Friday Updates! (Week of 2/3/2023) (Patreon)

Hooray. 7am EST tomorrow book 3 starts going out.

Please remember, these are structured as novels, so we'll have some reintroduction and setup for the plot of the book.

So, the end of book 2 had two really short chapters, so we're going ahead by a chapter to make up for that. Chapter 58 is the first chapter that switches perspective, but it had to happen to set up the events of book 3. I don't plan on making any other POV swaps unless it is absolutely necessary, and will likely only happen at the end of a novel to set up events for the next book. Essentially, they're a teaser for the "big event" of the next book.

Speaking of writing a slice of life novel, as someone who loves writing books with a lot of moving parts, this is especially important to me. The "Bridge of Shadows" short story was the first thing I wrote for the Newt and Demon that really helped me connect with the universe. Everything fell into place for me after I understood Fenian's motives. After that, I understood Miana, Theo, Khahar, The Harbinger. Everyone.

The theme of the books going forward is going to be a slight expansion of influence. In Book 3, we'll see Broken Tusk helping their neighbors (Rivers and Daub, and Gronro-Dir). Book 4 will center around adjacent landmasses, such as the lizard-islands to the south and Veosta to the west. Then we'll look east to the Khahari desert (and beyond), then east to Tarantham in book 5. That's my current plan, anyway. These things tend to get away from me.

I said above that I like a lot of moving parts, so I'll explain my process. I'm a panstser, so I don't have anything plotted out on paper. The moment something hits paper, I hate changing it. So when I plan something out in advance, and it doesn't fit the story, I cannot work with what I wrote. So, it lives in my head. To combat this problem, I take extensive notes on each chapter I write. I put little empty checkmarks next to things that could become a plot in the future, then I just scroll through that file. Well, that's how it works if I forget the plot. Otherwise, it just lives in my head.

Down to the nuts and bolts of this story. I have chapters to post here through March, and I wanted to go off and work on another story in February. Something clicked with book 3, and I just haven't been sleeping. I just write this story now, and have blasted past my expected writing. I have 31 chapters written, and want to wrap up the current "middle" of the book before I put it down for a while. They're structured in a weird, modified 3-act story with a light 3rd act and a long 1st act. So "middle" is a weird term. It's the middle of the second act, but it goes on for a while.

I feel like book 3 takes the same approach concerning time as the previous ones. It starts on day 49 of the season of blooms (SOB). Chapter 31 takes place on SOB61, so it's a decent pace with time. I'm more happy with this one than the others I've written. I think it's a miracle anyone wants to keep reading after book 1, but I thank you for staying with me.

I've said this before, but I'll say it again. The Newt and Demon was an experiment. It was going to die after chapter 20-something of book 1 until amazing supporters like you came along. I put my butt in gear after that and pressed on, finding those threads of interesting plot I buried under the veneer of Slice-of-Life and pushed forward. We're here because of YOU. Yeah, you. The person reading this. The human attached to a computer, or a phone, processing words with your brain. Thank you. I mean it. THANK YOU. If a meteor falls from the sky and I get isekai'd tonight, I'll have a wholesome story to leave behind. Not a story about a young master trying to one-up everyone around him, but a story about a guy trying to improve the lives of everyone around him. Someone who can see beyond that thin veneer we all put up. A guy who will always see the best in people, even when others don't.

We're all Broken Tuskers at our cores. Thank you for following Theo down on his path. Please join me as we push forward. And to the people who made it this far in my rambling nonsense. Hey. I see you. How's it going?