Better Than Blood & Soul?

Isn’t that what you’re supposed to aim for? Honing your craft? Improving your skills? Being better? I think the only “flaw” with Blood was the later than the average first plot point which, wasn’t really that late. I had a lot of set-ups to do. And as the Amazon and Goodreads reviews show Blood really gets going at 30%. The complexity of laying the groundwork falls away and a fast paced story emerges with moments of depth and relevance along with harrowing battle and fight scenes. It rises in urgency, stakes, mystery, and tension until the climax on a mountain top in a bloody sword fight as everything is on the line. “The guy in the review said Blood had all the ingredients of a blockbuster epic.”

How can I beat that? If you want an awesome story you need strong structure for the lynch pins and hinge points to even approach greatness. It can’t be done half-heartedly. You can’t phone it in. Your effort needs to be front and center when you sit down and crack your knuckles.

I would not admit it to anyone but I had doubts if I could top Blood & Soul. In the last few weeks, Oblivion is growing into a top shelf piece of work. I have no doubt Out of Oblivion will be a great book. Deactivating Facebook and other social media gave me a huge shot of energy and focus. It’s paying off far more than I expected. I’m truly excited about the potential.

I’m learning so much about what it takes for me to write a book under severe time constraints. That is huge. I know what mistakes I made early on with Oblivion. I will not make those mistakes with future writings.