So another month has passed and progress continues on the novel. I’ve written nearly 200 pages, and completed the first major story arc. It takes Temis and Larken to the point at which both leave Mountain Shadow on their respective journies.
Now its time go back to the skeletal framework and add the meat to it. In writing the first two hundred pages many characters invented themselves, and many more changed during the writing.
The next step for me is examining each and every one of them. I need to find their motivations, which will help me craft a story that makes sense. I’ve also started to understand the life of your average villager in Olivantia, and this understanding is helping me to write the story accordingly.
In short, the first 200 pages have sparked my imagination. Very few of those scenes will make it into the final novel, but they’ve helped me find the story itself. It’s like a sculpter staring at a massive block of stone.
I’m chiselling away by writing about the characters and world, but much of what I write ends up on the ground as chunks of stone. What’s left is the beautiful statue, or if will when I’m done anyway.
Alright, enough rambling. It’s time to get back to work.
