New project (tentatively titled The Watersong)

So today I started some of the pre-writing for another project. It's an epic fantasy I've called The Watersong (for the moment at least). It's named for one of the types of magic in the world, and the one that will feature most prominently in the story.

There are actually three types of magic. I'm not entirely clear on what they do just yet, but I'm in the process of figuring these things out.

This epic fantasy will feature lots of magic, action, and (eventually, or perhaps not-so-eventually, world-ending stakes). You know, basically what you've come to expect from epic fantasy. This idea has been sitting around in my head for a while. That's usually how I work with ideas. I allow them to simmer for a while.

I already know who my three point-of-view characters will be. I already know the three main nations that feature in the book's conflict. I even have some of the religious background worked out, as religion will play a large role in the story, with gods actually making appearances.

I think I'm most excited with the setting for the first book (yes, I intend it to be a series. Don't I always?). Most of the book will take place in a sub-tropical island empire consisting of many small islands. I have no problem with faux medieval Europe, but there's so much more you can do with fantasy.

Other parts of the book (and series) will take place in a more traditional fantasy setting and in a country consisting mostly of desert.

I can't tell you much about the plot, as I'm still in the process of figuring it out. However, I do hope that writing about this story will help me in sticking with it. We'll see.

Checking in.

So it's been a while since I've posted here. I really need to get better about that. Since the last time I posted, I finished my epic fantasy Lightweaver. Well, by finished, I mean I got through the first draft. I've been doing revisions on it, but there's still a lot more to go.

I've also been doing editing and revision work on my other epic fantasy, Empire of Chains. It's still a monster of a book at approximately 160,000 words. In terms of epic fantasy, that's not all that long, but it is a tough sell as a debut writer. Thankfully, Lightweaver is only about 105,000 words. It might see some additions, but I'll stay safely under 120,000 (I hope).

For the moment, I think I'm going to postpone work on my upper MG fantasy The Battle Stone. In fact, I'm all but certain that I'll be abandoning that book and going back to my original first Martin Mason book, The Man in the Crystal Prison. However, at this time, I don't feel in the right place to do work on that. In truth, I'm not certain MG is where I want to start. I love MG and YA fantasy, but I'm not sure I want to focus on it to begin my writing career.

I'd kind of like to follow the Brandon Sanderson model for a career. He started out with epic fantasy, then branched out into YA and MG. He's also one of my favorite writers and someone I'd love to emulate in my career. I love the way he takes some of fantasy's tired tropes and makes them seem fresh again, and he does it without all the Grimdark that's so prevalent these days.

I have no issue with the grittier side of fantasy. I just like to find the happy medium between optimitic and pessimistic. Believe me, I"ll throw horrible thing after horrible thing at my characters, but I like to give the reader some hope at the same time. Also, I'm not big on the move toward incredibly dishonorable protagonists. Flawed characters are great. Moral ambiguity is great. In fact, I'd argue these things are almost necessary. But some recent authors have taken this to an extreme, crafting main characters who are absolutely despicable, and I can only take so much of that at once.

Okay, so this post is rambling all over the place. I suppose I should also mention that I'm considering adding another page to this site, listing what I believe are some of the best fantasy books out there (and telling you why). That might actually work better than my sporadic reviews, though I could, of course, still do them. I need to post something after all.

I'd like to see this blog become something more than what it is right now. I'd like to see it become a good introduction to me and my work, as well as an informative place. Perhaps I'll write posts on various aspects of the writing process, especially as they pertain to fantasy.

Whatever I do, I'll try to be more active.