So, I’ve been writing Accepting the Lance in chunks —
((AGAIN? moans the kid in the back.))
I heard that.
So. I’ve been writing Accepting the Lance in chunks — yes, again, and no, I don’t know why. I used to be a straight-on writer. I guess my brain decided that was too easy, anymore.
And, as is, I think, typical of writing a thing in chunks — one chunk over There with Character A; another chunk over Here with Character B; yet another chunk ‘waaaaaaaaay over There with Character C; and another chunk with Who The Heck IS that Guy — you get the feeling that you’re running the Red Queen’s Race, that you’re getting nowhere, and not particularly fast, either.
So, it’s a Gratifying Moment when your Author Sense tingles in that special way that means It’s Time to Compile, and you realize that you do have 150 pages — which is to say, 1/3 of a novel +/- — all lined up nice and neat (always excepting That Guy — Who the Heck IS That Guy, Anyway?), and you Have Too been working.
Now, I get to read the compiled draft to find out what hooks the back-brain set, and feel out the shape of the Rest of the Story.
> Now, I get to read the compiled draft to find out what hooks the back-brain set, and feel out the shape of the Rest of the Story.
Good Luck, Sharon.
Our expectations are miles high 🙂
Ooh, I am so looking forward to reading this! ?
On your welcome to my Home Page it says you were turning something into the publisher in April 2018. What was that?
Forgot to cross that out. “That,” as it says on the homepage, was Fifth of Five, which died the death in February, and was scrapped. It has been resurrected as Accepting the Lance, which we’re working on now, and which is due in January. Thanks for the reminder; I’ll fix the front page.
Thank you for fixing the front page. I thought that was the case but hoping I was wrong. I am anxious for the next book as am so invested in all your characters. Is there any chance you’ll put what you had to scrap on splinter or would that lead us down a path you don’t want us to follow. I have probably read Fledgling and Saltation four or five times and have read Gathering Edge and Neogenesis at least six times. I own all your books and have read everything else at least twice. Thanks for hours of enjoyment.
Steve and I are still discussing whether or not to publish the failed manuscript as a chapbook. He’s of the opinion that people will Become Confused, and I daresay he’s right. There is one section that may stand alone as a chapbook, with very little tweaking, but that will have to wait until we turn in the final of Accepting the Lance.
Thanks for the reply. It must be very frustrating to have written something but because of your commitment to your universe it won’t fit. I have found it so great to read a short story and make the connection to what was just a minor mention or plot point or was more background on a character.
Sharon,
My thoughts were similar to Mary Allen’s, as we would love to read the abandoned novel (I first wrote aborted novel, but realized how that sounds now when abandoned works even better). So the rest of my question is how much of the abandoned novel has been mined for the new draft? It could be confusing to have different story lines going on. The Splinters of Klamath and Shan & Pricilla Ride Again really do not break canon, which is important to long time readers invested in the huge backstory, also still adding a little to it all. Thanks for all the hours of reading pleasure you have given me and everyone else. I am looking forward to Accepting the Lance sometime in 2019, it is on my master list at number 1 book to get for next year!
Not questions I can answer until . . .Lance is turned in — see my reply to Mary.
HOWEVER, I would be Very Surprised if you get to read . . .Lance in 2019. It might happen late in the year, given that it’s a January turn-in, and the publisher may have put it on the schedule. But my guess would be early 2020.
I’m wondering if the “writing in chunks” isn’t more of a function of where the story is at, than your writer-brain wanting to add variety or complexity.
Many of the earlier more lineair books tended to focus on a pair or a team of protagonists, or even a solo in the first Theo books.
But after the execution of Plan B, with the resulting diaspora and relocation of the entire clan and their associates, and the redevelopment of Surebleak, and the fight against the remains of the DoI (on many fronts), you have suddenly got many different storylines in play that are more or less simultaneous and that will have impacts on each other.
As you appear to be a character-driven storyteller, this will of necessity lead to many different character- vignettes that would likely be necessary to fit together a coherent and developing timeline. Except there are always different options for story-directions, and until the best-fitting one can be pieced together from the vignettes, you won’t know which pieces belong and which were part of a possible alternate storyline…
Frustrating at first, but I hope it gets really satisfying to write when you start to see the threads come together.
“HOWEVER, I would be Very Surprised if you get to read . . .Lance in 2019. It might happen late in the year, given that it’s a January turn-in, and the publisher may have put it on the schedule. But my guess would be early 2020.”
Is this true for Lance the eARC as well?
Sharon informs us:
“HOWEVER, I would be Very Surprised if you get to read . . .Lance in 2019. It might happen late in the year, given that it’s a January turn-in, and the publisher may have put it on the schedule. But my guess would be early 2020.”
My question:
Is this true for Lance the eARC as well?
Earcs are above my pay grade.
[Lopsided grin…]
Decided to do a partial re-read of the Liaden books starting with “Plan B” and found the reference to Accepting the Lance. Hadn’t remembered that little detail at all. I felt excited all over again when I ran across it last night.