Tag Archives: fantasy

Thursday Afternoon Ramblings

August 9, 2012 D.A. Adams 5 Comments

I’ve reached a point with this manuscript where I feel like the story is either coming together perfectly or splintering into something incoherent. I can’t tell which right now. Up to this point, I’ve felt pretty good with the focus and direction of the plot points, but right now, as everything compresses together for the climax, it feels unruly, and for the first time in my writing career, I feel like I’ve painted myself into a corner without being certain how to paint myself back out. Part of that is because of the twist that occurred around chapter nine, one which I kind of anticipated but wasn’t certain would happen. Once it happened, it has taken on a life of its own and completely changed the ending of this book from what I had envisioned. From experience, I know that can actually be a good development, but I also know that if I lose control of the natural flow, the ending could disintegrate on me.

It’s a delicate balance between allowing the story to develop naturally and steering it in the proper direction. On the one hand, I feel like this twist has been pretty powerful and will change the entire complexion of Roskin as the protagonist. On the other, I don’t want to force the climax to happen in a way that seems contrived. The biggest obstacle I’ve encountered is making the time of the various plot points come together precisely without relying on some cheap trick to have it work. Over the next few nights, I have to figure out how to blend it all together or risk losing the tension that’s coming to a head.

This is one half the exhilaration of writing and one half the madness of it. I love when these surprises happen, and I know my best course of action as a writer is to get out of the way and let the story tell itself. However, for four books, I’ve been juggling various plot threads to bring them together at this moment, and now that I’m there, it feels as if the threads are unraveling on me. These next two and a half chapters will determine what quality of writer I am. If I can make this work, I feel like this will a very good book. If I can’t, the whole series could implode on me. And I only have a week and a half before the semester begins.

No pressure.

General Posts

Wednesday Morning Ramblings

August 1, 2012 D.A. Adams 5 Comments

I don’t know if other writers experience this, but as I’m moving into the final section of my fifth manuscript (book four of the Brotherhood series), I find that as I near completion of each rough draft, I become completely consumed by the book. All of my thoughts and feelings become centered around finishing the work, and everything else in my life becomes peripheral. It’s not a healthy feeling, either, and is probably the one thing about writing I dislike. I want to hear from my writer friends on this. Do you experience this same tunnel vision phenomenon, or am I just a freak?

Over the last week, I’ve gotten to write two scenes that have been in my head for several years. It’s an odd sensation to finally complete something that I’ve carried for so long. While I’m glad to be reaching this point of the series, I’m also a little sad to be done with those scenes. It’s somewhat like saying goodbye to an old friend who you know you won’t see again. Still, I’m grateful to have reached this point. There have been many times when I doubted I would, so I’ll say goodbye to those scenes and move on to the next.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with the rough draft. It needs a lot of polishing and shaping, but the overall story feels pretty intense to me, and I think a couple of the twists will please most of my readers. There are still about four and a half chapters to write, and little time to write them before school starts back, but I feel confident that I can get it done. Others things in my life may suffer somewhat, but I want to make this deadline more than I can express in words. Books two and three went through so many delays that I need to get this one out on time just to feel that sense of accomplishment, so my apologies if I don’t write too many blog entries over the next few weeks. For those of you who read my books, I feel confident that it will be worth it.

General Posts

Monday Evening Ramblings

June 11, 2012 D.A. Adams 4 Comments

There have been a lot of new faces stopping by here recently, so I thought I’d introduce you to my fantasy series, The Brotherhood of Dwarves. I began writing the series about nine years ago, and book one was released in 2005 as a self-published title. In 2008, book two of the series, Red Sky at Dawn was also self-published. In 2011, Seventh Star Press took over publication of the series, releasing book three, The Fall of Dorkhun, and re-publishing books one and two with brand new cover art. Today, I’m working on book four of the five book series. I’ve never been great at tooting my own horn, so instead of me prattling on about the books, I thought I’d post links to reviews of the books, so you can see for yourself what others have said about the series. Hope you enjoy: