Three years on and I'm still working on Faerie-Tale, despite the fact I finished it last summer... Finished, not completed.
As of now I'm just giving it a final edit, making sure it all flows, sorting grammatical errors and the like and also adding new bits (not much) if they're needed.
But this isn't the reason why I'm writing this post. What it is, is that I hate my brain, whilst Faerie-Tale has always been envisioned as a trilogy, I've never been able to solely focus on the one story, whilst writing the first, I was also planning the second. Now that I'm writing the second (Well, it's actually on hold whilst I sort out FT) I'm planning the third. I'm always several steps ahead. A good thing in a way, but also bad because I now have several notepads filled with stuff I can't even use (yet)
A while back, I decided to do a fourth book after "FT3", but I've since scrapped that idea. The basic premise was the "Arcanic realm" bursts through to the real world and Elloria essentially ends up sacrificing herself to stop it. Thus ending the Ellorian saga.
But now I have a new idea for a fourth book. "Wasteland"
That's just it, no "Faerie-Tale" heading like the other three will have, just "Wasteland" (Maybe The Wasteland, I'm not sure yet)
It will be a prequel of sorts to the Faerie-Tale series, but it will be its own beast altogether.
The plot for the story is as follows.
A few years from now, the economy completely collapses, most of the world is left destitute. Plague levels rise and sweep through the homeless, killing millions of the populous as they can no longer afford healthcare.
Whilst everyone is left to die from hunger and disease, the governments still argue over oil, the price of which has rocketed to unimaginable prices. Tensions fray and allied nations turn on each other.
The "End War" begins as military forces mobilise, but after one country launches its entire nuclear arsenal, the other countries follow suit. The "war" lasts less than three hours, the world is obliterated and left in darkness as the ash falls from the sky, coating everything in grey whilst the sun is shrouded behind nuclear clouds... Nuclear winter sets in shortly after. Freezing the Earth.
The nuclear holocaust also caused the "Ring of fire" to be set off, all around the globe volcanoes erupt and further help to blot out the sun. Earthquakes and tsunamis ravage the planet as 99.5% of all life on Earth is wiped out in a matter of weeks.
Most of the remaining lifeforms have moved underground, to cave systems, sewers, subways and those who knew nuclear extinction was inevitable reside in special military bunkers... Life crawls on.
Twenty years after the world has ended, a wanderer leaves the safety of the bunker where a basic community has started back up, in order to return to the place where their family was killed during the protests that occurred during the economy collapse.
The wanderer is not alone, s/he has a single companion who will accompany them and brave the cold, harsh, radioactive wasteland that is now filled with rabid animals and cannibalistic "raiders" under a permanent cover of darkness in order to reach their destination... Will they survive the journey, or will they finally succumb to the hell that humanity inflicted upon itself all them years ago?
Sunday, 28 August 2011
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Eyara's Lament
So I've just finished editing Eyara's Lament, a short story prequel to my book Faerie-Tale: The Princess' Odyssey. (Faerie-Tales new full title) so I thought I'd talk about it a bit because it was tough to write, and tough to re-read.
Writing this was tough for me because of the content within it, and although the basics of the story are explained within Odyssey, I feel it was necessary to tell the story in full.
Aside from detailing the tragic events, it also gives insight into what the Kingdom of Dematria used to be like before the tragedy, what Jareth was like before and ultimately what Eyara was like. Which I feel was most important as she is to play a vital role in the second book The Enchantment War.
On top of everything, there are some interesting parallels I've thrown in, such as the carpenters shop that has replaced Eyara's family bakery, this is the same workshop Elloria will visit 18 years later and the apprentice becomes the master.
There are little things like that dotted throughout, though without Odyssey they are useless references.
My goal when writing this was to create a perfect life, a fairytale life if you will... And then tear it all down. And I did just that, and upon editing it, because I know the character of Elloria so well, I found myself smiling as she played with her mother in the palaces gardens, but I honestly found it hard to continue knowing what was about to come next. I honestly feel cruel for creating this character who rose up from poverty to have this dream life, and then destroying in one fell swoop.
