In the deathly quiet of this newsletter's absence (ahem), there have been strange and wondrous things afoot.
One. As per a suggestion from Bryan, I'm commissioning a novel-related piece from an artist I admire. A contract has been signed.
Pinboards have been made.
Sneak peek of some Abaddon/Azuhal concepts.
That got me thinking: I don't really have a clear idea of what Sierra looks like in my head. But that's okay! Being intentionally vague about her appearance allows people to interpret her in their own ways. I love how traditionally-white Hermione, for example, has been interpreted as POC!Hermione, and J. K. Rowling has absolutely stood up for the validity of that interpretation. That's magic, and I'm reluctant to close the door on any of it.
Two. Hyacinth were barely shown in Draft 2, but their society, their culture and rituals, their
plans, will absolutely be bigger and badder in this next draft. In fact, they've become quite the story pillar. There will be a lot of horror to them, but also a lot of aspiration. There will be
factions!
...all of which has kept me mired in the 25-50% range of the book for while longer than has been ideal. I was
trying to rearrange the pieces of Hyacinth and the Wye that already existed into this new, more expansive narrative, and I think that was, ironically, inefficient--it kept me bogged down in the line-level when I needed to be taking a 10,000-foot view. Today, I started with a blank page, and felt free enough to hammer out ~1,700 words. (It helped that the title I gave it was "SETTING B___ ON FIRE." Oh, yes.)
Current word count: 40,600. Gotta keep swimming through molasses.