Friday 16 March Progress Report (Previous Report)
Word Target: 2,500
Words Written: 2,504
- Overview
There was no difficulty this week with my writing as a skill, but there was great difficulty in the fact that the content of this week was some of my most brutal work ever. There are no gore discretion shots or any reprieve from the detailed description of the torment I write. The reader needs to understand that the chapters concerning Aeron Stonewall are not like they were in Sea Spray.
I sometimes fear what I write and today was one of those days where I think how fucked up in the head I am. Everything I put on the page today was a deliberate and conscious decision. The biggest takeaway from today is that everything is about character. Nothing more and nothing less than that.
- What I Did Today
Today ripped the curtain of Aeron Stonewall off the wall. I chose the last part of the Throne of the North chapter as the perfect point to reveal his character. This was in large part due to two critical factors:
- The ending of the chapter marks the ending of the first part of Aeron’s story arc in Earth Splitter.
- There is more of a wham moment when a reader looks back at this seemingly nice foreigner and realise how much of his behaviour is a coping mechanism to hide what he really is.
As a result of those two factors, the entire sequence I wrote for Earth Splitter today encompasses maybe 7 minutes in the span of eight pages. The first two minutes occupy seven of those pages – or a little over 2,000 words of the total word count for today.
- The Best Sample From Today
This week’s sample is a long one, but it is the best part of a near flawless sequence in my mind. It hammers home the silent brutality of Aeron Stonewall and highlights how others perceive him. It is the first time I do not paint Aeron Stonewall with a golden brush and it is one of the most effective pieces of writing I have ever done.
Aeron slows his pace the closer he gets to Wallace. He does not want to strike like a snake. This prey is too valuable to take down with a rapid attack. Wallace’s eyes widen as he realises Aeron does not intend to back down. He shuffles backward in an attempt to get away from the reach of Aeron. An errant clump of dirt trips Wallace and he lands in the mud. A clap of thunder sounds above and the first few drops of the first spring storm falls from the heavens. Still Aeron remains intense with his movements. Wallace begins to fret and his motions become frantic. He looks for any way to escape from Aeron. If he jumps off the cliff, his body will splatter on the jagged base of Mheur Dhè. His once chance to escape is through Aeron. A foul scowl crosses Wallace’s face and he draws his well-worn sword. With a crazed yell, Wallace charges Aeron. His sword swings in a high overhead arc. It looks to hit with uncanny precision up until Aeron raises a hand in a lazy manner to catch Wallace’s sword. All momentum from the Master of the Order stops cold. Aeron does not even give a sound. All he does is gaze into Wallace’s eyes. Wallace struggles with all the strength he can muster right up until Aeron rips the weapon from his hands. Two pieces of Wallace’s sword impact into the dirt.
The entire sequence adopts a dark feel to it and the fact that there is no talking or dialogue only highlights the seriousness of the scene. In a fantasy series where things are written in bombastic and embellished ways, there is something disconcerting about seeing something so brutal and realistic in the middle of an otherwise less-than-serious novel series.
- How Productive I Felt I Was
This was the biggest risk I have ever taken. I was on the fence for weeks about including this part of Aeron’s story. In the grand scheme of things, he is one of the good guys of the novel and for me to include something that puts him in such an evil role is unheard of. It is also perhaps the most crucial piece of character building I will ever write in Earth Splitter.
I always enjoy writing in the unique and frenetic style that accompanies the darker side of my novels. Earth Splitter is a novel I never envisioned having the capability of a Crow or a Crucible or an Eden, so to see that I can apply the dark side of those novels to something more light hearted like Earth Splitter makes me wonder if I can do the reverse. Time will tell if I can adapt between my styles without a seam visible.
- What I Intend To Write Next Week
Next week is the conclusion of the Throne of the North chapter and will allow me to begin work on Chapter Thirteen: Horizon’s End. The next chapter returns to the primary story that involves the largest of the original group from Sea Spray and explores their journey across the sea to Abygail Qilbyrn’s homeland: The Green Desert, as well as looping back into Ashton’s struggle with Ôrûnán – the second Elder One.
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