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    Rough draft of Paragon’s Call is done

    By
    Steve Williamson
    -

    After writing 12,000 words over the weekend, I finished composition of the first draft of Paragon’s Call. Unlike Ohlen’s Arrow and Ohlen’s Bane, each of which came in around 64k words, Paragon’s Call is just shy of 104k.

    I’ve handed over the manuscript to my editor, and the next step is for her and I to read through it and make notes about plot-level items. What works, what doesn’t, what needs to be added, changed, or removed.

    Writing the final scenes of the book was an emotional experience for me. Paragon’s Call is the third and final book in the Taesian Chronicles trilogy, and it felt a lot like I was saying goodbye to an old friend. Although I designed the third book in a way that will allow the creation of subsequent short stories and novels, I don’t have any immediate plans to write them.

    I have a collaborative writing project in the conceptual phase with a good friend of mine, and I am giving strong consideration to pursuing a new contemporary fiction novel dealing with an intense and present social issue. Stay tuned on that; I don’t want to give too much away at this point.

    A Slight Change of Direction

    By
    Steve Williamson
    -

    After spending a bit of time on another writing project, I have recently returned my attention to Paragon’s Call. Part of that effort has been evaluating the plot I have mapped out and determining if it will go in the direction I need.

    I got that worked out and adjusted the plot line better to my liking, then returned to composition. I’m now up to a little over 63,000 words, with a half dozen chapters remaining. For scale, both book one Ohlen’s Arrow and book two Ohlen’s Bane are about 64,000 words each.

    My plot adjustments have shortened the overall length of the novel by removing three chapters that didn’t add much to the book. I learned back in my screenwriting days that if a scene can be removed without altering the pace or plot, it doesn’t belong.

    More importantly, my plot adjustments have changed the role of the antagonist in the book. Specifically, I added a new antagonist that will will play a bigger part in subsequent books.

    Wait, what? Did I just indicate there will be more after Paragon’s Call?

    Paragon’s Call and NaNoWriMo

    By
    Steve Williamson
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    I have been making slow but relatively steady progress on Paragon’s Call, splitting my time with another writing project. I’m at about 53,000 words, which puts me at just over half-way through the overall plot. I estimate Paragon’s Call will be around 100,000 words, maybe a bit more. For perspective, Ohlen’s Arrow and Ohlen’s Bane were each about 64,000 words.

    November is NaNoWriMo … National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write 50,000 words in the month, with the specific goal of writing something every day for 30 days straight. I appreciate the concept and motivation for NaNoWriMo, but use a different approach. Rather than writing every day, I write only on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and crank out anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 words in a weekend.

    Mid-August update

    By
    Steve Williamson
    -

    Paragon’s Call has seen some progress, although not as much as I’d hoped. I’ve been working on some unrelated short story projects, and as is often the case during July and August, I’ve been out of town on weekends.

    Fortunately, I have reached a turning point in the plot of Paragon’s Call where the action changed — think of it as the beginning of Act II — and it’s the part of the story I’ve been looking forward to writing the most.

    Paragon’s Call update, progress

    By
    Steve Williamson
    -

    This is just a quick update on where I’m at with Paragon’s Call. I’m about 25,000 words into the story so far and after reading over what’s in ink, I’m very happy with the progress. I think this book will have a higher production value and overall maturity to the writing style and plot … mature, as in professional, not mature as in adult. If that makes sense.

    Paragon’s Call has begun

    By
    Steve Williamson
    -

    After about a month of planning and research, I have created a Plot Event List and have begun primary composition of the third book in the Taesian Chronicles. At this point, my working title is The Paragon’s Call. Stay tuned on that.

    My production rate is currently averaging 3,100 words a day, but unfortunately I’m only writing one day a week. Part of my problem is I rarely have the creative energy to write in the evenings after work. If I could do that, then I’d have my book written in a month.

    As has been the case with my first two books, Ohlen’s Arrow and its sequel, Ohlen’s Bane, I’m relying heavily on the brilliance that is called Scrivener, from Literature and Latte. This program is a serious productivity tool for writers.

    Steven Scott Williamson
    Follow me on Mastodon at @ruckerworks@mastodon.sdf.org and @ashesofisar@dice.camp

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