Adventure Time!
Because apparently, I do follow a beat and rhythm.
The biggest struggle I have had is going from how I am used to writing, to the way I am ‘supposed’ to write. Plus, I am doing this on my own trying to gather people around me that will give me honest feedback that explains the whys of how something is incorrect, with examples. There are days I feel like I am walking through a wasteland dying of thirst and no one is offering me water when I pass by them. Anyways…
This whole ‘write to market’ bs. And yes, I am calling it that because that rubbish mentality is how we got 50 Shades of ERP, Starving for Story Games and don’t even get me started on the Mormon Sparkle Mosquito books.
Nowadays I read a lot of the new stuff going ‘what the heck, I’m bored’. Now I get it, culture shifts and all that, people don’t think they have time to read a book. But you can, there are ways to work in a chapter or two, if you were minded to make a small change here and there.
So here is my breakdown of the first chapter of the story. I can’t justify calling it a ‘novel’ yet lol.
Archivist Chronicle — Chapter One (Beat Outline)
(Working Draft)
Theme: The cost of beauty, the shaping of a weapon.
Beat 1 – The City Above (Goal: establish contrast)
Ka’fo: alabaster spires, mosaics, gardens, shipyards, markets.
Beauty on the surface, decadence in every stone.
Goal: Show the audience the mask of grandeur.
Beat 2 – The Cost Below (Goal: reveal truth)
Shift into the warrens: cells, training arena, filth.
Children as stock, raised in violence.
Goal: Contrast surface beauty with hidden cruelty.
Beat 3 – Avonus in the Arena (Goal: character anchor)
Eight years old, beaten and mocked, but endures.
Plays dead to survive; learns cunning under brutality.
Ippolito looms as enforcer.
Goal: Ground the reader in Von’s resilience and vow.
Beat 4 – The Inspection (Goal: raise stakes)
Shrill summons, slaves lined in rows.
Manager announces a “special day.”
Von singled out → dread, not reward.
Goal: Show the system’s cruelty and Von’s isolation.
Beat 5 – The Pivot (Goal: break monotony)
Bath: cold water, rough hands, clean clothes.
The whisper: Something like you.
Chained and led away; falls onto carpet, heart racing.
Goal: End the chapter on disruption — Von’s path shifts from stock to education, setting up his first tutor and new quarters.
Flow of the Chapter
Beginning: World contrast (city vs warrens).
Middle: Cycles of survival (arena → inspection).
End: Disruption (chosen, bathed, prepared for something different).
Chapter Goal: Establish the world and its cruelty, anchor Von as a survivor, and break the cycle to launch him into the next stage (education).
I know, it’s pretty cut and dry, but it shows the progression I am aiming for with this chapter. Even if it doesn’t give everything my autistic heart desires cuz ugh the devil is in the details!
Before what I would do is just write, write, write and just plop it all out. When it came time to do edits however it ended up being like dominoes. So, I decided this time around I was going to do the things one chapter at a time. Don’t do any edits aside from typos till the chapter is written out, then go back and take things out, reword things, make sure there is a beginning, middle and end that flows into the next chapter.
Is it slow? 100000000x
And believe me when I tell you I hate it SO. Damn. Muuuuuuuuuch!!!
However, it forces me to take it slow, which is necessary. I just miss the days I was writing with another person, because then I could bounce ideas, hear their thoughts, that sort of thing. Maybe I’ll have that again somewhere. I just don’t have anyone in my corner now who is a writer who I can go to for advice.
Anyways, enough of that. If you want to get in contact with me you can reach me in these places.
I hope to see you there!
:3