Sneak Peek - Book 2 (no spoilers), Plus Writing Update
Sneak peek day! It’s just a tiny look at a portion of Book 2, but still.
First, as you can see by the writing log image (can click to enlarge) I’m over 80,000 words in, so I’m in the home stretch. The goal is to complete it in fewer than 90,000 words so I have some room to beef it up if need be, while still remaining within 100K. Fingers crossed.
Also, big news - my husband read it through Chapter 16 and thinks it’s even better than the first novel. I was beside myself with glee. Of course, that’s only one person’s opinion, but he’s an avid reader and he’d tell me if he didn’t like it, so that’s very promising. Now, let’s just hope I can pull it all together and close everything out in such a way that it’s satisfying for readers.
Speaking of satisfaction, are teasers satisfying? Either way, we’re about to have one.
Book 2 Chapter Titles!
Of course, these are subject to change as is everything in the novel right now. However, I feel like most, if not all, are pretty solid at this point. Please let me know if there are any that sound intriguing in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
Also, so no one misses it, I talk about the novel itself below the Table of Contents image. - with no spoilers -
Zelstrason’s Story - Book 2 - Table of Contents through Chapter 22
Now that you’ve seen the chapter titles for Book 2, I thought I’d speak to the novel for a minute.
One thing I’d like to convey is how different I feel this novel is from the first, and it’s predominantly due to the cast. There are about the same number of characters in the first and second novel, but Book 1 gives the majority of “screen time” to far fewer characters, whereas the second novel divides “screen time” between many more characters and, because of that, begins to round out Zel’s world more, in my opinion.
To this end, I’ve been enjoying writing Zel’s different relationships quite a bit. It’s been great exploring how he behaves in an entirely different manner with one character vs another depending on their status and who they are to him. I’m getting to play with that a lot this time and I feel like it’s making Zel more dynamic. We see all different sides of him too, the whole spectrum from the harsh elements that remind us that he is, in fact, a pretty darn vicious man/Listra, to the soft elements that make us feel like he’s a big teddy bear under all that frightening might - at least, I’m hoping that’s what comes across.
Also, I’ve tried to ensure that all secondary characters who have decent speaking roles have goals, desires, motivations, backgrounds, etc. Not all of that will make it into the novel. I suspect I’ll always know far more than what ends up on the pages. But I hope that me knowing that information benefits the writing, maybe in forming characters and character relationships with more depth.
There are some TV shows out there, “Merlin” and “Good Omens” come to mind, where a couple of key characters have very well done relationships. “The Last Kingdom” has several very well done relationships too. I look to inspirations like these and hope I can create relationships of similar depth and dynamics, whether positive or negative, for the characters.
Speaking of characters, it’s time I get back to mine.
I’m not making any promises, but it’s possible I may throw out an idea for the title of Book 1 in my next post. I know, I know, I can’t believe I haven’t named it yet either. Turns out, that’s the hardest part - for me anyway. Who knew?
Don’t forget to comment below and let me know if you liked any of the chapter titles.
