A. F. Kay
patreon
August 12, 2023 - Update
🕑 Added 2023-08-12 10:14:38 +0000 UTCHi!
When I started book nine I spent a lot of time discussing how beginnings are difficult for me and it takes me a while to know if I’ve started in the right place. Luckily, for eight books, I’ve gotten it mostly right and very few changes were necessary.
I did not get it right for book nine. I’ve already revised a couple of chapters and made some significant changes. The last week (maybe two) has been the most difficult two weeks of writing since I started this series.
From the beginning I’ve struggled with how much information to share about the greater story and last week it became apparent to me I had taken the wrong path. Unfortunately for me, I had already written multiple chapters with detailed world-building that had taken an immense amount of thought and time to create.
Will all that information make it into this book…most likely. But I can’t release it now, which put me even further behind. Then to top it off, I finally admitted a significant amount of what I’d already posted wouldn’t work for this new direction.
So I found myself with chapters I couldn’t post and the need to rewrite and rerelease chapters I’d already posted. To salvage what I could I needed to blend the new storyline with the existing story which is difficult and time-consuming.
It was a brutal writing week filled with a lot of stress and it’s only now in the early hours of Saturday that I think it might be okay.
What this means for you:
- I will leave the existing posts up so you can see part of what I plan on hiding.
- The infamous chapter six is now gone, along with that whole area/location.
- There are significant changes starting in chapter five as I brought forward a storyline I meant for later but realized it made more sense here.
- I’m reposting chapters five through twelve.
- Chapters eleven and twelve are new content
You can see I’ve rewritten six chapters and added two new ones this week. I am sure there are tons of mistakes as I haven’t had the time to reread any of it. Throw in the massive rewrite and merging of storylines, and it is a recipe for errors. Please let me know what you find in the comments. I always appreciate that.
I’ve reposted chapters 5 and 6.
I’ve opened chapters 7 (OLD), 8 (OLD), 7, and 8 for Root.
I’ve opened chapters 9 (OLD), 10 (OLD), 11 (OLD), 9, and 10 for Harvester.
I’ve added chapters 11 and 12 for Step Master, Blapy’s Favorite, Divine, and Axiom.
Enjoy!
I work so hard to get things right because I want to produce the best possible story I can. You deserve nothing less. Thank you for supporting the series.
Take care,
AFK
Comments
A. F. Kay
Thank you!
Inv7ctus
This. I am here to participate in the writing process of a story I adore. Not demand more content immediately. This revision is significantly better than the old version, and addressed the concerns I and others brought up excellently. I think the implications of the Nexus faction and the demonstration of the 'faction countermeasures' is a much more elegant way to start introducing the broader world building without an info dump that most wouldn't appreciate. I do hope to see more of Blappy and Ruwen's dynamic. Gets me giggling everytime. I think it says a lot that the people of blappy's shit list are also some of her closest subordinates.
Raqwon Perryman
I think there’s a lot of perceived pressure not to let the Patreons down, but just want to remind and encourage you (I hope), that your patrons are loyal and flexible. If you need to take some time off to think, write, and rest do that. We have your back. We’re just happy you had the courage to start over and keep us in the loop while you did it.
Jonathan Barnett
The previous version was very good, but I think the revision flows more naturally. I encourage you to continue to trust your instincts on these things. I recognize that reworking the chapters was a heavy lift, but I think it was worth it. I do appreciate you leaving up the "old" version as well!
