how the novel will end. Once I do that and know exactly what is going to happen the writing becomes somewhat of a chore to me. It feels like writing an essay at school – you do the research, you know what you want to say but then actually writing said content becomes almost mechanical.

There was also the point where the sprawling mass of characters spread over Frindoth had to start converging. Point of view characters who I had become so attached to, had to take a back seat and be seen through the eyes of others to avoid a monster of a novel. Initially I found letting go hard, but I soon realised it was quite fun seeing the characters I loved through the eyes of others.

2017 marked the first year in many where I didn’t release a novel. There were several reasons for this such as the aforementioned struggles, a new job, a new baby, deciding to manage my eldest son’s football team but the worst was the tragedy of losing our family dog. Some people are pet people others aren’t. I am definitely a dog person.

Losing our dog left a huge hole in the family but also stemmed my creativity somewhat. My early morning walks with the dog were often where I would contemplate my novel and come up with new ideas. It took a long time to get over that loss but I was determined to finish the final book in the series in early 2018.

Unfortunately, another enormous personal tragedy struck. My brother in law and best friend unexpectantly passed away in January.  Dealing with that loss has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do and the hardest thing my family has ever been through. We are still struggling every day and finishing this novel is a bittersweet moment. Simon read Ritual of the Stones and Pewtory the Lesser Bard and loved them. He then maintained he didn’t want to read the other novels until the series was completed. Last Christmas he told me how excited he was that this year was going to be the year.

As Only Stones Remain is devoured by my beta readers, I sit here and feel immensely proud of what I have achieved in completing the series. When I began writing 9 years ago, I had no idea I would ever reach this moment. It is however tinged with sadness.

I don’t want to leave this blog post on a sombre note. So, I will inform you I am excited on what the future holds as I decide what to write next and looking forward to reviewing books once again. I hope you’ve missed me as much as I’ve missed you. Look out for more news for the release date on the final book in the Ballad of Frindoth series Only Stones Remain soon. But in the meantime, I will tease you by telling you the cover reveal will be happening very soon.

Yours

Rob D