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Creatures of the in-between
I’m feeling deflated. Chapter 19 is a mess. Chapters 20, 21, 22, and 23 are better, but choppy, and too much is going on in this novel. Plus there’s still so much I haven’t even gotten to in this read-through, including entire subplots.
Oh well. At least I have a warm purring cat on my stomach.
The Unheired Prince:
There are only four of them. Possibly witches or demons. They have him in some kind of state of suspended animation, floating upside down in the mouth of the cave.
I have to figure out what they are so I can protect myself against them. If they can incapacitate him like this, they may be able to do the same to me. Not if they’re witches, the center of my power is all off from what they’d expect. But creatures of the in-between will be trickier to deal with. How did they find him?
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What possible objection could you have?
Rather than edit specific chapters, I’ve been clicking through scenes on my computer. Not sequential scenes, just whatever I happen to land on. There was a stretch of time when I added so much so quickly that there are scenes I don’t remember the specifics of. The broad strokes, yes, but not the details. It’s an interesting feeling.
For the Unheired Prince:
“I’ll send in the third battalion.”
“Pardon?”
“The third battalion. I’ll send them to retrieve the prince.”
“No.”
He raises his eyebrows, barely bothering to look at me, “What possible objection could you have?”
The speed with which he’s switched to casual disdain is remarkable. We’ve worked side by side for years, and now that he knows what I am he no longer respects me. “The soldiers in the third battalion can be killed. I can’t be. I won’t risk unnecessary loss of life.”
“You have no idea what odds you’d face in a solo effort. Just because you can’t be killed doesn’t mean he can’t be.”
“We have no idea the odds anyone would face. I will assess the situation covertly and then decide whether to proceed on my own or with reinforcements.”
He shakes his head, still dismissive. “If you’re seen or caught they’d only increase security and make the battalion’s job more difficult.”
“You seem to be under the mistaken impression that this is open to debate. It’s not. As soon as we leave this room, I am the prince and you are the prince’s
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Just to start another one
I edited Chapters 15, 16, 17, and 18. Chapter 18 was super short. Shhhhh. Don’t tell anyone.
None of these chapters are bad. But there are so many of them and this part of the novel is so meandering. Very real life, where things don’t just happen in a straight line, but maybe it’s too real life to work for fiction.
Still on the Unheired Prince lark:
I wish I could just leave. Go get the prince, die, and be done with it all. But since they think I’m the prince, my seeming disappearance wouldn’t go over well. And with all these foreign dignitaries here, accusations would spew. I didn’t persevere through this war just to start another one. I’m going to have to tell them. My – no, the prince’s – chief advisor, to start with.
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They need never know about me
I’ve considered, on and off, changing the tone of my novel’s ending to something more hopeful. Of course, the name “The Way of Attrition” might not be as accurate then, and the ending I have has lasted all the years I’ve been writing this novel, so I guess we’ll see. I have part of the more hopeful ending written, so it’ll exist in some form either way, even if it ends up being in an alternative writer’s universe.
More for the Unheired Prince:
I can’t be killed. Well, I can be killed, but only by the prince. Since he’s not functional, I essentially can’t be killed. That was the whole point of this arrangement. The whole point of my existence.
I should be able to find, rescue, and bring him home. The people can crown their true leader. Now that the war is over, there’s no reason for him to remain in isolation. No one outside the circle of royal advisers need know he was ever gone. They need never know about me.
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Alive and comatose
Chapters 12, 13, and 14 have me feeling like my novel’s in pretty good shape. I’m sure chapters 15, 16, etc. will have me sure it needs a lobotomy. (Now’s a great time for a laughing/crying emoticon.)
The Unheired Prince:
When the connection goes cold it terrifies me. He’s not dead; I would know it if he were dead, but he’s worse than unconscious. I can follow my link to him. Should I go now or wait to see if he gets himself out of whatever situation he’s gotten himself into?
But how can he get himself out if he’s worse than unconscious?
Then there’s the coronation. Having it without him was one thing when he was alive and well. Having it without him when he’s alive and comatose, or whatever he is, well, it makes my stomach twist.
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I’ve ever known
While editing Chapters 9, 10, and 11 of Part Two, I experienced the full creative spectrum, from “this isn’t so bad,” to “this is great,” to “this sucks,” and back again. Yay.
Sticking with the Unheired Prince:
“Stay,” the prince says.
“I don’t understand.”
“I could use an advisor.”
“But we would always be linked.”
I’ve gotten used to it, he whispers in my head.
I can’t say the same because it wasn’t something for me to get used to. It’s all I’ve ever known.
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Then it’s like I can’t stop hearing them
Today, I watched the Star Trek: Voyager episode Nemesis. I have to say it’s one of the best of the series so far. It has a twist that I should have seen coming, but I didn’t, and it flipped the episode on its head. It’s the epitome of Star Trek in its message. Very well done.
I think I may have come to the end of Don’t Bleed blurbs, like my next step would really be to just put the blurbs in chronological order, outline the story where it stands right now, and then write it. If only I weren’t trying to get through editing my novel and making a decision on its general length / whether it’s bloated.
So where does that leave me with my little creative foray of the day? I’m not sure. Maybe with the Unheired Prince story of here and here, for the same blurb treatment.
“Get up.”
When I don’t react, he says it again. “Get up.” Then, “Don’t kneel before me.”
I stand, but keep my head bowed and gaze lowered. Is it better to look death in the face? I don’t know.
“I won’t do it.”
It’s like I don’t understand the words at first, and then it’s like I can’t stop hearing them.
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Like getting murdered by myself
Chapters 7 and 8 of Part Two, edited! Only 300+ pages to go. Then will be the fun of making the call on whether I need to trim a lot of the novel, or just a little.
Shifting away from Don’t Bleed, this is related to the First Sentence about a coronation that can’t take place:
They created me out of blood and sacrifice, desperation and fear. A powerful combination, and one that can only be broken by the first of those. My blood, my sacrifice, at the hands of the one they linked me to. In a way, it will be like getting murdered by myself.
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That we have it without you?
The last twenty four hours did not go as planned. Rather than dwell on that, I’m going to focus on how I will begin editing my novel (again). Tomorrow I have plans with a friend so Saturday is my day to embark on this new leg of my odyssey.
(As a side note, Ianta just came and planted herself between me and my iMac).
In honor of the best laid plans, I present today’s First Sentence:
“Can’t? What do you mean you can’t?”
“It’s a really simple word. Surely you don’t need me to define it?”
“It’s your coronation. You picked the day. Representatives from over 200 nations are already here. What are you proposing? That we have it without you?” He speaks each word slowly, as if I’ve suddenly become hard of understanding.
“I’m suggesting we tell them the truth.”
“And what is the truth? Why can’t we have your coronation tomorrow?”
“Because I’m not the true heir.”