I didn’t initially plan for writing novellas within the Sovereign Soul series. Well, not seriously, and not until quite recently did I make any serious attempt at it.
That’s changed this month! With a lot of time spent at book signings this year, a previously started novella has found new momentum, and it’ll be finished this year!
I’ve previously credited NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), for giving me the drive to finish the final drafts of my second and third books (Embers of Orden and Stormwrought). Given recent controversy surrounding the website and their support for AI-written novels, I’ve since decided to remove myself from them officially.
That said, I still believe in using the motivation, rallying authors under the pressure of a single month, to make substantial progress on writing their novels.
Before I get into the writing challenge and my goals, let me introduce my new upcoming novella: the Old Stone.
The Old Stone takes place a long time before the Sovereign Soul series starts, within the timeline of Harohto, the first world Ryoku visits. It’s split largely between two main continents, the North and South. This novella can be read without prior knowledge of the main series. Sequentially, main series readers aren’t required to read it to understand the main series.
This novella tells the story of Ruarc Ilsley, a soldier, husband, and father. While the North and South continents are at war, Ruarc has built a life worth defending. Alongside his wife Cirilla, daughter Marin, and his trusted retainers, he arrives in the coastal city of Lloider for what should be an ordinary military assignment. But when enemy soldiers breach the city’s defenses from within, questions arise about the loyalties of those entrusted with its protection.
This work will be much shorter than my main series. It is a story of war, betrayal, and the lasting consequences of loss.
Now, to get into the writing challenge details:
I’ve given myself a fairly tight window of telling the Old Stone within 200 pages, roughly 40-45k words. To keep myself writing every day, I’ve decided to write a minimum of 500 words a day. On October 21st, I was sitting at a meager 7,259 words—quite short of a novella.
As a small self-brag, I’ve also taken the challenge of formatting this novella for publication on my own!
Here’s the data as I tracked it:
- Starting Word Count: 7,259
- Oct 22: +2,595 (9,854 total)
- Oct 23: +2,358 (12,212 total)
- Oct 24: +839 (13,051 total)
- Oct 25: +665 (13,716 total)
- Oct 26: +2,822 (16,538 total)
- Oct 27: +936 (17,474 total)
- Oct 28: +1,012 (18,486 total)
- Oct 29: +1,616 (20,102 total)
- Oct 30: +2,092 (22,194 total)
- Oct 31: +270 (22,464 total) < the one day I didn’t meet goal 🫠
And getting into the official November writing challenge!
- Nov 1: +587 (23,051 total)
- Nov 2: +2,133 (25,184 total)
- Nov 3: +519 (25,703 total)
- Nov 4: +943 (26,646 total)
And today! Nov 5: +1,477 words, making a total of 28,123 words!
I failed to track my page count as I progressed, but currently, in properly formatted page numbers, we’re at 102 pages! This means that, on November 5th, I’m already sitting at over half of my intended goal. And good news—it’s on track to stay within that goal, too!
I’m still working on Sovereign Soul Book 6 while I complete this novella, which shouldn’t suffer too much from it. As a fantasy writer and a lover of long-form content, writing a succinct novella with an impactful story in under 200 pages is a substantial challenge, but it’s one I think will further my writing skills even more.
Since the Old Stone will not require reading the main series to understand, I’m also hoping to reach new audiences. The Old Stone is also through the eyes of a married man rather than Sovereign Soul’s young protagonist! While Sovereign Soul is also very dark and mature, the telling of a story through an older man’s eyes should be a new experience, both for readers of the main series and first-time visitors of my works!
I’ll be updating weekly on my numbers as the challenge goes on!
To those who read through all this, I’d love to hear from you! Any questions or thoughts about the new series? Are you a writer, and what writing practices have you undertaken to motivate yourself?
