Sometimes, I curse the day I decided to become an epic fantasy writer. Even though I know exactly who to blame (Christopher Paolini), it’s one of those, “…in hindsight…” moments.
See, the thing is, I am very, very stubborn. I am the kind of person who says something and then–unless I absolutely feel like I shouldn’t–proceeds to find ways to get it done. It has been both blessing and bane in my life. Deciding to write epic fantasy was one of those things; before that, I mostly wrote animal fiction, which was relatively easy because the brain of a dog just goes “Food…pat on the head…SQUIRREL!” I also went through a brief phase of writing novelized manga; let’s never speak of those days again.
As an indie published author, the odds are already stacked against me as it is. I have a regular, already very-challenging day job, so I’ll write blog posts in advance, convene with my publishing team, do marketing, edit, and of course, write, in my spare time. Which is–between said day job and kids–comes down to about 3-4 hours a day at most.
But writing epic fantasy also means that I spend an extraordinary amount of time just thinking about this world. I almost automatically do that if my thoughts wander away from municipal/industrial engineering (usually during bathroom or yawning breaks), though it comes with the fear that I’ll accidentally write my character’s names while laying out construction specifications.
The thing is, the only way to truly create a believable world is if the writer is immersed in it. I remember freaking out that the wrong cities were mentioned in a couple of sentences in the first draft I sent my publisher; those are the kind of errors that tend to fall on the epic fantasy writer’s shoulders alone, because the only fact-checking that occurs is in our heads. Add that to the brutal schedule facing most authors of today and it leaves us…well, more or less on the crazy side (at least, I’m convinced that’s why GRR Martin decided to go with The Red Wedding).
Yeah, I’m just being a complainy-pants today because I’m not looking forward to doing consistency edits now that the second book in The Agartes Epilogues is nearing completion. If you’re an epic fantasy fan, have a little heart. Go and hug an epic fantasy writer today.
Do you like sarcasm, drama, and lots of talking before sword fights? Do you sometimes wish your epic fantasy had more feelings? Then please support my hungry brood and give The Agartes Epilogues a try! It’s like a soap opera with dragons!
