I expressed a while back that I wanted to end Act II of this
next book sometime in December. Well, December is almost upon us, and although
there are only three chapters left in the second act, they are plotted as being
dense.
I’m now on chapter twenty-two. Started it over the weekend. Chapter twenty-one was short,
very fun; and just as much a palate cleanser—time off rather—for all that’s
going on in the larger arc of the Fable Avenue Saga. It could be considered a
short story, following a minor character into a task. It took time to write,
even though it was short. I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t too cliché or
silly. I ran through many scenarios on how the chapter would take place,
settled on one, and then went about presenting it in as much of a non-cliché way
as I could. The ending is what makes it, and it was something I re-wrote after
taking a look at the whole chapter. I added a few more lines, and then it came
together.
Now, chapter twenty-two. Our main characters are back on
stage, front and center. There’s a lot of action in this chapter, and it builds
on the relationship between the main male and female character, and the magic
they share and use. There’s also a good deal of the epic poem that runs
parallel to the story. I have a page count budgeted for this chapter, but I’d
like to run under that count. The great thing now is that all introductions
have been made. All characters, heroes and villains, have been strategically
placed on the board to make the proper moves toward conflict. Some characters have
just been mentioned and not seen, but the setup for their entrance is there.
This all plays out within the last chapters of act II, culminating in a rough and
gritty showdown.
Finishing act II sometime in December might be wishful
thinking at the moment. Early January, definitely. But this all depends on how
much I can buckle down and do the writing. One reason I’d like to knock out act
II over the coming weeks, is because I can then send them to the editors and
start on that (which will happen in January, regardless).
But there is good news. In fact, I’d like to think there’s great news. The rest of the book
has been outlined. I now have something to follow besides handwritten notes scattered
through different notebooks, and my memory. I’m very excited about that. It
almost feels like the project has been completed…but I’m not getting delusional.
There’s a lot of work to be done in terms of writing. The outline now has to be
fleshed out into proper, narrative prose.
The remaining acts, including act II, are not as heavy in
their outline. The beginning squares away a lot of business. Now, it’s time to get down and gritty into the magic.b write black
