Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire

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Word count -- ASHES OF HONOR.

Words: 9,843.
Total words: 48,180.
Reason for stopping: I have finished chapter twelve. Now is the time of sleeping.
Music: mostly Pink, Dar Williams, and Ludo. Still.
The cats: Alice, demanding I stop typing and love her. Others, unknown.

...well, that happened. And yes, the temptation to write just another two hundred words and break the 10k barrier was very strong. I have suppressed it by reminding the little voice that asks for such things that we're on track to break 50k on Wednesday (I get Tuesday nights off), and that's pretty damn awesome. Ashes of Honor is projected to be "average length" for a Toby book, which means between 101,000 and 112,000 words. Probably somewhere in the middle. So hey, I have almost half a book! Woo-hoo!

In the text, I can say without spoilers that Toby and Quentin have reached Tamed Lightning, and everything is going about as well as can be expected at this stage in a Toby book. So I get to have April O'Leary-flavored goodness for at least five minutes before everything goes to hell.

Finding the balance between "look, if you're reading book six in the series, I really hope you've read the first five" and "previously, on October..." is fascinating, and incredibly difficult. Every book, I get people who complain that there's too much back story, and people who complain that there's not enough; I have to find the ragged edge between them and skate along it like my life depends on it. I think I'm getting better at it, but there's so much background now that it's still occasionally very hard.

I'm making my goals; the book is moving along at a decent clip; while there will doubtless be extensive rewrites and at least one crying jag, I expect to have a finished first draft by the end of October.

Yay.
Tags: ashes of honor, being productive, toby daye, word count
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  • 21 comments
Yay, you!
SEANAN SEANAN SEANAN I HAVE ONE SALT SEA RIGHT HERE

I got the phone call this morning to say it was in at the bookstore, and even though I was only working a half-day it was the longest. wait. EVER. until the end of my shift.

It's a gorgeous spring day here so I'm going to sit in the sunshine, possibly with one or more of my own cats, and read until my eyes fall out.
Yaaaaaay!
You just need to write a 'companion' for each book which summarises the previous ones *g*. Or you could do like in old SF movies and stop the action for 10 minutes while the professor explains to the journalist and the girl the difference between a star and a planet...

Actually, I think you do it as smoothly as I've seen and better than the majority, it is indeed a very tricky path to walk with a sheer cliff on one side and a thousand foot drop on the other.
it is indeed a very tricky path to walk with a sheer cliff on one side and a thousand foot drop on the other.

WORD.
Yay! Especially since I finished One Salt Sea last night. (And now I'm stuck waiting again.)

I don't get people who complain about backstory in a series. If it's info you already know, scan past it for petesakes. It's not there for you - it's there for people who came in late to the game. And if you scan past it, you get to the really awesome stuff quicker. Sheesh.
Exactly. I mean, I don't enjoy writing it, for the most part, but not everyone rereads the whole series before a new volume, y'know?
I'm very glad the next book is going so well. One Salt Sea Arrived in the post this morning(it looks like I'm getting no sleep tonight!), and is rocking a Tiger bookmark in honour of your Ginormous Kitty-Kats.. :D
It's also nice as the series grows and I can't reread all the books before the next one comes out. So some level of 'remember this person/place?' acts as a memory jog.
Exactly.
I hope the crying jag is optional.
Probably not, but I built in time for it. :)
Turned 3 new people onto the Toby books in the last week, and this post reminds me of something I just said to one of them. "There are parts in some of the first books that may feel a but crowded, but trust me - EVERYTHING is there for a reason. It will be explained or payoff - it may be 2-3 books later, but it will".
YAY!

Thank you!
I'm glad Toby and Quentin are going back to Tamed Lightning. (Depending on what happens there, they might not be.) ALH is a fascinating company and April's a great character. Forgive me if you've already mentioned it, but is Ashes of Honor a sequel to A Local Habitation?

I think you have the perfect balance between backstory and assuming people have already read the previous books. We the readers need little reminders sometimes, but we don't need a complete rehash.
Nope. There are no direct sequels in this series, as yet.
Good to know, thanks. :-)
"I expect to have a finished first draft by the end of October."

I'm sure I speak for many gathered here when I say: I trust "the end of October" will not come until long, long after the *completion* of this particular book! =:o}

Fret ye not. We'll read it whenever it arrives, with gratitude and joy.
(P.S.: Is waiting with much stomache-churning for the mega-huge overtime-boosted pay-day imminent on Thursday, 'cos it enables buying of several books. You and Zander and Ben Aaronvitch, you all have much in common this week. =:o} )
Thank you. :)