Everyone’s working on an epic fantasy these days, it seems. You can add me to that list!
Work on the epic fantasy novel is going well, dare I say it. For anyone curious, I have passed the 30,000 word mark in just over two months (not including the months spent outlining and character creating). For me that is a pretty good milestone and I’m aiming for 60,000 words altogether. It could be longer than that, or it could be a little shorter. As some have said in other articles focusing on fantasy lately, it will be as long as it needs to be for the story to come to a satisfying conclusion.
Taking a hiatus from horror has refreshed me artistically. Arguably, I should have focused on the epic fantasy story long ago, but the extra time has allowed the story and world to brew in my mind, and I think I have a greater grasp on the land and its peoples. I don’t want to talk too much about specifics in case it leeches my ambition with this project, but I’ve finished up the world map (or as much of the world as the current story needs) and also done a few sketches of different characters, debating on illustrations for chapter headings. I like the nostalgic feeling of illustrations, and when I put pen to paper the other night the characters and places seemed to flow easily into reality.
As far as technique goes, I’ve jumped around a lot as I work my way through the first draft. I have part of the finale started, and most of the beginning done. There are bits in the middle, and I’m now getting to know the antagonists better. Working this way is fun, and it allows me to plant seeds in the beginning of my book based on what comes later. I hope the revelations are as interesting to my readers as they were to me! The story is still surprising me, and I’m a believer that it is the type of fantasy that I have been looking for but just couldn’t find. Those are usually the projects that pull my attention and don’t let go until they’re done.
I hope to have more updates as I work away. No release date or anything like that planned, but there will be more news on the horizon. This will absolutely be a self-contained story with the possibility of others down the line. You won’t have to read three books to get to the ending of this story! I made sure of that with my outline because the thought of doing three books right off the bat is too scary for me! I still have The Spectre to finish up, after all.
So, there you have it. What better thing to occupy your mind with than a fantasy world that takes your mind away from your normal life? I can only imagine what it was like for JK Rowling as she tinkered on her massive world, as well as many other great fantasy writers. Time to get back to that notebook!
Franklin Kendrick 