The Future of Draigtir

A shadowy figure approaches the microphone. He reaches up and taps it once, twice, three times as a puff of dust coalesces around him. And then, he speaks.

"Is this thing on?"

The Heraldry of Clan Drexallius, a Dra'skar Clan living in the Dragonspine Mountains

When last I posted, I intended to post a week later, but as you can see it has been almost two months since my last post here on this blog! There's a few reasons for this. The first? January was what I like to call my "lost month." A lot of things happened in January, and it either rhymed with "show" or "ick." Which is to say we had on again off again snow and I was sick. Well, when I say sick, there's a specific meaning I have to it.

I have a good immune system, so when I get something, usually it bounces off me. At worst, when it comes to stomach flus or the likes, I'll get it for 24 hours, maybe it will bring out some gross symptoms, and then I'm good to go. Not so this time. I had what appeared like a cold, I still don't know what it was, but it kept me up every night for almost a week, I wasn't sleeping, and I was constantly filled with horrible congestion, a soar throat, and a pretty stuffed up nose. It lingered, and it lingered some more.

Then, once I got over it, I did the most natural thing for me. I got back to writing. When I don't feel well, I don't write much, I don't do a lot that could be considered productive. I barely game, and when I do play games when I'm not feeling well, it's usually the kinda game that doesn't require a ton of thought, but it keeps me distracted from the fact I feel gross and snotty.

So, writing. As of right now I am on Chapter 19 of my story edit, also known as draft 2. Now what is a story edit? There are a lot of ways to describe it, including much better professional ways. For me, I call it a story edit because I'm filling in the blanks. That first draft was FUN to write, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't corners I cut in getting to the meat and potatoes of the story. Some of those corners I willfully cut, because I didn't have the ideas at the time and I told myself I'd revisit in the edits. Other corners were unintentional.

So for example. One of my point of view characters, his name is Callian, is the prince of a realm, and has a father who has high expectations of him. In the first draft, he is portrayed as an only child, but I realized as I planned my edit, that part of his arc includes conflict within his royal family. As I went through and started the edit of his first chapter, I realized he wasn't an only child, he has two siblings. Callian has a younger brother who not only is not like Callian and is far more studious and stern, he's also extremely bookish and not like what his father expects either. He also has a younger sister who takes after his rebellious spirit, questioning authority, pushing the boundaries, and because she's the youngest, she's able to get away with it!

These are fun changes! Another change is one I might have mentioned in an earlier post: Renwyn, a character who spends his time protecting Avery Valehart, another one of our point of view characters, is no longer a point of view character. He is important to the plot, but I realized his POV chapters were taking away from Avery's story, and let's be clear, the arc these two are a part of are Avery's arc, not Renwyn's. It made sense then to demote him for this. That isn't to say he's not important, but he's not a main character.

So yeah, the story edit. Fun fact. Where am I in Book 1 compared to Draft 1? Chapter 19 in Draft 2, is effectively Chapter 15 in Draft 1. I am adding more than I am subtracting, and that is daunting. Most people are trimming in their edits, but this is a big story edit. I'm rewriting, I'm grammar checking, I'm using grammar programs to catch overuse of the way certain sentences start, and I'm really just plugging away.

So what comes next? Well, once this is done, and I don't know when that will be, but once this edit is done, I will likely reach out to friends, family, and people I know and know of in the creative space to get some alpha readers. I want my book torn apart, plot holes poked at, worldbuilding questioned, and quite honestly, I want all the feedback on how rotten the story is - obviously I'll take praise too, but I want the harsh truth. I want the harsh truth so I can make sure the story works. And after I implement allllll the feedback I get, I'll finally shell out the money, and likely hire an editor to go through and I'll do a full developmental edit, since this is my first novel that I'm truly trying to get finished.

But, some other things of note. I have contacted and booked a cover designer! That is going to be awesome. In September, regardless of where I am in the process, there will be a cover! I cannot wait to see what it ends up being. You can bet your behinds that I'll be making a post about that! (Unless of course, I end up trying trad, then I might keep it under wraps, but I'm probably going full indie on Book 1.)

Finally, let's talk about some upcoming things. A world map is almost complete, well, a map of Draigtir. Will there be future changes to it when it is finished? That's always possible if in the end, readers are unsatisfied with some of the world building. But as it stands, I'm extremely happy with the map, and after a few odds and ends are finished on it, I'll be spotlighting the map and editing the site to reflect it's presence, and I may drop a few world building blurbs to tide anyone over who is interested!

As for future writing projects in this world, I am going to go through the process of having some readers critique my Dragonspawn short story, and I will begin the full editing process of that story afterwards! I do plan on uploading Dragonspawn for free on the site when the time comes, and I hope it's a story that intrigues people and gets them interested in the land of Draigtir!

I am also going to begin another short story set in Draigtir, but it will actually be less of a proper story, and more of a "short story told through the lens of a scholar's research." It will be titled Dragon Philosophy and the Wonderings of a Wandering Wyrm. It's a mouthful, but I have some ideas that I think will be both really fun storytelling from the perspective of a bookish ordinary citizen in the world talking about the most awe inspiring creatures in the world, while at the same time being a fun world building device! Dragon Philosophy and the Wonderings of a Wandering Wyrm is going to be a fun little whimsical look at dragons, how they think, and how all the different kinds of species of dragon are related.

Final thoughts before I finish here. 2025 is here, and it's kind of been a rough start, though I'm sure some people are going to disagree and think it's the greatest thing ever. Just know, if you are worried, if you are feeling unsure, or even afraid of the future, you aren't alone. These are uncertain times indeed.

And now, signing off! Next week, or perhaps, later this week, I will have another post for you, but this time, rather than talking about my world or my process, I'll give some thoughts on the genre, some of the books I've read or been reading, and some insights I have on happenings within the fantasy and writing communities, for good or for ill!

Stay tuned!