Yes, I've stated this before: I'm creating a free novella that will be offered as a bonus for signing up for my mailing list (most likely a PDF). The concept? A holy warrior whose task has him choosing between his oath, and his mission.
The reality is that it's actually more then that.
I'm about 7 chapters in, and sitting on roughly 12,000 words. I'm targeting 20,000. I'll go over my limit if I think the brevity of the novella makes the story feel rushed. The editor will just trim it down anyways. I'm hoping that by March I'll have a completed book. Then, it's off to an editor, a proofread, and a cover illustrator. I already have a title in mind.
Like all of my written properties, it has links to the Frankie Falawell Chronicles. I've really struggled with this book. The concept itself isn't enough. The character says very little, and is a little on the one-dimensional side; this is actually by design. In order to make him even a little compelling, I have to put the more engaging stuff into other areas of the book. This means surrounding him with interesting personalities, adding subtle things to the story itself, as well as providing some depth in the backstory. That's half of the problem with BAMFs as main characters...they're boring to write. You'll see what I mean.
The book itself was inspired by character mentioned in Book 3 of my Frankie Falawell series; a sort of an origin story. The character is only mentioned in a sentence or two. There are additional links to the series in there as well (I wrote them in at roughly 2:00 am, 1/1/2021, believe it or not), though much of it is background and worldbuilding. That being said, I thought the character was compelling enough to warrant a story of sorts.
For this, I've held off another story in production that ALSO has links to Book 3. That story, however, is much longer and stronger, so I'm going to publish and sell that one. I'll provide more details on that as I near the book's completion. But for now, it's on the backburner while I kick out the novella, and more chapters for Book 3.
I've also started (and backburner-ed) an origin story for the Antagonist (dark lord) for the Frankie Falawell series. That story, however, I'll release for free on this website. I want to get some of this other stuff out of the way before I start figuring out just how I'm going to pull that off.
It's been difficult to be inspired to write. Lockdowns have inhibited my writing ritual in a bad, bad way. The current election climate hasn't helped, and holidays tend to disrupt my writing habit. Social media has been sucking my time away, and there are other things I need to get done like setting up a YouTube channel and videos. Now that some of them are coming to an end, maybe things will stabilize. Part of it is my fault. Part of it is life dragging me down. The rest of it is external forces. But most of all, my writing ritual being disrupted by the lockdowns it probably the biggest factor on my lethargy. I can easily bang-out a chapter (I typically do 2000 - 3000 words per chapter) in one sitting when the ritual is followed.
Lastly, sitting on my butt, and watching movies at my Mother In Law's house has inspired another story. Set in the same world as the Frankie Falawell Chronicles, in a much earlier time, it focuses on the concept of Divine Wrath and Divine Vengeance. You'll see some connections to the current novella that I'm working on right now.
All of these stories link together in one form or another. God has graced me with an overactive imagination I guess, as well as an obsessive nature. I have so many things I want to write, and not enough time or patience to write them. Le sigh.
I'll do some more writing on the novella tonight. I have some scenes in my head that have been banging around there for a while.
TTFN (Ta ta for now)