But hey, I'm writing it too

When Lauretta Errumseld and Meline Witteroud accuse Ariane of witchcraft, who might their accomplices be? Maude Witteroud is a likely one, as is their cousin, Kathryn. Yet it is these very accusations of witchcraft that move Ariane's husband, Ferand, to resign from his position as Grand Chamberlain. And who should replace him but Kathryn's husband, Roebard Honor Delia.

Our narrator, the Count of Iszmon, believes his best method of serving his empire is to fight in military campaigns. So he takes part in the invasion of Luvia, where he distinguishes himself as one of the few peers in the army. The Emperor and Empress go on progress through the newly conquered lands, and the Count is their escort. When the Empress gives birth in Podora, the Count is present. When this Prince Henry is taken to the court at Frontton and then blessed at the Cathedral of the Star in Acrola, the Count is the obvious choice to lead the party bringing him to these places. So, it becomes obvious that the Count should be named a Guardian of the Blood, one of four men charged with the Prince's care.

I certainly do not mean for this to be the Great Big Acrola Blog, but I do intend to write a lot about my experience writing. You know how sometimes people claim that the story/characters just "wrote them/itself/ve"? That's kind of what happened in the above situations. In the former, I accidentally set up a scenario that causes my narrator to question everyone's motives and moves him to the very root of the insecurity of his family's position at court. And the latter moves the story along during some 'down years' (ie a two-year period when the plotline advances only slightly) and forces an interesting new element to the dynamic.

I spent between two and three months writing the draft to The Selfsame Chime, but I always felt like it was less than a month. Except for those last few weeks, when I was just filling in a few paragraphs and pages here and there, I was churning out pages upon pages per day, and I could not wait to clear out all obstacles so that I could write. Meanwhile, I've been working on The Indomitable Witch of Clives for two months but it seems like much longer. It's not that I'm not enjoying the writing, but rather that I am so eager for the finished product and so ignorant of what it will contain that I don't want to be bothered with silly things like writing about important events. But finally, the story has begun to write itself. Finally I am not finding it so grueling and difficult to write the 2000 words a day minimum I set for myself. It's nearing the complete length of The Selfsame Chime, and you know what? I feel like I still have a lot more to write, and finally I am excited about it.