Where Ferian is Going Next

Confession: I don't believe in superstitions, but will still follow them. I tell myself it's a cultural thing, but somehow, it just feels right to do sometimes.

Reading:

• "L. DeBard and Aliette: A Love Story," by Lauren Groff
  
• The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
  

Writing:

• "Ferian Fetlock Hitches a Ride" - 1,245 words (Estimated completion 14%)
• "Ferian Fetlock Catches a Cold" - Outline 100%
  

Revising:

• "The Revenant"
• "Cora and the Sea" - Third draft 50%

As you can see above, I got a good start on the new Ferian today. I wrote around four pages of new story. I would have accomplished more, but I spent the first hour or two revising my outline, and the finished story is better for it.

In an earlier post I said the next Ferian arc would be broken up into two chapters, and I'm sticking with that. What I didn't say was how long Chapter Two was likely to be. I'm guessing now that it will reach about 9,000 words. In comparison, the first chapter topped out at just over 6,000. Then, Chapter Three will probably hit the 6,000 mark itself.

The thing is, I know how I write. When I start a story, the plot arcs tend to be fairly short. Later on, they get more complicated once the characters are developed enough to hold up to it. And I still have one more arc planned, which will introduce the final main character, and conclude the first act of the book. At that point, the book will stand at about 40,000 + words, by my estimate.

In comparison, the average fantasy genre novel runs around 125,000 words. If the first three arcs make up the first of three acts, then I'm on target for a novel-length story, all right. Of course, there's more to a novel than length. The question is, do I have enough story for a novel, especially since I have still only planned the first act?

The answer is, probably. I've been setting up some threads for later on. There's only one in the first chapter, and Ten Points for Gryffindor if you can spot it.

Holy shit, the Firefox spell checker accepted Gryffindor as a correct spelling. I love it!

Anyway, chapter two introduces a few more big ones, which I will not give away either. Again, see if you can spot them!

Publication Status:

• Submitted: 5
  
• Accepted: 1
• Rejected: 1
• Pending: 3