Demosthenes: Blog

That's the current word count for Longshot, the erotic SF novel I'm writing. It's still significantly short of where the story probably needs to be: at this point, I'm guessing that the length of the final manuscript will be closer to 150,000 words, making it three times the size of anything I've previously published on SOL.

Progress on the work is slow in part because I'm trying to take particular care with phrasing and structure. I feel that I've truly begun to appreciate the many ways a sentence can be re-built to provide the same information with a very different emphasis, how altering one word here and another there can make a phrase more expressive and compelling.

The other aspect that's slowing things down is the fact that the novel takes place over 300 years, making it much more complex than anything I've written previously.

As always, I'll keep interested readers updated; I'm still aiming to start publishing the first chapters here during the Northern Hemisphere summer.

I've just reposted several chapters of Resonance to correct the story's few remaining typographic and spelling errors. While the mistakes were fairly subtle (a few incorrectly closed curly quotes, the occasional confusion between it's and its), I know too well how a single typo can destroy the joy of reading. When I have the chance, I'll do the same to Substitute and my other stories.

Work on Longshot continues. I don't follow the practice of "first draft, then edit": for me the editing process is continuous process as I grow a story. My current estimate is that the final manuscript will top out at 120,000 words, making it a large novel: when I do finish, it will certainly the most complex and ambitious work I've ever posted on SOL.

Work progresses: the sequel to Substitute continues to develop, currently standing at 16,000 words. Substitute was the equivalent of a TV bottle episode: two characters thrown into an intense situation at a single location over the course of a week. Additive is far more complex, developing its plot over several months in different cities: it's much closer to Resonance in scope, and will probably end up at around the same size, approximately 50,000 words.

I'm really surprised at my investment in a sequel so close to the publication of the first story, but I'm very much enjoying the opportunity to explore the characters of Violet and Adam in greater depth. Additive is providing me with the chance to explore the narrative possibilities of a "semi-realistic," incest story between consenting adults, and the complexities and secrets tied up therein. I don't yet have an expected finish date for Additive, but I'll let readers know as it gets closer.

I'm also working on customizing my SOL homepage using CSS: more on that in the very near future.

I believe I am good at crafting stories with compelling opening lines. What I'm not good at is wrapping them up in neat, tidy narrative bows: most of my stories have their ending left open to interpretation and / or the possibility of a sequel.

After posting the final chapter of Substitute it was my intention to move on to completing my novel, but reader feedback on the story ("Is that it? What happens next?") and my affection for the characters have compelled me to immediately start working on the sequel, which currently stands at 8000 words.

I've also started a list of my favourite stories on SOL, for readers who may be interested in authors and works I admire.

With Chapter 13 posted, the story of Violet and Adam's unique relationship comes to a close for now. I'm very pleased that I was able to complete something in 2018, even if the story's serialization was interrupted by work and illness.

I have the outline and a few scenes of a sequel to Substitute written, tentatively titled Additive, but I intend to leave that story on the back burner for now. Instead, my focus will move to completing the first draft of Longshot, my SF novel, with the goal of publishing it on SOL over the (Northern hemisphere) summer of 2019.

Of course, plans may change - I'm also working on Helots, a story set in the same universe, together with a half-dozen other stories - but Longshot is the most nearly complete, and I'd dearly love to have it out in the world.

To the many readers who have expressed support for my writing efforts in their messages and votes, my sincere thanks. I wish everyone who visits SOL a safe and happy season, and look forward to seeing you all next year.