Crazy news. I'm abandoning yet another version of Talonshale.
208 pages this time. Which brings the scrap pile up to over 800 pages -- no exaggeration.
The problem with the current version was that it was based on a plot that was based on knee-jerk reaction to my agent's criticisms of the version before. Does that make sense? Doesn't matter. All you really need to know is that ultimately, I hated the whole freaking thing. Every freaking word. My writing was so consistently awful and uninspired, that I quit everyday feeling depressed. I had to force the words out through sheer, frustrated willpower, and even then, I could barely write thirty pages a week (which is shameful for me). The plot just didn't feel like one my babies. There were no surprises, no twists, just a linear climb up the mundane slope of 'Mount Escalating Peril'. And that's just not how I roll.
And then yesterday I closed my eyes to snooze for ten minutes, and woke up with an amazing idea. One that changes everything. And best of all, it's one that fits my agent's suggestions. I set right to work, and since then, have unleashed a tsunami of creativity that has filled over ten pages of notes: plot, characters, world building, lore, even its own technical jargon. And all of it is more plausible, more creative, and more exciting than anything in any other version. Seriously.
Unfortunately, this also means I'll be starting over again with a new chapter one -- for literally the seventh time. S'okay though. This time I'm finally gonna nail it.
