Welcome back to the show that never ends! Or, at least, the writing life that never lets up. It’s been a couple months since the last writing update, so let’s get to it.
Writing Update
I’m not gonna lie, it was tough to get back into the swing of drafting again. I wrote The Final Gauntlet last March. That was the last time I dug into a first draft, and for the first few weeks of getting back into things it showed.
I was RUSTY AS HELL.
The story might have been solidified during the outline/script part of my process, but holy hell did it take some effort to form full sentences.
I’m doing much better with it this month.
DSA Season Two
I’m past the halfway point in the drafting phase. Three of the six episodes are DONE.
I am in the thick of DSA Season Two, Book Four this week. It’s called Cracked Chrysalis and deals with fallout from the very first DSA book. Answers about the trees from The Clearing start to come to light here. The Witness is at the heart of the mystery, but so is another threat from the first season. Those threads from the beginning of DSA start to take shape in this book, and will have an effect on events in Season Three and Season Four!
I can’t wait to be able to share more.
Trying out a new drafting method
I’ve written about this previously. I don’t write books in a linear fashion. Because I have the script to help guide me, I tend to hit shorter scenes first, or even scenes where I have a very clear image in my head. Knocking these off the list early gives me an opportunity to feel the characters/themes out to handle the larger story moments better.
Recently, I’ve tried to be more linear. I still hop around the draft like a jackrabbit. However, now I have been trying to follow a specific plotline from start to finish. I start with the B or C plot, leaving the main plot for last.
I’m not 100% when it comes to this method. There are days where I want to dig into the action, or am all about the dialogue of a particular scene. So I still jump from place to place, but I have been better about flowing a little more smoothly from beginning to middle to end.
What’s coming up?
DSA owns the next few months. When I finish the sixth book of the season, I hope to be able to go back and really make the season shine all the way through.
My original hope to have something to you this year. 2020 really made that impossible. This year hasn’t been much better in that regard, but I’m trying to come up with a clear plan going forward.
The release schedule will definitely be different for DSA this time around. There will be more time to breathe between installments, both for you as readers and for me.
There is also Army in the Obelisk to finish up, so lots going on this year.
No blog next week! I’ll be recovering from the vaccine, and plan to take it easy for a bit.
Talk soon. Happy reading!
