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After a false start, Enemy of the Crown, book twelve in the Heir to the Crown series, now sits at just over 6,000 words. What do I mean by false start? I was two chapters into it and didn’t like how it was flowing, so I rewrote them both from scratch. They still cover the same plot points, but the story flows much better.
I’ve also got a working map of Halvaria, divided into regions with several cities marked on it, and it has a hex overlay to make calculating distances a little easier. There’s a lot more work to be done on it before the book is finished, but it’s much easier to visualize where the story occurs. Now, I must get back to work! Until next time, Happy reading!
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I've been asked if I might consider writing books set in much earlier years of Eiddenwerthe, such as the founding of Merceria or the fall of the Old Kingdom. While I have many notes on the subjects in question, I doubt I’ll write stories based this far in the past because the history has already been established.
For me, part of the allure of writing epic fantasy is the ability to shape events based on the actions of my characters. If the outcome is already known, and the reader knows it, I think it detracts from the story. That’s not to say it’s impossible, as I have written multiple origin stories, but these are not based on past history. Plenty of authors do an excellent job of historical fiction, and it’s one of my favourite genres to read, but I like to shape the future rather than follow an already established timeline. That also means that my future series (which I’ve already started planning out) will be looking forward rather than back. The first draft of Torrent is now complete. Coming in at just over 101,000 words, it’s very close to my estimate of 100,000. I’ve also worked out a three-act structure for the last book in the series, Cataclysm, but even as I write this, I’m thinking of things I want to add. The final book in the series will resolve Athgar and Natalia’s story, but there are others I’m just itching to write about.
Next up is Enemy of the Crown, which will detail the inner workings of the Halvarian Empire. This one will require much more planning, so it will be a week or two of extensive outlining before I begin the writing process. Until next time, happy reading! |
AuthorPaul Bennett, Writer of Epic Fantasy Adventures. Archives
May 2023
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