When I'd originally written it, I remember sitting there in silence for about half an hour, not able to comprehend what I'd just written, and it's not like I could just take it away and make it "not true", it's a core element to Odyssey's plot so it had to be done.
But it's writing this that gave me the idea of letting Elloria get retribution later on, though at a price. Her actions corrupt her and she struggles with accepting the fact she enjoys taking the lives of those who deserve it, yet she doesn't want to become the thing she hates so it creates a duality within her.I'd love to talk more about the whole thing, but I have work to do so I will leave it here for now and possibly do a similar post once I've finished editing Odyssey.
Writing this was tough for me because of the content within it, and although the basics of the story are explained within Odyssey, I feel it was necessary to tell the story in full.
Aside from detailing the tragic events, it also gives insight into what the Kingdom of Dematria used to be like before the tragedy, what Jareth was like before and ultimately what Eyara was like. Which I feel was most important as she is to play a vital role in the second book The Enchantment War.
On top of everything, there are some interesting parallels I've thrown in, such as the carpenters shop that has replaced Eyara's family bakery, this is the same workshop Elloria will visit 18 years later and the apprentice becomes the master.
There are little things like that dotted throughout, though without Odyssey they are useless references.
My goal when writing this was to create a perfect life, a fairytale life if you will... And then tear it all down. And I did just that, and upon editing it, because I know the character of Elloria so well, I found myself smiling as she played with her mother in the palaces gardens, but I honestly found it hard to continue knowing what was about to come next. I honestly feel cruel for creating this character who rose up from poverty to have this dream life, and then destroying in one fell swoop.
When I'd originally written it, I remember sitting there in silence for about half an hour, not able to comprehend what I'd just written, and it's not like I could just take it away and make it "not true", it's a core element to Odyssey's plot so it had to be done.
But it's writing this that gave me the idea of letting Elloria get retribution later on, though at a price. Her actions corrupt her and she struggles with accepting the fact she enjoys taking the lives of those who deserve it, yet she doesn't want to become the thing she hates so it creates a duality within her.I'd love to talk more about the whole thing, but I have work to do so I will leave it here for now and possibly do a similar post once I've finished editing Odyssey.
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Finished
My book that is.
It's been a long and strange journey writing that, right from its conception I always had more ideas than I could handle... Which will actually split it into a trilogy.
Though to be honest, the idea for the second book came first, which was just the image of a faerie riding a unicorn into battle.
Then I got thinking, how did this battle start? Is it a war? How did that start? Then I began piecing together the wars origin which soon became Faerie-Tale.
Even though it is a trilogy and that I shall be re-using the same characters, I'm saddened by the fact I no longer need to write FT (Faerie-Tale) anymore, it's been with me for so long now and has journeyed through key moments of my life with me.
My wedding, the opening day of my salon, finding out I was pregnant, the UK road trip, birth, my darling daughters first smile.
All that in the space of just a little over two years. And through the two years the concept of FT was with me, it had become a part of me.
Now, I didn't really start writing until Christmas of 2008 (I had bits and pieces complete, but nothing major) but the idea and planning had been in my head since May of that same year... And now... Now it's not there... There are no more plot ideas to think of, no more new ways to drive the story forwards, no more striving to reach the ending... It's just done and laid out exactly as how I had envisioned.
Sure I'm proud of this, as I never thought I'd finish it, hell, I only just finished writing Chapter 9 of 25 this Christmas Eve just passed.
But it's gone and I don't really know what to do with myself, sure I have the sequels to write and the odd spin-off book, but I just feel lost not having FT to write anymore.
It feels as if I've lost an old friend, though I'll always remember the good times we had.
It's been a long and strange journey writing that, right from its conception I always had more ideas than I could handle... Which will actually split it into a trilogy.
Though to be honest, the idea for the second book came first, which was just the image of a faerie riding a unicorn into battle.
Then I got thinking, how did this battle start? Is it a war? How did that start? Then I began piecing together the wars origin which soon became Faerie-Tale.
Even though it is a trilogy and that I shall be re-using the same characters, I'm saddened by the fact I no longer need to write FT (Faerie-Tale) anymore, it's been with me for so long now and has journeyed through key moments of my life with me.
