Blog Archives
The Novel Web – Updated
I looked back and realized that the seed of this idea came about almost 5 years ago! It has grown and morphed substantially since then and even though I’m in the middle of Hydra rewrites and the continuation/completion of the Ansgari Civil War series, I think that I’ve gotten the core ideas locked down.
So “The Plan” for the novel web is to have a stand-alone novel that will set the scene but, more importantly, introduce some of the key characters. Each series will have its own style, main character and arc while at the same time weaving around a central idea and sharing interactions between the different book.
I think the challenge of that latter point will be re-telling the same scene but from an entirely different POV. I intend to use that sparingly so it doesn’t become overdone, but I also will try to have vastly different POVs to tell the story through. What they notice, what they think of the other person, etc.
Characters
As of now, there are 5 different story threads that will form the novel web. I had considered a 6th but have since dropped it.
So who are the poor victims of my machinations?
Gunpowder Gangsters
Influenced by some of my favorite gangster/mafia movies and tv series, Eden Fara will lead her small gang on her quest to become a powerful and respected member of the Andivari criminal underworld.
Law and Shadow
Lex Cana is a constable who gets involved in some of the activities of the other members while figuring out who killed his first partner and sent his life into a tail-spin.
Gunpowder Politics
Raina Portia is a leader of the Modern Citizens Party, but when she is passed over for a promised promotion within the party, she starts to plot her revenge and her actions may change the face of politics in Andivar forever.
“Criminal Underground”/”Stratus”
The series title is still a Work-In-Progress. The Stratus Charter is a compact signed between all of the major criminal groups more than a millennia before the “current” day. They are neutral, but maintain order between and provide services to the gangs. Voradiscia Vitella is responsible for thwarting attempts to undermine the Charter and to keep the police off her back.
The Pale Wraith
Ivanhoe Tesmier was a successful and feared assassin for most of his adult life. He retired as age crept up on him, but when the Charter comes under threat the successors to his former boss try to bring him back into action. They try to intimidate him into action, but instead earn his ire.
I think it should be fairly easy to see where some of the influence and inspiration for these come from, but I hope to be able to put my own unique Gunpowder Fantasy spin on the ideas and weave a tapestry of writing styles and story lines together.
Private Armies on Zaria
Free companies, mercenaries, and Private Military Companies are all terms for a rather simple concept: a group of people (typically former military, but not always) who fight for money, without having allegiance to any cause or nation.
According to my research, these groups started in the early medieval period (the 12th century) and have evolved since then. But the basic concept is always the same.
In the nations of Zaria, this concept exists as well.
The Legions of Rhon
Perhaps the most well-known mercenaries in the world are the Legions of Rhon.
After many of the tribes of the Rhonish plains moved into the XX Basin and settled what would become the first of the Rhonish city-states, they needed a source of revenue. So the first Legions were formed as independent entities only loosely affiliated with their host city.
Originally, they found each other for land and resources, but as the city-states grew and evolved, the influence of the Legions spread and they began finding work in Welos and Istivan.
The success of the Orcish Legions inspired the Elvish tribe of Sidori to follow suit and shortly after the human cities of Venosh and Demosh also incentivized the formation of their own free companies.
Although they have continued a tradition of success and lucrative contracts, most of the Rhonish city-states have recently begun discouraging their support of the Legions. Increased taxes and regulation have lead to the collapse of nearly half of the Legions and the rest are either on their way out, or have sought homes elsewhere.
The Tribes of Galten and Thayer
Less wide-ranging, but no less intimidating, the city-states of Galten and Thayer separated from the nation of Franta nearly a millenia ago over the Hordes they offered up as raiders to the highest bidder and took a cut of the lucrative treasure.
Because of their proximity to western Ansgar, the neighbor was nearly always the target and the diplomatic pressure was mounting on the Frantan government to stop the raids.
As firearms developed and raids became less lucrative and the resistance by their targets became more fierce, the Hordes have largely dropped off, though a few have reformed themselves as Mercenary Companies and offer their services as guards and escorts.
Largely speaking, the world of Zaria frowns on the use of mercenaries, but they exist for the moment and have their ardent supporters.
So, I threw out 80,000 Words…
I was reading through Loyalty Betrayed (aka Series 2;Book 1) and I came to a realization.
I had originally conceived of the story as a retelling of Othello, with significant changes to the cast and the overall storyline (its more a political betrayal for the bride of the MC than it is a physical betrayal). But I ended up feeling that I had leaned too heavily on the source materials.
The storyline didn’t flow the way I wanted it to, I shoehorned in certain scenes just because they were in the play.
So, I took the first 2 chapters and threw the rest out. I needed to add a bunch of content anyways because I had removed a secondary plot of about 40,000 words (that’s going to either be a companion novella or Book 2 in the series, not sure which yet).
