Welcome to my newest ad-hoc blog – my novel updates! A chance for me to document my progress on my ongoing novel edits. For those of who you have recently followed me (hi!), you can check out my novel page for more information on my WIP!
In previous monthly blogs, I’ve included a small section about my novel “Assassins 1”, whenever there was an update to warrant words being dedicated to it. I still haven’t chosen a title for it, but I have tentatively called the series The Akrion Cycle. For a story that has been ongoing for almost 2 and a half years, this is quite a monumental milestone in my process! I’ve finally nailed down the overall theme of my stories, especially the wider arc – Assassins is trilogy one of 3 trilogies that I’m planning for this world, and I needed a name which touches on aspects of all three trilogies not just the first one!
In terms of the first story in this series, “Assassins 1”, I’m in the middle of yet another editing round of section 1. Nailing characterisation is really important to me – before I can go through and overhaul the remaining ¾ of the book (some of which is still the origjanl draft from my nanowrimo 2018!) I need to understand who my characters are. In the last set of drafts, I’ve added a new MC, a new POV and aged everyone up by about 10 years. It’s shifted the tone of the story quite significantly, for the better but means another round of edits to the key opening sequence.
Beginnings are always tough, and I think series beginnings are even tougher. You’re not just setting up the book but the larger arcs that will go across the trilogy, or even further beyond that. A lot of my edits this month have been around shaping what I’m revealing in the key sequences, why, and how this impacts the characters during the rest of the story.
The goal for the next few months is to nail this section. I’m almost there, and hoping that I can finish that editing round before the start of June. Given the current state of the manuscript, it’ll be a bit of a push, but then I’m always up for a bit of a challenge!
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.
Featured Image by Freddy Castro on Unsplash
More of my writing blogs:
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The other month, I ventured back into the bowels of a Bookshop for the first time since Lockdown. I say the bowels of the bookshop, because fantasy books are always … More Why you should read The Shadow of What was Lost - Having Stepped away for a Moment
This month I’ve stepped away from the cycle of blog posts and updates. And actually, it was pretty damn good as a month. Sometimes, you have to recognise there is … More Having Stepped away for a Moment - A Bit Too Tired
This month can be summarised with one phrase: I am so f**cking tired. I intended to use September as an achievement month. A time to set myself a ridiculous 30k … More A Bit Too Tired - August Thoughts
August has been a lot like July in terms of creativity. A month to be outside, doing things rather than sitting at a desk writing. One thing I’ve been trying … More August Thoughts - Stuck in the Middle
I’ve got pages and page and pages of notes trying to work out the sequence in the middle of the story. It’s the bridging piece between the beginning setup and … More Stuck in the Middle
Alex.J.Cobalt 