My wedding, the opening day of my salon, finding out I was pregnant, the UK road trip, birth, my darling daughters first smile.
All that in the space of just a little over two years. And through the two years the concept of FT was with me, it had become a part of me.
Now, I didn't really start writing until Christmas of 2008 (I had bits and pieces complete, but nothing major) but the idea and planning had been in my head since May of that same year... And now... Now it's not there... There are no more plot ideas to think of, no more new ways to drive the story forwards, no more striving to reach the ending... It's just done and laid out exactly as how I had envisioned.
Sure I'm proud of this, as I never thought I'd finish it, hell, I only just finished writing Chapter 9 of 25 this Christmas Eve just passed.
But it's gone and I don't really know what to do with myself, sure I have the sequels to write and the odd spin-off book, but I just feel lost not having FT to write anymore.
It feels as if I've lost an old friend, though I'll always remember the good times we had.
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Doing a Frankenstein
So I'm writing this book, Faerie-Tale... yeah, snappy title I know, but I feel with it I have created something now far beyond my control.
It started out as a simple poem (which will be on my other page "Live, Laugh, Love" when I decide to put it up) and from there, I wanted to expand on it, open it out, so out came this idea for a book.
Well, actually what came first was the idea of an epic poem and the image of a faerie riding a unicorn and waving her sword around like a... well... fairy.
BUT that simple idea has evolved, I thought, "yeah, a nice easy project for me to work on".
It was originally going to be 100 pages long and spread out over 5 chapters with about 20 pages in each, I still keep that estimate as a guideline, but now I'm looking at 25 chapters and as I write, I'm constantly coming up with new ideas, new things to add, i know that it isn't actually a bad thing, but I set myself deadline, and I can never meet them, I know I shouldn't set them, but without them I'd hardly get anything written.
But beyond the ever evolving story, I have also written a simple 25 page prequel, and I have plans for two sequels, while the third book is actually still quite the mystery to me, the second book is pretty much fleshed out.
It will be double the size of the one I'm writing now... at least, and will actually jump around three separate plots and time-lines with each chapter, like in The Grudge, the story doesn't follow a set chronological path!
On top of this, I have also got plans to write a years worth of diary entries for my books main heroine... Sometimes I just feel like I have created a monster as this project seems to dominate so much of my time and my life... and even though I have a child on the way I'm still going to set time aside to finish this work... all of it! maybe after it's all done, I can finally lay it to rest and be done with it... but it's me so I doubt it...
Especially with the idea me and my husband concocted back in 2008 for a zombie horror novel... or three...
It started out as a simple poem (which will be on my other page "Live, Laugh, Love" when I decide to put it up) and from there, I wanted to expand on it, open it out, so out came this idea for a book.
Well, actually what came first was the idea of an epic poem and the image of a faerie riding a unicorn and waving her sword around like a... well... fairy.
BUT that simple idea has evolved, I thought, "yeah, a nice easy project for me to work on".
It was originally going to be 100 pages long and spread out over 5 chapters with about 20 pages in each, I still keep that estimate as a guideline, but now I'm looking at 25 chapters and as I write, I'm constantly coming up with new ideas, new things to add, i know that it isn't actually a bad thing, but I set myself deadline, and I can never meet them, I know I shouldn't set them, but without them I'd hardly get anything written.
But beyond the ever evolving story, I have also written a simple 25 page prequel, and I have plans for two sequels, while the third book is actually still quite the mystery to me, the second book is pretty much fleshed out.
It will be double the size of the one I'm writing now... at least, and will actually jump around three separate plots and time-lines with each chapter, like in The Grudge, the story doesn't follow a set chronological path!
On top of this, I have also got plans to write a years worth of diary entries for my books main heroine... Sometimes I just feel like I have created a monster as this project seems to dominate so much of my time and my life... and even though I have a child on the way I'm still going to set time aside to finish this work... all of it! maybe after it's all done, I can finally lay it to rest and be done with it... but it's me so I doubt it...
Especially with the idea me and my husband concocted back in 2008 for a zombie horror novel... or three...
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