Baby's First Real Rewrite

I like to think that I am continuing to grow as a writer. My first few books were put out into the world after a couple of fixes. I used the feedback from the rare beta readers who actually got back to me. This is a continuing issue.

I should write something about needing to sell books to have the funds to properly edit my books so that they sell... That's a rant for another time.

Anyway. I've been made aware that all of my books-in-waiting need more than a little joosh. I'm beginning with the one I just finished writing - A Devil's Tale. A six-book epic about how the life of one Unwelcome Person can change the world for the better. In spite of all obstacles in the way.

And yes, I will make you cry about this prickly asshole with an entire chip shop on his shoulder.

But first, I have to give his immediate associates a little depth. This was revealed to me when the read-through group I created told me they couldn't tell which of his crew was which. There was also some discussion about the holes in the narrative.

So now I'm making a six-book epic with literally hundreds of chapters even longer. Don't fret. Each chapter is relatively short. It's just that book one is going to be one shit of a tome.

On the plus side, there will be real characters and alternate perspectives on the world my main character exists in. I can only hope that the pure chonk of the first book will not deter my audience.

Because there's a great push for illiteracy in this world, these days. Schools available for the less advantaged have less and less to work with. Teaching methods are promoted that don't actually teach. There's an enormous amount of vocality about how things should be written [see my previous rant about Fiction Purists] or how they only read the dialogue, or they're only there for "the spice". And there's a huge glut of video 'books' with utterly toxic relationships [in the midst of high-school level drama] sold as 'romance'.

...not to mention the huge amount of people stuck in their nostalgia for a series of children's books written by an openly out TERF. One who has politician-buying money and uses it to make people's lives miserable at best, and impossible at worst.

None of those things is how I want to be as a writer.

I want readers who read. Who ask questions, go diving down rabbit holes, and learn about weird and interesting things. I want readers who correct me about things I may or may not have got wrong about things I put in the book. I want people to make long-form video essays about my horseshit. I want people who will be inspired to create.

At least in my opinion, it's creation that makes humans Human. Art and invention is how we can improve the world. Even if it's just for a small escape from the shit sandwich life has given us. And yes, it's hard work. A great many of the good things happen from hard work. Quite a large amount of bad things happen as a result of laziness. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Just like I'm sticking with making this huge sextology into a better work of fiction.