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.
Getting ready to fly home for Thanksgiving to experience the four F's: Family, food, football, flatulence. Dad, have the Scotch ready.
New chapter is up. The final chapter of Part Three. Can you guess what happens? I'm not one of those writers who think a fantasy story requires endless twists and and turns to be effective, and I'm not a huge fan of the "predictable swerve"--you know, that BIG moment you know is coming, when the hero is charging toward some kind of climax or apotheosis and the story takes an abrupt turn. Someone dies unexpectedly; someone betrays someone we care about; someone you thought was a lowly cowherd turns out to be a god walking the earth. Stuff like that. The moment (and it is a moment, often taking up no more than a page or two) isn't telegraphed, exactly, but nor does it fall from the sky. The best of these--like the Red Wedding--can be a clincher, propelling the action forward while drawing the reader deeper into the tale. But the worst--which are far more prevalent--can bring the story to a dead halt and cause the reader to shake his head and wince at the author's inane compulsion to sacrifice verisimilitude for shock value. I prefer to build up to a key narrative moment slowly, not just over pages but chapters, and then let it unfold naturally (and I value when other authors do this as well--George Martin, Mervyn Peake, Diana Gabaldon, along with Melville and Dickens, are/were masters of this technique). No swerving, no twisting. So, if you've read this far, you've probably already guessed what happens to Richard at the end of Part Three and have a pretty good idea of the kind of place he is going to and what he will need to do.
As always, thanks for reading, and thanks for your support.
Hello again. A new chapter is up. Richard actually leaves the house! A breakthrough...
I'm currently hard at work finishing the Introduction to my translation of Beowulf. Perhaps you'll see it here on Inkshares in the near future. Very busy. Holidays approaching. Condo board meetings. And of course the whole career thing. Unfortunately, I have not been able to carve out a lot of time to do Son of Ivan justice. (And as for starting the second book...[Sigh.]).
I've received yet more encouragement over the last few days. I'm overjoyed and amazed. Thank you again for your continued support and, even more important, your genuine interest in what I'm trying to achieve with this silly little book about a seemingly insignificant little man who just might be the stuff of storybook heroes. We shall see.
Anyway, Chapter XIII of Part Three is up. I realize the story is moving a tad slowly, and I apologize for that, but I do not regret my choices. Richard needs to learn where these stories originate, and he does so through the literary and linguistic precursors of our English culture, myths, and traditions. Walk, then run.
Once again, thank you for your support. It's obvious that I am not going to make my pre-order goal, but I will continue to upload chapters until my Inkshares campaign comes to an end. If you would like a PDF of the full novel before then, send me an email.
I will likely look into self-publishing options after Inkshares. If any of you have experience with the self-publishing industry--successes, frustrations, dire warnings--I'd love to hear from you.
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.
Hello:
A new chapter is up! I've been negligent in not supplying the link to my Inkshares page with these updates. Sorry about that.
https://www.inkshares.com/projects/son-of-ivan-the-anhaga-series-book-1--7601
-M.
Hey all:
Getting ready to fly home for Thanksgiving to experience the four F's: Family, food, football, flatulence. Dad, have the Scotch ready.
New chapter is up. The final chapter of Part Three. Can you guess what happens? I'm not one of those writers who think a fantasy story requires endless twists and and turns to be effective, and I'm not a huge fan of the "predictable swerve"--you know, that BIG moment you know is coming, when the hero is charging toward some kind of climax or apotheosis and the story takes an abrupt turn. Someone dies unexpectedly; someone betrays someone we care about; someone you thought was a lowly cowherd turns out to be a god walking the earth. Stuff like that. The moment (and it is a moment, often taking up no more than a page or two) isn't telegraphed, exactly, but nor does it fall from the sky. The best of these--like the Red Wedding--can be a clincher, propelling the action forward while drawing the reader deeper into the tale. But the worst--which are far more prevalent--can bring the story to a dead halt and cause the reader to shake his head and wince at the author's inane compulsion to sacrifice verisimilitude for shock value. I prefer to build up to a key narrative moment slowly, not just over pages but chapters, and then let it unfold naturally (and I value when other authors do this as well--George Martin, Mervyn Peake, Diana Gabaldon, along with Melville and Dickens, are/were masters of this technique). No swerving, no twisting. So, if you've read this far, you've probably already guessed what happens to Richard at the end of Part Three and have a pretty good idea of the kind of place he is going to and what he will need to do.
As always, thanks for reading, and thanks for your support.
-M.
Hello again:
Another chapter has been uploaded. Enjoy!
-M.
Hello again. A new chapter is up. Richard actually leaves the house! A breakthrough...
I'm currently hard at work finishing the Introduction to my translation of Beowulf. Perhaps you'll see it here on Inkshares in the near future. Very busy. Holidays approaching. Condo board meetings. And of course the whole career thing. Unfortunately, I have not been able to carve out a lot of time to do Son of Ivan justice. (And as for starting the second book...[Sigh.]).
-M.
Hey all: Part Three, Chapter XVI is up! That's all. Not much else to say.
-M.
Hello!
New chapter! You want to know where the title of the series comes from? Well, read on!
Your humble servant,
M.
I've received yet more encouragement over the last few days. I'm overjoyed and amazed. Thank you again for your continued support and, even more important, your genuine interest in what I'm trying to achieve with this silly little book about a seemingly insignificant little man who just might be the stuff of storybook heroes. We shall see.
Anyway, Chapter XIII of Part Three is up. I realize the story is moving a tad slowly, and I apologize for that, but I do not regret my choices. Richard needs to learn where these stories originate, and he does so through the literary and linguistic precursors of our English culture, myths, and traditions. Walk, then run.
Onward,
M.
Hello again:
Another chapter has been posted. Enjoy!
-Matt
Hello everyone:
Once again, thank you for your support. It's obvious that I am not going to make my pre-order goal, but I will continue to upload chapters until my Inkshares campaign comes to an end. If you would like a PDF of the full novel before then, send me an email.
I will likely look into self-publishing options after Inkshares. If any of you have experience with the self-publishing industry--successes, frustrations, dire warnings--I'd love to hear from you.
Best,
M.