Nov 26, 2015

Hello everyone:

No update today. After some thought, I've decided to reassess Son of Ivan and, perhaps, do some extensive rewriting. The first iteration of the book included Richard's wife and two children. Several scenes in the early sections focused on Richard and his family. At times, the central plot surrounding the mystery of the spheres was set aside for digressions into family life and obligations. I ended up removing the family plotlines altogether because, so I thought then, the narrative would move along more quickly and not get bogged down in dramatic elements that do not impact the main thread--i.e., Richard's bewildering journey to become the hero he was born to be. His relationship with his father Ivan (in the past) was also somewhat overshadowed by his relationship to his family (the present). And of course removing the family scenes reduced the word count considerably. As I'm sure many of you know, it is often necessary for new writers to keep word counts to 100,000 or under if they want prospective literary agents to read their work. So there was a practical angle to the decision as well.

However, now that I've had a chance to sit with the book and engage in some discussions with those few folks who are familiar with both versions, it seems clear to me now that Richard needs something important that tethers him to his world while he goes about becoming a hero in the "other" world. I thought his memories of Ivan, along with his mounting obsessions with the scholarship, history, and literature that are obviously connected to what has been happening to him, would be enough to carry the story along. And while these factors do further the plot, they do not in and of themselves generate dramatic tension and emotional resonance. Richard needs something to fight for in BOTH worlds--this one and the other. Thus, I am prepared to go back and reassess the merits of Richard as husband and father, and the merits, if indeed there are any, of Richard remaining a committed bachelor. I may end up not changing a word. This is not a done deal by any means. But I need to have a look. My apologies to those of you who have been reading diligently, but there will be no further updates to Son of Ivan on Inkshares until I can figure this out.

My thanks to all for your support. Happy Turkey Day.

Best,

M.