Meredith Mansfield, Author

The plan was that I’d work on the first draft of BECOME

during this month while the first draft of WAR OF MAGIC rests.

And I will be doing some of that. But the plan was also that BECOME would be the next thing I publish after completing the DUAL MAGICS series. And that might not be true.

And the reason is that there are some complexities regarding the ASCENSION series that starts with BECOME that make me want to have at least a first draft of the whole series–or at the very least the first two books–before I start publishing it.

1. The first part of BECOME, as currently written, is somewhat episodic, because it covers certain pivotal events from the childhood of the main character–both the development of his goals and the development of a relationship with his half-brother, which will be very important to the overall story. I’m writing that in chronological order, but ultimately that may not be the best way to tell the story. It might not be the best way to capture reader interest or keep the story moving. The overall story would make it easy to shift some of those episodes to flashbacks. But I won’t know how I want to handle that until I’ve gotten to that part of the story (likely in the second book, CONVERGE).
2. The overall series has three main characters, in a way. The overarching story belongs to the main character of BECOME, but his two supporters are more than just sidekicks. And they’re both younger than the main character, so they won’t even show up until the second book. And they’ll have stories of their own that intertwine with his, but are not part of his story.
3. And here’s the kicker. I really can’t come up with any way to end the first book that isn’t . . . well, not a cliffhanger, but definitely not a satisfying ending, either. The kind of ending that would make me as a reader spit tacks if the second book wasn’t already available. And I hate that as a reader. And therefore I try very hard to avoid it as a writer. If that’s in fact where this story has to end–and I’m very much afraid it is–then I want to have the second book ready for pre-order before I ever publish the first.

And all of that means that I’ll be working on a third story–a rewrite of MAGE STORM–during this month. Too, not instead of BECOME. But that will inevitably slow BECOME down.

And it’s why I spent way too much time yesterday trying to come up with a cover image for MAGE STORM. (One that, hopefully, does not include lightning this time. It’s dramatic and all, but I think I may be overdoing that particular image.)