Revenge of the Gamer

When I finally started writing The Bond of Jhordil I didn’t know what to expect.  I learned a lot from writing Yuri Silvertongue & the Violet Spire, but I know it’s fundamentally flawed on a lot of levels.

I worried that I’d carry many of those flaws with me into Bond, but much to my surprise the initial chapters have been far better received than Yuri ever was.  The people helping me with editing seem genuinely interested in the plot, and are asking what happens next.  The story carries them forward, which is what I’ve always strived to do. 

That’s great news for me.  Its far too early to tell how well the finished product will turn out, but it’s light years ahead of Yuri and that’s saying something.  Of course, even if people didn’t like it I doubt it would matter too much to me at this point.

You see the writing itself is different than anything else I’ve ever done.  You know how every once in a while you’ll pick up one of those amazing books?  The ones you can’t put down and have to read and can’t put down until you have?  I haven’t experience that since I picked up Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

At least, not until two weeks ago.  For the first time ever I have that feeling when I’m writing instead of when I’m reading.  The Bond pulls me forward chapter after chapter.  I find myself writing furiously, day after day.  I want to discover this story, and new things seem to lurk around every corner.

I meet new and interesting people and see places I never knew existed, and this process of discovery is nothing short of amazing. 

Perhaps its that the core of the story has been rattling around in my head for so many years.  Perhaps its because I know the world so well.  After all this is the world I’ve run so many campaigns in, and have been daydreaming about for nearly twenty years.

Regardless of the reason the fact remains, I’ve found what I love doing.  Creating this story is the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done in my life.  I feel complete when I’m writing, and I love the finished product.

To date I have just over 100 pages written.  That’s a staggering amount of writing to belt out in less than a month.  Nor do I see my pace slowing.  If anything I expect it to increase.  That means that by January I’ll have 400 pages written.

I know now that writing a novel isn’t nearly as simple as belting out 400 pages.  I’ll need to par that down to the useful parts, probably about 300 pages or so.  Then I’ll need to write a whole bunch of new scenes to flesh out parts of the story.

How many times I’ll have to repeat that process I can’t say, but I am confident that each iteration will lead to a better novel.  Every re-write will tighten it up and strengthen the story, and eventually I’ll have a fine tale that flows from start to finish.

I expect that final product to be finished by the end of next summer.  That gives me about 11 months to write and preft The Bond.  I have no doubt in my mind that I’ll be able to accomplish that goal.

Wish me luck!