A. F. Kay
patreon
April 8, 2023 - Update
🕑 Added 2023-04-08 06:45:36 +0000 UTCHi!
This week I was reminded about the differences between how I view the story and how readers do. Specifically, I worry less about things because I already know how it turns out and when that will happen.
That can be dangerous for a story as the author sometimes can’t tell when he has taken something too far. Book one is a great example of this, as I knew what Ruwen would become, and I wanted to show that growth from his humble beginnings. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have had him get competent a little faster. Oh, and I would not end the book mid-scene.
So this week, some of the early reviews of book seven, coupled with some comments in discord and on Patreon, combined to bring an issue into sharp focus for me. Namely, progression.
Even though not much time has passed for Ruwen, a lot has happened, and I am already in book 8. The ironic thing was, sitting here in my own world, I had planned to make book 9 about getting the items needed to advance. So real progression would likely not have happened until the end of book 9 or somewhere in book 10. This week I realized what a massive mistake I was making.
So I changed my plan. I spent most of today trying to salvage my outline for book 8 after adding the things that my gut tells me need to be there. As I don’t have all the motivations and scenes tied together the way I want yet, I feel a little anxious, but I know I’ll get that worked out this weekend.
This week’s chapters contain everything I love about this series: old friends, call backs, foreshadowing, and characters with real lives. I think part of the reason this series is enjoyed by many is because of chapters like this. I hope you agree.
I opened up chapters 16, 17, and 18 for Root.
I opened up chapters 19, 20, and 21 for Harvester.
I added chapters 22, 23, and 24 for Step Master, Blapy’s Favorite, and Divine.
Enjoy!
Again this week, you were instrumental in keeping me on track. I welcome and appreciate your feedback. Please don’t hesitate to let me know how you feel. You are here because you love the series, and I know that when I read your comments. Thanks for being here with me.
Take care,
AFK
PS-For the Facebook and Reddit readers, you can read weekly chapters for a $3 a month and help shape the series. I’ll post a link to my Patreon in the comments. Thank you.
PSS-I activated the “Notify Patrons of this change” when opening up chapters to new tiers. Let me know if you like that or if it caused too much spam.
Comments
A. F. Kay
You bet! I know I am always interested in how authors work and how they make decisions. It is ironic because I am so private in my real life, but yet with you all here, I am very open. I find that very interesting.
A. F. Kay
I think I am going to go back to my normal process as I don't want to flood people with notifications.
A. F. Kay
That is a great question. I honestly don't know why. This will sound like I'm crazy, but Ruwen and everyone are alive in my head and I pay attention to what they want. It probably is worth some time to consider why I'm doing that. Thanks for the feedback.
A. F. Kay
What a wonderful message! Thank you! I agree about the dreaming big. I always try to pack as much wonder and coolness as I possibly can into the books. There are some things coming in this book that I actually blew my own mind with. I'm so excited to get it all out of my head and onto the page. So much to love is coming. Thanks for the message!
A. F. Kay
Great ideas! I have some things in mind that I've wanted to do for awhile but didn't have the right setup for it.
Samuel Strode
I have been thinking about Ruwen issue with every one wanting to be a mage my first thought was to throw money at the problem be paid 1 terium coin if you become anything but a mage but a better idea came to me have stat requirements for training and ascension bonuses for signing up for different classes
Joe
Thank you so much for that, AFK. I am not a writer, but it has always seemed to me that stories don't truly have endings and can always be larger if the gods of their creation would only allow themselves to dream bigger, look farther ahead, and be more daring. I don't know how much of that is real and how much is just my inexperience, but I hope it is true. I love this story and this world you are building. I can't wait to see what new thing you will manifest in it. Thank you for creating it. Thank you for not making us wait extra long for all the great parts. I believe that for as long as you have the heart to write them, such parts will always exist.
night hawk
A.F Kay, got say thanks for being so transparent!
Reed Montemurro
Different in-app settings I guess haha
Nick O'Roonling
I didn't get any enails from patreon, but did get 7 notifications on both my phone and my tablet, instead of the usual 1 on each
Reed Montemurro
I will say that I did get a lot of emails for the “Notify Patrons of this change” thing, but that might just be because I am a higher tier so i got notified of the new chapters uploading, and the changing permissions on the old ones.
Mpkfresh
So speaking of how we might view things differently - I’ve always wondered why everyone’s in a relationship and since like their characters inception.
