This is another section of the story (two actually according to my navigation sidebar) that I don’t know if it fits in this section. I really can’t wait to finish up Prince of the Ruined Land so that I can get back to work on finishing this story. Of course, I figure Loki will be bugging me again soon too, but I’ll pretend right now that he’ll give me a bit more time. (grin)

I was asked about my blog on Monday where I said that I don’t keep track of what’s going on in my story and how I can keep multiple plots in my head (because I had said that I needed to tame my writer child self to only writing one story at a time). I admit that it was much easier when I was younger. But yes, I do not keep track. To me, it has always felt more like plotting if I start writing down what happens in each chapter. Since I write in the dark (without plotting the story out), I really don’t want it to feel as if I’m plotting and looking for the next logical thing to happen. I’d rather trust the process and rely on my gut telling me what I need to do next. Besides, when I do write it down, I then don’t have the details that I want when I need them. It’s easier for me to do a Find search on the document to locate a detail that I need.

I do try to write my stories straight through. That way, I can go back and re-read everything as a cohesive whole. However, sometimes I just have to write the scenes that are in my head as they are flowing. I know that Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in this fashion, then has to bridge scenes together. Her husband, Dean Wesley Smith, writes beginning to end, cycling back every 400 words or so. I really feel like I’m somewhere in-between; I write forward, but I take bigger cycles, and if a scene nags me, I write it to get it down. Sometimes extra scenes demand to be put in. I do just follow my gut.

And that’s probably why I end up with such a mess that I have to piece together.

To me, that’s part of the fun.

If I’d listened to my gut a little more on Prince, I would have pulled it apart long before I did. I just didn’t want to trust the process. I wanted it to be done. I had people wanting it. I felt obligated. I was only trying for a story, not necessarily the best story.  But when I was talking about it with my son, who knows a lot of the secret twists in the story that no one else knows, and he kept giving me that funny look of, “Why is that happening?” and then shooting holes in it, I knew that I had been suppressing my own feelings about the story — that it just wasn’t right.

Having a couple days of additional reflection on tearing apart the story and re-sequencing it, I do feel I have a better story. Granted, it’s not completely stitched back together yet. There may still be tears coming.

Well, I want to go work on scene for Prince with the centaurs, so I’m going to go get to that now. You can get to reading Onesong now. Enjoy.

Onesong is an epic fantasy story filled with action, adventure, and sword and sorcery. Chapter 35 is available for 1 week only! Then it will turn back into a pumpkin and a new chapter will appear! 

 

Onesong

by Dawn Blair

Chapter 35

This chapter of Onesong was available for one week only and has now turned back into a pumpkin. If you missed it, click on the links below to find it or another great story to read. There’s also another free story or story excerpt somewhere around my blog – I try to post something new every Wednesday. Hunt the story down, read, and enjoy!

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If you enjoyed this chapter of Onesong, I encourage you to try Fall’s Confession.

He wouldn’t say what happened. He knew that when he finally made his confession, they would wish that they had never asked.

All he wanted was balance.

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Onesong – copyright © 2017/2018 Dawn Blair

Published by Morning Sky Studios
Cover and layout copyright © 2017 by Morning Sky Studios
Cover design by Dawn Blair/Morning Sky Studios
Cover art “Looking Toward Yesterday” copyright © Dawn Blair

This excerpt is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.