L.G. Estrella's Blog, page 17

First Draft Complete

The first draft of Two Necromancers, a Fortress, and a Titan is complete. It measures in at roughly 125,000 words and is comprised of 14 chapters. I would expect the word count to increase significantly in subsequent drafts, which means the chapter count is also likely to increase since I will be splitting chapters up if they get too long.

So what happens now?

Now, I will be taking a short break (a week or so) from writing the story. Instead, I will work on some other writing projects that I’ve ...

Another Role Reversal (Flash Fiction Fridays #35)

“Stupid elves,” the elf girl grumbled. “So what if I have fire magic? That doesn’t make me evil. Oh, yeah, nobody complains if the other kids with water magic flood the damn village, but if I set even one leaf on fire, it’s suddenly a war crime. Screw them! I’ll find somewhere else to live. And if I can’t find another village or something, I’ll live on my own. I’m smart. I’ve got my magic too. I can do it.” The girl huffed. “I even have a bow, and I’m way better with it than all those other lose...

First Drafts For Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 Complete

The first drafts for Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Two Necromancers, a Fortress, and a Titan are complete. They add up to about 34,000 words. I’m pretty happy with the overall direction they’re going in, so I’ll wait until the first draft of the story is complete before coming back to them.

The Sheep Dragon Currently On Sale

I have been informed by my audiobook publishers (Podium Audio) that The Sheep Dragon is currently on sale, with the sale expiring Friday 28th. If you haven’t already got it, check it out!

www.audible.com/pd/1039403131

How Strong Is Katie?

This is another question that I’ve been asked quite often in the past.

Just how strong is Katie?

First and foremost, we need to acknowledge that Katie’s standards of what constitutes strong or weak are badly skewed. Due to her upbringing as a necromancer at the castle, she has developed a tendency to compare herself to Timmy or to other Grand Necromancers and their apprentices. As you can imagine, this has not led to a great deal of objectivity. Timmy is one of the most powerful and skilled necr...

So Want To Be A Grand Necromancer…

So you think you have what it takes to be a Grand Necromancer? Not so fast, kid. In the world of necromancy, people are always arguing about ranks and classifications. However, there are two titles that everyone acknowledges: Supreme Necromancer and Grand Necromancer.

The Supreme Necromancer is the mightiest necromancer in the world, a necromancer so powerful, skilled, and cunning that none may question their position at the top. To be the Supreme Necromancer is to stand above all your peers, a ...

First Drafts For Chapters 3 and 4 Done

The first drafts for Chapters Three and Four are complete. Unlike Chapters One and Two, I was pretty happy with the first drafts, so I won’t be going back until later to do a second draft. Basically, the first drafts confirmed that I was going in the direction I wanted and were able to hit all of the major plot points. They still need a lot of work since they are first drafts, but the most important ideas are all there and doing what they should be. The first draft for Chapter Three was 8000 wor...

Babysitter (Flash Fiction Fridays #34)

Jonathan woke up and found himself staring into the cold, pitiless eyes of… a guinea pig?

“Hello, Jonathan.” The guinea pig’s voice would have given the Blood Emperor a run for his money in the ‘epic and impressive’ department. “How would you like to earn some money?”

The vampire blinked. “I must be dreaming.”

The guinea pig, who was incredibly adorable despite his voice, rolled his eyes and then slapped him with one small paw.

“Hey!” Jonathan frowned. “You just slapped me.”

“And I’ll slap you a...

Second Draft of Chapter Two Complete

The second draft of Chapter Two for Two Necromancers, a Fortress, and a Titan is now complete, and I’m happy enough with it to move to the third chapter. The first draft was ~7000 words long. The second draft was ~16,000 words long. So far, I’ve been having success with a rough first draft and then immediately going back for a second/third draft. That isn’t necessarily how I work all the time, but if something is working, just keep doing. Seriously, with writing, there is no right answer. If you...

Choosing a Point of View

I have just finished writing the third draft for the first chapter of Two Necromancers, a Fortress, and a Titan. It comes in at around 7000 words. Now, you might be asking: why have I already done three drafts for the first chapter? The answer is two-fold. Having a first chapter that I’m happy with really helps give the whole story a boost, and I wasn’t sure what point of view to adopt for the first chapter.

To avoid giving spoilers away, the first chapter focuses on Timmy and Katie although the...