Friday, May 25, 2012

Writing Update

This month, I eclipsed the 65,000 word mark in the first installment of what is currently planned to be a trilogy. Writing a novel certainly isn't all about word count; however, as the number quickly approaches the level of today's popular works, it does create a sense of validation. The writing may be absolutely terrible, but I've managed to weave a tale worth writing about for 65,000 words and more than 200 pages in my word processor.

I've never felt I'm a good writer, yet I do feel I'm a good storyteller. The further I dive into this story, I can only hope my writing skills improve as well. Many authors will tell you to write for yourself and not with the intent of publishing. I definitely write because I enjoy it, but I'd be lying if I told you I didn't want the world to know - and like - my story.

Should I ever be blessed enough to have this published, let it be known here today (5/25/12) that I do have a general framework planned for all three books. I know the major characters who will be involved, I know how it ends, and I know who lives/dies. In fact, one of the reasons I struggled to write early on is because I didn't have a destination. I had an incredibly broad idea about where I wanted the story to go, but I was trying to decide between a few different endings, the messages I wanted to send, feelings I wanted to evoke, etc... Truthfully, the "right" ending had been staring me in the face the whole time. I just didn't want to admit it because I knew how difficult it would be for me to write. I knew, in order to really hit home on the themes I'm aiming for, I had to go in a direction few novels ever approach.

This book has taken me on a journey I never thought possible...even at this early stage. As a younger reader, the themes of good v.s. evil, free-will and destiny, forgiveness, and love seem so simple. Our adult minds know that just isn't the case. I've wrestled with the idea of having characters who are "truly" evil. Can humans even be born evil? Or are they a product of their environment? Both? Can everyone's crimes be forgiven? Do we already have predetermined, unchangeable fates?

These are just a few of the questions I am attempting to explore throughout what I've tentatively called the Sense of Destiny trilogy. This weekend is a holiday weekend and I hope to crank out some quality content pushing me ever closer toward completing the first draft of Kédu. Then the laborious editing process commences.

3 comments:

T_Clark08 said...

Yessss!!! :D I, your avid Grammar Nazi (and skilled writer) cousin, will be there every step of the way ;) -Tyler

logankstewart said...

Thanks for the update, amigo. I hope that I can be a beta reader for you one of these days. I've done line edits of a 100k+ word novel for a blogging friend before, and I was quite impressed with the tale. I'd love the opportunity to do that for your book, too, whenever the time arises.

(I'm not sure if I've ever read any of your fiction, now that I think about it.)

Keep it up. And good luck o'er the holiday weekend!

RetroRaconteur said...

Oh both of you are definitely on the list to help me rip it to shreds through editing :-)

Haha. Seriously, you two will definitely be among the first two read it. I trust your judgment and honest opinion more than a lot of people. Only question is how soon I'll be done...haha.

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