*Quick in spirit, but this edition carries a little more baggage to sift through, I’m afraid.
What am I writing?
Woof. Wasn’t looking forward to writing this section. Is it because I’m not writing? No, it’s quite the opposite, really…
I finished up a draft of Resistance a few weeks ago. I sent it around to a few friends whose feedback I enjoy. But very quickly I realized I was unhappy with the product. It doesn’t work as well as I wanted it to. This sent me into a small spiral. Let me explain: I have struggled with this story for a year now. Part of it is self-inflicted; I set limitations and made the format difficult for myself. Turns out serialized storytelling is not a strength of mine (yet). I spent so long writing a story that could’ve been wrapped much quicker. I finally returned this winter and got to the end of the story!
But I don’t like it. So what do I do?
This is the spiral. Fixing Resistance properly seems like a massive undertaking. Now I question: is it worth it to fix? It is no small thing to write a book, and frankly as more time passes, I’m increasingly impressed with myself for finishing Spirit Foul and releasing it so quickly. It is months of effort to focus on one story and make it as good as I can. Now I start to taste what so many artists feel. That hesitation and doubt. Is this the right place to focus my energy? Where is, then?
When I started, I never thought I would run out of ideas for stories. Ideas are cheap. There are a million different things that a book could be written about. But now I wonder about myself. Is this an idea I can sell? Does this play to my strengths? Is this something I am excited to write? I’m feeling weak at storyboarding. Now I’m asking myself all these questions and inflating with doubt and my mind’s racing about what story would perhaps be better to tell, and now I’m drafting entirely new plots and stammering about a story I’ve never thought about before and wondering if I have what it takes to publish another book.
Woah. Doesn’t feel great. How have I responded? I go back to learning about craft. I’ve watched some lectures, I’m reading some books on writing, and most importantly, I’m writing like a madman. In the face of all this doubt, somewhere along the way, I decided I may just need to write my way out of the hole. Now I’m drafting scenes for practice and seeing how they feel. I’m trying different things; tones, settings, characters, words. I have a goal in mind, somewhat: I’m exploring the character Wild Bill. I think he’s enough character to write a book about. But is he an iconic hero, one that doesn’t change, like a Sherlock Holmes? Or is he some flawed yet beloved adventurer we enjoy following along with? Is this an entirely different character than I set out to write?
I don’t know. But there’s some good stuff coming out of it. It doesn’t feel like I’ve made progress toward another work this past month, and yet, there’s been mountains more progress than I’ve made in months. Such a strange feeling. I’m navigating. Will keep you posted, as always I’d love to publish another book sooner than later.
What am I reading?
I’ve gone stale on Way of Kings; it’s just so much story and so daunting a task. I’ve been reading Writing Down the Bones, a book about writing craft that’s proven helpful given some of the doubt above. I’m also reading a few different baby books. It feels like I need to gather more information so that when I have no idea what I’m doing I have some baseline knowledge. What a strange thing to prepare for a baby, yet understand that there is absolutely no way to be prepared.
I’m also listening to Dune. I’ve really embraced the audiobook lifestyle in 2024, and Grace has a great catalog I can lean on. With the new Dune movie coming out, it seemed like a great time to cross this classic off my list. A few chapters in and I’m enjoying it. The story is so dense, though. I was working around the house and found I had to stop listening after rewinding the same section a dozen times. If I miss a few seconds, I’ve gotta go back.
Also cherry-picking sections from Name of The Wind and A Wise Man’s Fear. They are incredible works, and even though we may never get the conclusion to the trilogy, Rothfuss is a poet worth studying.
What do I recommend?
Iron Prince! I finished listening to this book in a shameful amount of time but I just couldn’t stop! I wrote basically a book report on the story. I decided I need to study the books I enjoy as a means of understanding how to improve my own writing. This was a page turner for me. It’s science-fiction in the booming LitRPG genre, where the authors (there are two) incorporate stats like in a video game. The characters are able to “level up’ their equipment, which sounds tacky, but the flavor and tension of the characters and story had my mind racing about the implications of what is to come. The story made me really excited to find out what will happen next, constantly.
I will say that the prologue almost ruined the book for me. If it weren’t for Grace’s track record of recommending absolute bangers, I may never have picked the book up again. Fantasy and Sci-Fi novels use prologues as a hook to engage their audience. “The book might start out boring, but look at what will happen later! Just stick with me and it will get very cool!”
For being a five star book, I would almost recommend just skipping the prologue altogether. Give it a shot, try to get through it, but if you can’t, it holds no bearing on the story. Really. I broke this down more in my book report, lol, which maybe I will clean up and share. The story was fantastic and engaging otherwise. The sequel was just released this Fall, but I’m trying to discipline myself so I don’t catch up too quickly.
<3
Z