Mo' Special

Well, I didn't get to write quite as much as I wanted during the Christmas holiday time. Spent a few days in Bartlesville with the old people and such, but I still managed to sneak away now and again to the computer room to peck out a few words. Deep Water now stands at 109,023 words.

It's interesting comparing the story that is now unfolding with the original version of Deep Water that I wrote back in 2001. They are very different stories in many ways, and it reveals some interesting things about how I have changed since then both as a writer and as a person. Many things about it are much darker and more violent this time, but the emotional arc of the characters is more believable. It's a much longer story as well. I tend to linger on things longer than I did back then. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but that's how it is. I also feel much more confident crafting prose than I used to. Back then, I tortured my way through paragraphs, struggling to make sentences sound good and flow well. I write with greater confidence now (and, as a result, write much faster) and save all the grief about the prose for the rewriting process. We'll see how it all turns out.

So there you go. Live the dream.

A Banner Day

Well, it happened, and I thought I should mention it right here on this blog. I reached 100,000 words. Technically, I reached 100,135 words. The old man, Nethil, just did a super creepy thing, and it will continue to be even more creepy in the upcoming pages, so that should be fun to write. That'll teach people to eat dried fruit touched by crusty old fingers!

Moon Meat

98,140 words, that's how far along we are in the Deepest of all Waters. Star Wars: The Old Republic has not prevented me from meeting the daily writing goal. I've hit over 1000 words a day every day. I am currently at chapter nineteen. Let's see. We've had river adventures, creaky frameworks, bloated gray crows and the creepiest old man in the world. Fun times. Even another brief appearance of skinless dogs. Next, we'll see the creepiest old man in the world fulfill his creepiest of all destinies. That's for chapter twenty. Live the dream!

Disgusting Situations

Deep Water is now at 89,600 words. That's more words than you can shake a stick at. It's also probably not quite halfway, so we're creating a thick 'n pretty of a book here. In the paperback, I estimate I'd be around page 300 at this point, so if that's a little less than halfway, we're talking about a book somewhere between 600 and 700 words. They call that moderately epic, I suppose. Currently, the characters are floating down a river and seeing terrible things along the way. Soon, more really bad things will happen leading to near deaths and slightly disgusting situations.

What Are These Things?

Calethis? A river.
Naresen? A lowlander city
Ementus? A mountain village
Tesarium? A codex
Get it? Good. I just needed to clear that up. Deep Water is now 83,880 words long, and dagnab if it isn't getting longer day by day! Tonight I got to write a touching scene where one character helps another character take a piss. Seriously, folks. Seriously. People taking long walks across treacherous fantasy landscapes to defeat evil kings do sometimes have to peepee in the underbrush. It's better than skinless dogs.

The Gloaming

Gloaming is another word for twilight. I like the word gloaming. It has only a tangential relation to this blog entry in that the passage I just wrote took place in the gloaming on the day after a battle. So there you go. Deep Water stands at 77,500 words. The current chapter is a sad and reflective time for various and sundry characters, but it prefaces the beginning of our story's ultimate momentum. I think I'm right on track to hit 200,000 words with this novel by the time I'm done.

Crispy Critters

72,600 words is where the story stands. Two chapters of really terrible things just passed, and now we come to the pivotal moment in the story. Pivotal moments are the best. It's too bad some readers (for instance, my wife, when she reads the first draft) will hate what came immediately before the pivotal moment. But, folks, it had to happen, elsewise the pivotal moment ne'er would've come. Can't you see that? Rivers, waterfalls, more skinless dogs, wretched people, various showdowns and King Helathius are all waiting in the wings.