I spent the last day writing a new chapter-by-chapter summary and just wrapped that up at a little over 7,000 words. Now to get to the actual rewriting process.
All of the Pieces
The Centaur Incursion is 10k words deep and The Hydra Offensive is nearly through Round 1 of Paper Edits. I don’t have classes this summer, so I should be able to tear through my workload on both of those.
There, I started with an update!
Constantly Evolving
Something that I’ve learned as I plot and write the stories of The Ansgari Rebellion, is that stories are more a living creation than a static work.
While the core of the series has remained essentially the same, many of the details have morphed and changed.
Characters have walked into the story from out of nowhere and insinuated themselves as cornerstones of the books in which they reside and those that follow.
Plot points have moved, from the beginning of the series, to the middle, and now to the end.
Even though I am a meticulous plotter, typically drawing up a book’s outline by chapter well before I start writing it, I’ve learned the benefits of being flexible with my story. My style has developed into a sort of hybrid: still heavily plotter, but with just enough pantser to allow for more story to develop and grow on its own.
In production news, The Centaur Incursion is underway! I’ve got 1,000 words written and more ready to come out as soon as I get a chance to sit down. Also, The Hydra Offensive is more than halfway through the first round of paper edits. I plan on putting it through a second round, in which I’ll break the chapters down by POV rather than by chapter order.
I’ll be looking for beta readers soon, so if you’re interested let me know!
Add “The Cerberus Rebellion” to the Goodreads Gunpowder Fantasy List
Hey All!
I’m nearly completion on the first two rounds of editing for The Hydra Offensive (I’ve been doing a first-pass digital edit and following behind with a paper-and-pen round), so that should be going to edits very soon.
In the meantime, stop by Goodreads and vote for The Cerberus Rebellion to be added to the Gunpowder Fantasy listopia!
Evolution of Cities
Before the Industrial Revolution, populations were dispersed across nations. The number of people that could live in a given area was determined by the amount of food that could be produced close enough to the town/village and brought to market before it spoiled. Whether this was through agriculture, fishing, hunting, or livestock, food production was the number one determining factor of a population.
The Industrial Evolution changed that. As I discussed in my post on Agriculture in Gunpowder Fantasy, the reach of farms and farmers, and the ability to mechanize the production process, increased exponentially. This change left many farmhands without work. So they moved to the city, where new textile mills and factories were sprouting up to feed the Industrial machine.
Cities began to grow as more and more people poured into them from the countryside. But immigration wasn’t the only factor in the growth of cities. With better medicine and better food, more people were surviving for longer and having more children. Cities suddenly found themselves growing as much as 50% every 10 years.
On our world, this increase in population was strictly Human. But in a fantasy world, the immigrants and their children could be of a different species. Imagine a world where industrialization has suddenly rendered the majority of a dwarven city unemployed. Unable to feed their families, these dwarves move to the nearby human city, looking for work in the factories, foundries, and mills. They resent the fact that they have been replaced by machines and left to do the most menial tasks.
Imagine the tension between the two species, and any other populations that might live within the city.
This tension could lead to the formation of gangs as young, unemployed citizens roam the streets looking for fun, or to exact their own brand of justice on the world. The seeds of revolution could be planted, driving the nation toward civil war.
Overcrowding would also become a concern, as more and more people poured into the city, or were born into it. A city that had been built to house 10,000, within a generation it finds itself home to 30,000, many of them poor or uneducated. Sanitation would suffer and disease would spread. The city would tear itself apart as the rich hid within their houses and the pour died in the streets.
Edits and Beta Readers
So having completed The Hydra Offensive last week, I’ve started my first round of edits. I usually go through 2 rounds of digital editing, get the novel printed and do 2 paper runs, and then finish up with a final digital run before I send it off to Beta Readers.
I’m going to treat my paper runs a little differently than I’ve treated other paper prints. I’m going to get it printed out by chapter rather than as a whole. I’ll read through once in full chronological order, and then for my second pass I’m going to read each POV group from start to end to hone in on any inconsistencies.
Speaking of which (! nice segue huh?) I’m looking for people who would like to Beta Read The Hydra Offensive. I’m definitely looking for people who read The Cerberus Rebellion, but I’m also looking for people who might not have read Cerberus yet. I’m trying to make Hydra as new-reader friendly as possible and I would greatly appreciate feedback on how I did.
The Hydra Offensive Blurb, Version 2
Having completed The Hydra Offensive last night, I’m going to give another try at the blurb. I trimmed it down, and tried to make it fit a little better into my strategy of making Hydra “new reader friendly”.
Let me know what you think!
Read the rest of this entry
Gunpowder Fantasy 