Writing Update: Skrikare Draft Four Finished!

So about a week ago I finally finished draft four of Skrikare: The Living Weapon, and the progress I'm making with this WIP is beyond exciting!

A lot of rather big changes were made, the main ones including getting rid of werewolves as a race (they held no purpose), and changing the way some of my magic elements worked. I also added a character ... which I realized as I typed that that I forgot to fit a mention of her in near the end, so excuse me while I go make a note for draft five. My bad - but at least there are future drafts still to come!

How many drafts, I have no idea, but that's okay because the process is fun. I do already have a list of things to fix/change/think about in draft five (as you could probably tell from my earlier realization), but I plan on doing a full read-through soon of the finished draft four and see if anything needs to be added to that list before I dive in. I'm not sure yet when I'll start that, but for this week at least, it's a no-writing allowed week so I can focus on other things ... like playing Pokemon Shield after work.

Yes, writing breaks are important! Yet I can't wait to get back to it. :D

10 Fantasy Books Released in November 2019

1. Girls of Storm and Shadow

by Natasha Ngan

released Nov 5th

2. The Guinevere Deception

by Kiersten White

released Nov 5th

3. The Starless Sea

by Erin Morgenstern

released Nov 5th

4. Unnatural Magic

by C.M. Waggoner

released Nov 5th

5. Winterwood

by Shea Ernshaw

released Nov 5th

6. Coral

by Sara Ella

released Nov 12th

7. Crown of Oblivion

by Julie Eshbaugh

released Nov 12th

8. Queen of the Conquered

by Kacen Callender

released Nov 12th

9. The Sky Weaver

by Kristen Ciccarelli

released Nov 12th

10. The Queen of Nothing

by Holly Black

released Nov 19th

Which book are you most looking forward to in November? I think Winterwood sounds especially intriguing!

Skrikare WIP Update: New Revelations

I was on a roll, more than halfway done with draft four of my work in progress novel, and then I remembered that back when I was in college, I had the original first five chapters workshopped in novel writing class. So of course I read through the feedback my fellow classmates had given me.

And what happens?

I FIND A MILLION THINGS TO FIX OR ADD OR CHANGE.

Of course, I expected to find a couple things, but I have a list of 10 or so aspects that either don't make sense or would work better if it were done a different way, or if more details were added. The most major ones include adding chapters in another character's point of view, and getting rid of an entire race. Currently, there are werewolves, in my story, but they don't really serve a purpose, and I already have elementals, vampires, vakt, and my skrikare.

So goodbye werewolves. Most, if not all, of them will simply shift into vampires, but there are some action scenes I'll need to tweak, since a vampire isn't exactly going to shapeshift into a wolf mid-battle.

Those are pretty big adds and changes, but those aren't the only ones. Others include adding a whole new character, fixing some magical mechanisms, adding details to certain things to explain them better, and so on. I've got a ton of work ahead of me, and to be honest, I'm a little frustrated at the setback.

But I'm also EXCITED. I know this will mold my WIP into something better, more fleshed out, more complex, by the time I'm done with all of these adjustments. This is just another part of the writing process that's proof that writing is hard work. It will just take time.

Lots of time, and maybe some swearing along the way.

But that's okay. :)

10 Fantasy Books Released in October 2019

1. Glow of the Fireflies

by Lindsey Duga

released Oct 1st

2. The Library of the Unwritten

by A.J. Hackwith

released Oct 1st

3. Ninth House

by Leigh Bardugo

released Oct 8th

4. The Beautiful

by Renée Ahdieh

released Oct 8th

5. Fireborne

by Rosaria Munda

released Oct 15th

6. The Never Tilting World

by Rin Chupeco

released Oct 15th

7. A River of Royal Blood

by Amanda Joy

released Oct 29th

8. Beyond the Black Door

by A.M. Strickland

released Oct 29th

9. Gravemaidens

by Kelly Coon

released Oct 29th

10. The Name of All Things

by Jenn Lyons

released Oct 29th

Which book are you most looking forward to in October? Personally, I think The Library of the Unwritten sounds the most intriguing!

Top 5 Fantasy Video Games

1. Final Fantasy

2. The Elder Scrolls

3. World of Warcraft

4. Dragon Age

5. Monster Hunter

10 Books with Werewolves

1. Blood and Chocolate

by Annette Curtis Klause

2. The Wolves of Mercy Falls

series by Maggie Stiefvater

3. Nightshade

series by Andrea Cremer

4. The Grey Wolves

series by Quinn Loftis

5. Otherworld

series by Kelley Armstrong

6. Shadow Falls

series by C.C. Hunter

7. Break Me, Mate

by Nique Joaquin

8. Law of the Lycans

series by Nicky Charles

9. Alpha & Omega

series by Patricia Briggs

10. Riley Jenson Guardian

series by Keri Arthur

As of this post, I've only read Blood and Chocolate, which made me realize I need to catch up on my werewolf reads. Have you ever read any of these werewolf books? Let me know in the comments below!

Beginnings of a New Story

While I wait for beta readers to finish my Skrikare WIP, I have dusted off the cobwebs from an old idea and begun to weave new life into it. That's right - I got impatient and started another story, because I miss writing, and even world building helps to placate the urge to write.

And let's face it - world building is simply FUN.

I'm just doing a little at a time, one or two decisions or actions each day. So far I have the supernatural races, the questionable protagonist, the ultimate antagonist and the side antagonist, and a lost-in-life family of sidekicks for the protagonist. And the world! I drew a map of the world, because unlike my urban fantasy WIP, Skrikare: The Living Weapon, this one is high fantasy, complete with its own world. Most of the lands still need names, but I have the layout and the locations. Just looking at it sparks a sense of excitement in me. It always surprised me that the first WIP I managed to take as far as I have was urban fantasy, but now at least I get to play with my own made up world. (But I'm still itching to get back to 'perfecting' Skrikare!)

No actual writing has been done yet for this new WIP, unless you count the chapter or two I wrote for a class in college that I may or may not use the content of now that I've solidified the details of the world and plot more. Some of it may be used, but exactly how much, I have no idea. I don't even know whether or not I'm going to outline the plot. There's no hurry to get to the writing process though; I want to do as much world building as possible before I get started, and part of me is still reluctant to truly start another book until Skrikare is done with edits.

So, next step: naming the regions! And I don't know about you, but I love me some made up fantasy names.