Day Four - 8,188 words and counting

This month, I'm writing a novel. All my progress can be found on my private blog. The commentary for each day's work can be found below.

The next big question I had to figure out was where to go next. Up until now, I've tried to establish several important things--the regard in which the girl is held, the elements of culture that surround her, the fact of her amnesia, and the form it takes. Essentially, I'm trying to set down the rules of what you can expect her to remember or not. I've also give some clues, really no more than foreshadowing, about who she may really be, which is one of the central mysteries of the book. If you can figure it out from what I've written so far, then I salute you--but get out of my head.

I think it would be extremely tricky to convey the information that must come next through the girl's POV, as I did in chapter 1. There are three people at the next scene, Elma, Merona, and Gessica, so I need to choose one of them. Gessica knows too much of what's going on; Elma knows too little. I think Merona is the right choice. We've seen her POV once, so there's no need to get into another head. Her role in the scene is also one of observation and advice, which is the sort of thing I'm looking for.


Huh, it turns out that Elma doesn't turn up during the first part of this chapter at all. She'll pop up tomorrow, but I think I'll stick with Merona's POV for just a little while longer. She's in the dark about the girl's past but a part of the culture in which the story is taking place, which is the right blend for these scenes.

First of all, I wrote this section to give a better idea of the scale of the market, since it's the setting for so much of the story. I won't go into any more detail now, since I prefer to describe it in the narrative, but I do want to mention a note on the names.

The proper name is The Noble and Gentle Market of Her Excellency the Lady Eldercroft. This is, of course, too long for common use. The official abbreviation is Market Eldercroft, but this is used mainly in formal correspondence. The hill that is so central to the geography of the market is called Market Hill. People usually just say, "oh, I'm going to Market Hill" or even just "the Hill." When used in this sense, Hill is always capitalized.

Market, on the other hand, is a general term for this kind of place, and is not capitalized within a sentence. There are seven markets, around the city, of varying sizes and levels of clientele, but Market Hill is currently the best. There is a great deal of pressure to keep it so.

The three tenets of the society are law, tradition, and custom. Law is laid down by the emperor, in that area directly controlled by the emperor; by his dukes, in the duchies; and by the kings in the provinces. The emperor does not directly make law in the duchies or provinces, but can order the dukes or kings to do so, and can usually expect to be obeyed.

Traditions are rights accorded to individual families, and they vary greatly. For example, a duke may receive a traditional tithe from his vassals and servants, or have a traditional form of address, or be permitted a traditional right in the presence of the Emperor. Some of these traditions are so old that no one knows when or why they were granted, or even by whom. The Emperor can grant a tradition or remove it; nevertheless, "new" traditions are given less standing than the old, established ones.

Custom, in general, governs the way someone of lower rank behaves toward someone of higher rank, and vice versa. This applies between each of the castes, as well as within a caste. These customs are enforced at the discretion of the party of higher rank. For example, one of the highborn may give certain liberties to middling servants he particularly values. This is called "granting license." One of the greatest inequities of this society is that in a dispute between a highborn and a middling, or a middling and a lowborn, there need not be witnesses to the violation of custom. The word of the higher ranking individual is taken as truth. So there is no legal recourse in such a dispute, and no appeal.

Today's Total: 2,329 / 1,689 words (137.9%)
Progress to Date: 8,188 / 6,754 words (121.2%)
Total Progress: 8,188 / 52,347 words (15.6%)