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April Fools: Week 1 Progress Report
Apr. 8th, 2007 11:35 amSo, I haven't really been keeping my LJ up to date with the progress on my novel.
Rest assured, however, that it's continuing to go extremely well. Eight days, and I've just pushed the word count over 20K, and am about to up my April Fools goal from 50,000 to 75,000. Yes, I'm insane. No, I don't care. I'm probably aiming for around 100,000 words complete for this novel, so finishing off a version about the quality this one is aiming for at 75,000 would be just about perfect.
The world in my novel is turning out a whole lot more political than I'd originally imagined: the major culture, it turns out, is a clan/guild based structure, with each of the major powerful family groups controlling the knowledge of a particular skill-based trade or set of trades. Rival clans protect their secrets ruthlessly against spies or turncoats, alliances are made and sealed with political marriages, or broken and the hostage spouses abandoned. The story takes place during the midst of a renaissance of learning and culture within the society - where scientists, inventors, and scholars are sought after, courted, and prized - or kidnapped or assassinated to prevent them adding to the power of a rival clan.
Add my clan of thirsty, violent desert nomads into the picture, and suddenly we've got a set of fireworks in a frypan over an open flame.
The closest thing in style that I've read to what I'm currently writing is the Empire Trilogy by Janny Worts and Raymond E. Fiest, which is an absurd comparison to be making because those books are totally, amazingly brilliant, and I am only an egg. Still, if I should try to write what I love to read, I'm definitely succeeding - and while, now I think about it, my current novel shares a number of features with the Empire trilogy, it's in no way a ripoff or a remotely similar world or plot.
Also, my title - Shifting Sands - keeps rocking in more ways than I can say. I haven't felt so good about a title since I hit on His Son's Father, and I felt pretty darn good about that one.
All in all, Hurrah for April Fools, Hurrah for Week One, Hurrah for 20,000 words, and Hurrah for Extra Long Weekends which give me time to play with all my worldbuilding. :)
Rest assured, however, that it's continuing to go extremely well. Eight days, and I've just pushed the word count over 20K, and am about to up my April Fools goal from 50,000 to 75,000. Yes, I'm insane. No, I don't care. I'm probably aiming for around 100,000 words complete for this novel, so finishing off a version about the quality this one is aiming for at 75,000 would be just about perfect.
The world in my novel is turning out a whole lot more political than I'd originally imagined: the major culture, it turns out, is a clan/guild based structure, with each of the major powerful family groups controlling the knowledge of a particular skill-based trade or set of trades. Rival clans protect their secrets ruthlessly against spies or turncoats, alliances are made and sealed with political marriages, or broken and the hostage spouses abandoned. The story takes place during the midst of a renaissance of learning and culture within the society - where scientists, inventors, and scholars are sought after, courted, and prized - or kidnapped or assassinated to prevent them adding to the power of a rival clan.
Add my clan of thirsty, violent desert nomads into the picture, and suddenly we've got a set of fireworks in a frypan over an open flame.
The closest thing in style that I've read to what I'm currently writing is the Empire Trilogy by Janny Worts and Raymond E. Fiest, which is an absurd comparison to be making because those books are totally, amazingly brilliant, and I am only an egg. Still, if I should try to write what I love to read, I'm definitely succeeding - and while, now I think about it, my current novel shares a number of features with the Empire trilogy, it's in no way a ripoff or a remotely similar world or plot.
Also, my title - Shifting Sands - keeps rocking in more ways than I can say. I haven't felt so good about a title since I hit on His Son's Father, and I felt pretty darn good about that one.
All in all, Hurrah for April Fools, Hurrah for Week One, Hurrah for 20,000 words, and Hurrah for Extra Long Weekends which give me time to play with all my worldbuilding. :)
