This has certainly been an interesting week, not least because I drove halfway across the country.

With my manuscript for WoEM in the hands of my book designer, I have been able to focus on other pieces of this larger puzzle.

I knuckled down and started filling out the Bowker ISBN data for The Warden of Everfeld: Memento. I did not know that this was a thing I had to do until about three weeks ago, and setting down some info on my novel in proverbial stone had me more than a little anxious.

Turns out it’s pretty easy, although I had some questions about he kind of information I was being asked to provide. Bowker’s own resources provide little guidance, so I may have to deep-dive into KBoards or some other font of self-publishing knowledge.

I’ll need to do the same for CreateSpace.

Since my actual workload for WoEM has diminished over the last month or so, my attention has turned towards my next project.

Preparing for Novel #2

I have talked a bit about The Warden of Everfeld: Legacy quite a bit in this space, but with my first novel nearly complete, I’m beginning to feel the pressure to produce my next work (from myself only, as usual).

I have about 8k words written for WoEL that I rather like, but it has been difficult for me to move beyond that. My approach to this novel is necessarily different from my approach to WoEM.

Memento was developed very much as a “discovery” draft. The writing of the story itself is what allowed me to develop the characters, the plot, even the villain. It took multiple drafts and re-workings to refine this discovery draft into a workable narrative.

For Legacy, by contrast, I already know who most of the characters are (because many have roles in Memento). I already have a more solid idea of whee each narrative arc is ending.

Tying a clear starting point to a mostly solid ending in a compelling and not-cliche way is… different from what I’m used to. I feel a higher obligation to my characters now in this first draft because many of them are already established.

I think I’ll get into the methodology I’ve been using is more depth in a later post, but basically, I’m digging pretty heavily into my outline for Legacy. The trouble for me will be extricating actual writing from the outline when the time comes.

Goals for 5/11

1. Continue outlining WoEL
2. Complete Bowker/CreateSpace novel set-up
3. Wake up early

We also surpassed 400 WordPress followers recently — I’ve just been too preoccupied to acknowledge it publicly. So thank you to all of our recent followers, and thank you to those who have stuck with us for this long… four years now and counting.

Steve D