February has rushed away from me, taking with it the dregs of winter. We finally have sight of spring on the horizon, lighter mornings and the first new daffodils budding in the ground.
There is a simple joy in appreciating the world around you, and I cannot help but the last year of varying forms of lockdown and uncertainty has made me appreciate the birds singing in the morning even more. The world continues to turn, even if our lives feel like they do not. A living embodiment, perhaps, of the phrase “this too, shall pass”
Assassins 1 Update
My ongoing WIP novel, “Assassins 1” has both simultaneously not had much work and a lot of mental work at the same time. It’s at a point in the edit where I can see the threads of the story laid out, and now I’m trying to weave them in with one another. There are a few key scenes that hold up the backbone of the story, and now I’m working out how they all join together.
The journey of writing this novel has been one lesson after the next. If I went back to 2018, when I first took my short story The Book of Pattegon and decided to expand it out into a “novella” length triology for the purposes of Nanorwimo, I never thought I would be here almost 2 and a half years later, still plugging away at the story.
Before this point, my stories have always had a fanciful hobby feeling about them. My blog was for fun, my writing for the sheer joy of it, and my ideas spilling into little stories and ideas, too many to capture in one story.
But this novel, this ongoing work in progress, has changed that. I still write for the joy of it, but on the days I don’t feel like writing, I still want to tackle this story. This story has just something about it, my creative gut feeling is there is something special about this story. No matter what it’s future holds in the world of publishing, when this story is finished it will be one of the best things I’ve ever written.
I am sure that the books I write after Assassins 1 will be better than this novel, using the skills I’ve learnt during this telling on the next set of characters or plot ideas. And in some ways, that’s the And I think that’s the whole point of writing – it’s a challenge to go beyond your previous limitations. It’s telling a story that captures a reader’s imagination, writing something that goes beyond a few key scenes or good ideas.
It’s storytelling at it’s most natural – taking a world and then crafting a message amongst all the characters and plot twists and magic.
The message of Assassins 1?
“Sometimes, the only thing that makes things better, is revenge”.
Writing on Caffeine
This month I talked about all things Magic Systems on my monthly newsletter “Writing on Caffeine”. I really enjoyed writing this one – I love magic systems in fantasy and I really like using them as tools to help drive the narrative further. If you haven’t read Sanderson’s Laws of Magic, I highly recommend them – less for “rules” of how to write a system, but to give you the questions to ask about magic and how it interacts with your story.
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Missed any of my Posts this month?
Check out all of my months from February – including my personal favourite opinion post – comparing Sourdough baking to writing!
- A Blessing in Disguise (Monday Inspiration)Sometimes life throws a curveball you didn’t expect or want. And sometimes, just sometimes, it could be the thing you needed all along.
- The Otherworlds (From the Archives)Fyerik groaned, holding her head in her hands as she threw up into the bucket again. “Do I really have to try again?” she groaned, sipping the fruit tea that Hyacken had put next to her … More The Otherworlds (From the Archives)
- Writing on Caffeine – April EditionThis month in my newsletter, Writing on Caffeine, I’m talking about Antagonists– why they’re important, how you should approach them, and what benefits you can get by considering them as a wholly rounded character. Are you … More Writing on Caffeine – April Edition
- How To: Writing the AntagonistSo why are antagonists important? I think every writer ponders this question at some point during their creative project. I personally find myself pondering this during the editing stage, when the first draft is mapped out … More How To: Writing the Antagonist
- Make it Happen (Monday Inspiration)You are the only one who can make your dreams a reality. So make it happen.
- Where did that go?So my end of March blog post has become a start of April blog post. Which seems to summarise how March has gone, quite frankly. March is one of those months, every years, almost without fail, … More Where did that go?
- You Will Finish (Monday Inspiration)It might not seem like it, but tell yourself the truth. You will finish this, one day. In the hardest, brutal parts of the creative journey, keep reminding yourself. You will finish.
- Six Words (From the Archives)“Will you marry me, Alysia Renay?” Six words. Supposedly six, life changing words. And they were life changing. They were life changing in the way the sun rises about the horizon every morning, bringing with it … More Six Words (From the Archives)
What else have I been up to?
Given the continued state of Lockdown, husband and I have now started on The Expanse on Amazon. It’s the second attempt at this show, and I’ve been surprisingly engaged in the story – especially how they’ve built up the character’s backstorys and tells during the seasons.
Featured Image Credit: Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
Alex.J.Cobalt is a fantasy writer from the UK. When she’s not working away at her fantasy novel series, she posts free flash fictions on her website, along with regular blogs about writing.
