by Ian Fallis

Detail of beading on the collar of the dress I made

My last post begged a question.

If I made a dress to refresh myself so I could get Book 4 rewritten again, how well did that work?
Pretty well, actually.

I’ve gone through the entire manuscript of The Dwarf’s Legacy at least twice. In addition, I’ve looked at particular sections and reworked them. I’ve addressed everything that all five of my critical readers spotted, and spotted a few more things myself. I’d say the writing and editing is 95 percent done at this point.

What’s left?

• There are three specific “scenes” I think need more work, so I will go back and adjust those.
• I have given the manuscript to two of my critical readers for another check, so I am sure I’ll hear back from them soon. Another set of eyes always helps.
• After all of that is taken care of, I want to let the book “rest” for a few days, then come back and read through the entire book. I need to be sure the story flows properly and the characters are consistent. In fact, I may use part of that time to sketch out how I see a few of the key characters developing in this book, and check what I’ve written against that.

I am hoping that will result, by the end of April, in the release of Book 4, The Dwarf’s Legacy. I know, that’s two months later than expected, but the book is a whole lot better than it was in February. I’m trying to make it worth the wait.

Let me put it this way. I spent hours and hours — about 50 in all — hand-beading the dress I made. It would have been a really nice dress even without all that work; that work put it over the top, and made it truly special. That’s what I’m trying to do with The Dwarf’s Legacy.

Tags: The Dwarf's Legacy, writing

You’re still waiting for a book, and I went and made a dress.

Permit me to first clarify, it was for my wife, not me. In case you were wondering. Oh, you weren’t wondering, were you? And now you are. Wonderful. Let’s move on …

I made a dress so you can get a book.

Really.

For about a month and a half, I poured every spare hour into rewriting Book 4, The Dwarf’s Legacy. I completed that at the end of January, and passed it off to my critical readers.

And then my “day job” got hectic. I serve as a writer and editor for New Tribes Mission, and through most of February I was pouring myself into getting out the next issue of our magazine.

Then I heard back from all of my critical readers, and there was a lot of work to do. So I tried to do it. I really did. I wanted to get the fourth book to you in February, and then I was sure I could get it out in March. But nothing was working.

So I started making a dress.

You see, when I just can’t write, when I’ve “spent” all my creative writing energy, I need to recharge it. One thing I’ve found works very well is engaging in some creative endeavor totally unrelated to writing.

Like making an Elizabethan gown for my wife.

I completed the dress earlier this month, so I have now begun attacking Book 4 again with vigor, instead of slogging through it. You deserve my best writing. The series deserves my best writing. And now I’ve put myself in a position to deliver that.

It’s taking longer than I wanted it to, but, hey, I’ve still put out four books between two of George RR Martin’s books. (And that’s about all the comparison I’ll do with other authors, especially with other authors who have sold a whole stinking huge lot more books than I have. Which is actually most authors, come to think of it.)

Tags: The Dwarf's Legacy, writing