Finished read through

Finally finished the read through, i have had to change a few things, mostly wording though one or two scenes needed more description to them but overall the story is the same. I'm now working on the very last line as that was something i wasn't sure of when i first wrote it so now I'm putting some serious thought in to what i should put.

Update and slight change of series name

I just finished doing the patch work for the story filling in those sections i skipped. The story is about 1800 now and i need to write the introduction thing and then edit it.

I also during the train trip up to London had a lot of time to think, and the series name is no longer "The Book of Quo" it is now "The Hidden Destiny Chronicles" which i personally think is a much more catchy name.

The story is done!

I have now finished the first draft of Abel's Trials. It's word count is 17300 at the moment but will probably increase a bit when i go through editing since i skimmed over some earlier bits.

I'm going up to London tomorrow for the day to visit my girlfriends end of uni show so I won't be starting my editing then, but on Saturday I will begin. I'm not sure how long the editing will take as my last novella i wrote never ended up being edited it was just a first draft, but i will make sure to keep this blog updated on my progress.

The first thing i have to do is write in the little sections i skimmed to come back to later. Then I will do the introduction which is to tie this book to the future of the series and is also the connection to "The Book of Quo" series name. Then finally i will give it a few read throughs fixing problems as i find them.

Final writing stretch incoming

I am up to around 14700 words now and am encroaching upon the end. There are a few bits i have to go back and write which i ended up skimming over at the beginning for reasons related to knowledge of a certain subject within the world, so when i have finished i will have a tiny bit more writing to do, but after that i will be on to the editing stage.

Feels weird being so close to the end of the journey, but just at the beginning of a much bigger one. I plan on making many more books in this series, some featuring the same characters, other books would more just be around in the same world.

I also have an introduction to write that sets it firmly in the world and just lets all the readers know there is a grander world than just this story, and that fits in with the name of the series "The Book of Quo" If when you read it and like my stories but see it isnt selling or has loads of bad reviews (Which will not happen, or that genie i wished from was a total fake.) or something of that sort, do not fret, for i plan on writing more in this world no matter the reception.

Action scenes and thinking on the cover

Haven't updated the past two days, been a bit busy and didn't get round to writing a blog post. I'm up to around 13600 words now, just finished what i think for now will be the pen-ultimate scene (I say i think because i thought they where going straight to the finish scene before they stumbled upon that pen-ultimate one so I'm not sure how there journey will go to the end yet really)

It had an action segment in it, and i must say action scenes are the funnest to write, at least for me. I was chatting to my mum (who is also a writer, she wrote the paranormal romance series the magic knot and is currently doing contemporary romance) and she though action pieces where very fun to do as well. It seems just harder to get through an emotional scene or a really thinky scene, but with an action one it just seems to play out in front of you.

I have been thinking more about the cover as well, got some good ideas for it. I'm not sure how much i shall divulge on the blog as i don't want to give anything away, considering if i start talking about the world and the locations on the cover i am thinking of, i will probably end up slipping up and revealing too much about the secret origins of parts of the Pan-Gu world that i want revealed in the books rather than by me.

Update for yesterday

Didn't get a chance to post yesterday, but i did get a chance to do a little bit of writing. Not much however, only about 400 words, but still was a good day for Abel's Trials as i was ended up doing a lot of idea generation for what will happen next. I am just starting the penultimate event for the book and it combined with the finale should come to a bit over 17000 words i think, making it a novella.

Which i am quite happy about, as i would prefer it to be a novella than a novelette, though i don't really mind either way. However long it ends up being is how long it is and i am not planning on stretching it or cropping it down any more than is needed in the editing stage.

Update and a little chat about book covers

The story is up to around 11400 words now, feeling pretty good about it, I seem to of got a good flow going did around a thousand today and same yesterday so hopefully that trend continues.

I have been thinking of what sort of book cover i would want for Abel's Trials, and for the style i would like a nice drawn cover. I'm not sure if i would prefer something more stylised like some of the Terry Pratchett books or Edge Chronicles, or more of a realistic or old painterly look. Either way however i will still have to work out what i would want on the cover really before what style it should be in.

Luckily i know some people who are good drawers who i trust to do a good job so i shouldn't have to do any online dealings, I much prefer being abel to have a face to face chat with someone about what i would like when it comes to something like that.

Also considering I wish to keep writing books that are in the same world and will only sometimes cross over in obvious ways, i feel it will be important having a defined style for the cover which i feel will be abel to work with the books to come.

Writing update and The Witcher game

Had a pretty good day today, I have gone past the 10000 word mark and am continuing onwards. I started writing a scene that I wasn't super happy with and it just didn't fit though and decided to start again. Have made back the ground though and am barreling on with the new version of the scene which i am much happier with.

I am currently playing The Witcher game, which you may recognise if you are a fan of the works of Andrzej Sapkowski or you like games by CD Projekt RED. It is a great fantasy RPG based on a very interesting fantasy book. I played the games first and that got me into reading the books, I have only read The Last Wish though which is a compilation of the first short stories he wrote in The Witcher world.

There's two games out and the third is slated to come out next year, its very choice and character driven game which is great and it being fantasy just makes it that much more awesome.

If your a fan of RPG's I'de advise giving it a look, you can definitely feel the first game's age but because of the fact that your decisions from each game carry to the next it's worth it to get an experience that really feels like your deep into the world, and really effecting whats going on in the story.

Here is the trailer for the third game coming out next year.

Competitions and Magazines

I have been searching for fantasy magazines and competitions where i could submit Abel's Trials when it is finished, just to get it some press and a bit more visibility really. But most of them all have a word limit that i have already surpassed or one which i expect to when i have finished. The highest limited ones i can find are 10,000 words but i am already at around 9200.

I did find a few longer word limited competitions but they were for traditionally published books and I plan to self publish mine. I will keep on the lookout though and hopefully will find a good competition and get a bit more coverage.

What's this chap written then?

Hello and welcome to my author blog. 

You may be wondering what I have written, well the truth is i have not put out anything yet into the public eye.

I am currently writing my first book I plan on self publishing, the working title is Abel's Trials and it is set within a fantasy world I began developing about 2 years ago now. I have previously written a book called The Reluctant Hero also set in that world, but that was my first ever finished book and i didn't think it was quite fit for publishing and took it as more of a proof of concept showing that i could finish a story to completion.

I think I am over half way through writing Abel's Trials and will then edit it, so thought i should make somewhere which i could then tie to it. Where people who liked the book could contact me, and see my thoughts on fantasy that i am either reading, playing or watching and generally have updates on how future books are going.

Thank you for your time, i hope my words have caught your fancy and you shall be frequenting my humble blog.