Hey Folks

TLDR: I am taking a jack hammer to Book 2. Need to clean up the grammar and flesh out some of the characters. If you are interested in knowing my writing style, and what I intend to change, read on.

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Now that book two is halfway done, it's time for the cleanup phase. This is where I take a step back and go over what I have written so far, fix any grammatical and sentence structuring errors, and revisit some of the characters. Because to me writing a book is no different than carving a stone statue. You take a suitable stone, make some rough cuts till you get the desired shape, and then polish it till you get a desired product. I followed the same method for Book 1 and am just repeating it now. Here is how it goes:

Stage One: Choosing the Stone

For example, in The Boy in the Woods I introduce Aenon as this mysterious young kid who is living by himself in the forest. His ingenuity in setting up traps, his no-nonsense attitude, and his controlled anger is on clear display. Which I think (hopefully) is what grabbed your attention.

Same can be said about the other characters, Jenny with her naivety, Mike with his arrogance, and Erwin's nerdiness. At this stage of the book, I have absolutely no idea where to take the story.

Stage Two: Rough Cuts

This is where things get murky and difficult for me as a writer. I have a premise and a rough end goal in mind. But no concrete idea on how to get there. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I have been trained as a researcher for half my life. So, my writing method closely resembles that. I follow the same methodology which my M.S. advisor (Dr. Thomas Bradley at Colorado State University) once taught me about research. You want to go from point A to point B, so you start putting down dots between those two. Gather as many dots as you can and then start connecting them to make a path. Not all dots will be on the path, and not all paths may lead to your end goal. That is where trial and error comes in. You keep making paths and then choose the most optimal one.

In practice, every character I introduce, every scene I write are those dots. That is why during this stage of writing, the story doesn't flow well and can be jarring at times. It is also the reason why I lose so many readers halfway through and receive low ratings occasionally. People read a particular chapter which they don't like and just drop the story altogether, not realizing that I am still hammering down the details.

Stage Three: Polishing (The Clean Up)

And this stage my dear readers, is where I work in tandem with you. I read your comments, analyze my work, and start reviewing the story. This can be as simple as fixing some grammar or certain scenes. But it can also lead to a complete overhaul of the existing characters or even the spell system. Maybe some character I had didn't blend with the story, or some aspect needs to be rewritten for clarity. It is all done during this stage. And as a writer, this is the most tedious, but most rewarding part of my work. Looking at the pieces start to line up to create a path I envisioned is exhilarating.

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Case in point, the character of Faelira (being renamed Faelira). Most people who started reading late might not know this, but Faelira was initially a 50-year-old woman who I envisioned to be Aenon's guide and mentor. But a few chapters later, I rewrote her character to be a teen. And yes, when I did that, I totally wanted her to be a love interest (Shhh, don't tell this to anyone who has not read till Chapter 22). But after your comments, and in some cases bad reviews (I still have PTSD about it and haven't tried to introduce a romantic interest for him since), I changed direction to make it look like Aenon was being manipulated. Don't get me a wrong, I really appreciate your input since at the end of the day this story is for you all to enjoy. I am just the driver. But you see what I mean that I work with you.

Same thing happened with the Overseer, and even the blacksmith Borin. Sometime me, and other times you find certain characters lacking. So, I do a cleanup and fix those issues.

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So, what does it mean for Book 2 (Book 1 is set in stone at this point, since the editing phase for publishing has started). Honest answer - I don't know. Yet. I have some ideas, and I have noted down the things you all pointed out. But here are the few things I intend to work on:

- Thalindra (Renamed to Thalindra): When I first introduced her, I honestly wanted her to be someone who took charge of the city as Aenon went on his lonesome adventures. I was not planning on making Aenon the mayor of Pinespire. But that is where my dots took me, so here we are. But I think Thalindra has more potential than I initially intended. Her soul powers complement Aenon's pretty well. Aenon is more about instilling fear, whereas she nurtures (as a reader pointed out, if Aenon is the moon, she is the sun). Therefore, I need to revisit her backstory and make personality changes as well. I don't want her to be just a subservient follower.

- Ignar's (Renamed to Ignar) Party: I don't have any major changes for them since they are heading in the direction I originally intended. But there is one facet I'd like to add as I write further. Their role in Aenon's plan. I thought about it just yesterday, but I don't wanna give spoilers. So, stay tuned ;-)

- Bella (Renamed to Talia): Another character that I introduced in the heat of the moment. Totally didn't plan for her to be part of the main plot, that is why I didn't even give her a name at first. But the way it stands I need to build her up more.

- Jenny: OK, where do I even start with her. She has gone so far off the rails from my original idea, that I get whiplash every time I write a scene with her. I just wanted her to be a steppingstone for Aenon's character development. But she has transformed into so much more (as a reader mentioned, more like an elder sister to Aenon). So yes, I need to polish up her interaction with Aenon a bit more (in Light that Pierces the Darkness). Her role will be crucial going forward.

All the characters I mentioned above are the keys to what I have in mind. So, expect heavy iterative changes to scenes involving them. Will I change other characters too? Maybe. But these will be my primary focus.

But don't worry. I won't make you go over the entire Volume 2 again (you can if you want). I will add a cleanup summary chapter when I am done.

I know my writing style is unconventional. I am not like the established authors who have the entire story in mind from the get-go. Instead, I live my stories, daydream about them. And keep polishing them like an obsessed madman.

So, sorry that there won't be a chapter this week. But I am hoping you will like what I do with what I currently have.

Now where is that jack hammer. I got work to do!

Cheers

Zaker

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