belated posting announcement

[owlmoose]

I had enough energy last night to finish Chapter 34 and post it, but not enough to tell the world that I had done so. So those of you who care have probably read it already, but I wanted to mention it here anyway, for completeness sake.

The chapter is insanely long, about 500 words more than any other chapter in the story (and that's after I cut several hundred words -- no cutting for the sake of cutting, I found many places where it genuinely needed tightening). Most of the chapters are between 3000 and 3500; this one is over 4500. The chapter bears it, I don't find it particularly bloated, but it's not what I was expecting it to be when I planned it. Funny how that happens.

I haven't started the next chapter yet; I want to play through a bit of the game first. I hope to get the chance tonight, we'll see.

Comments

I

[kunstarniki.livejournal.com]

If it means anything, I did not find the chapter long. In fact, I have been meaning to ask you why you were worried. It read so quickly and smoothly, I was finished long before I wanted to be and am left wishing it were double the length.

You accomplished many of your intentions here, I think. Your interpretation of canonical material is, as usual, spot on - both reminding your reader of what is in the game and offering fresh insight into the meaning of incidents. It is, to my mind, one of the finest chapters in the work. So there!!

Re: I

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

I don't find it too long in and of itself, it's just out of sync with the other chapters. Almost fifteen hundred words longer than average for this particular story. Most AGL chapters are around 7 pages in MS Word; this one is over 10. I probably shouldn't care so much about consistency, but I can't help it. :)

I was really worried that just writing up canon was going to be dull, for myself and for the reader, but actually I'm rather enjoying doing it. It's fun to imagine events from Auron's point of view.

Thank you for the review. I think half the reason I chose Auron as my subject is for the sheer pleasure of writing from the POV of a character who can say lines like the one you called out!

I

[kunstarniki.livejournal.com]

Technical question on which I would appreciate your insight.

I am writing about the coeurl, Nepetu, and am changing the pronoun form in the paragraph from the 'his' to 'its' in order to reflect a change in condition. Does that sound legitimate to you? In order to clarify, I am using 'his' in the first part of the paragraph and 'its' later in the same paragraph. G-d, I am so inarticulate today!

Re: I

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

I think as long as it's clear to the reader that the change of pronoun is for a reason and not an error on the part of the writer, I think that's definitely within bounds. Consistancy being the key. As long as Nepetu is "he" in every reference up to that point and then "it" in every reference thereafter, I'd say you're safe. Does that make sense?

If you're doing this for the reason I'm guessing, I think it will be a powerful statement. And will tie in perfectly with a similar choice I made in "The Cat".

I

[kunstarniki.livejournal.com]

I thank you and think I will go with it. I have tried it both ways and this seems better for the purpose.

it's clear to the reader

I have had doubts about the intelligence of some readers after the reaction I got from one chap to "Once Upon A Time". LOL Oy vey!

[yuna-flowering.livejournal.com]

It didn't seem unbearably long to me. my chapters have been all over the place in terms of length. It just kind of depends- sometimes the story has a mind of its own :)

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

sometimes the story has a mind of its own

Don't I know it. :) Have I ever told you that this story was once intended to be much shorter? Liss would have been a framing device, at the beginning and the end, and the rest was to be a sketch of Auron's life focusing on his relationship with Arelle. Then I started writing his interactions with Kinoc and discovered how fascinating they were, and it all snowballed from there....

Ikon has commented elsewhere that the average attention span starts to flag after about four to five thousand words, and I think she's right about that. I would split any chapter that reached the 5k mark.