Thanks for taking the time to read this far! I hope you’ve enjoyed your time! This is the first book (or anything, really) I’ve written. The only things I’ve ever written and put out for the world are a couple reviews for games like 10 years ago on a site I ran with a friend. I’m still learning and growing into the way I want to write, so I appreciate everyone bearing with me!

  I wanted to put some thoughts down and reflect on Book 1. I also want to make a couple notes that might be helpful to consider in the books going forward and get some of your feedback.

  First and foremost, I want to mention that my goal with this specific trilogy (or maybe 4 books? I have the outline for the story all written, but I’m not sure specifically how many books it’ll end up being—probably 3 or 4) is to build a world that I can tell other stories in.

  Julia’s story is one I want to tell, but it’s also doing some heavy lifting to build a world that I can come back to for future stories. As such, there will likely be references to things that don’t always pay off. Actually, this story might be considered part of a founding myth or something similar in the world as it progresses.

  This is not to say I’m going to mention things for no reason and not follow-up on them. I just mean that not every obscure reference is going to be a Chekhov’s Gun that pays off later (see “The Great White Spout”). That said, things I mention in passing that don’t pay off in this story might be set up for another.

  Another important note is that I have several different “magic” systems in place for different reasons. I like having a grounded magic system with rules governing it. This would be the magic system that Julia and other characters use: the “knowledge-based” system.

  However, I also like the more Tolkien-esque magic that is larger-than-life and defies human comprehension. It’s mystical and magical in a way that’s not meant to be understood. This clash between understandable magic with established rules, and a system that’s more about vibes makes a sort of spectrum of magic in ?rune:

  <---Magic that Julia uses------------------------------Etherial, Summoning, and magic from "another" or "before" time----------------------------------Abyss stuff----->

  Left to right is more grounded/rule-based to more incomprehensible/logic defying

  To this end, there are things that will be unexplained and left to interpretation. That said, do feel free to ask questions. If it’s something I don’t want to answer, I’ll just be vague about it ;).

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  I’ve realized through writing that I really like character stuff. That’s what I’ve ended up focusing on quite a bit. Regardless of whatever else is going on in a story, it’s the characters that I latch onto, so it’s what I’ve ended up focusing on the most in my own story.

  I’d be interested to know your thoughts on the next point, which is that I’ve realized I don’t describe things a whole lot. I suspect this is due to how I read. I tend to prefer when a story gives a vague idea of what things are, and my imagination does the rest.

  As much as I love The Wheel of Time series, when Jordan starts describing every mug and carpet and the type of upholstery on the chairs in a room, I tend to start skimming. That’s not to say it’s bad, mind you. It’s just not my own preference.

  That said, I’d be interested to know if you guys think that attitude is a positive or negative. I’ve been thinking that it might be better to describe things in great detail rather than my current method of only describing things well that I think are important. It might be better to have more detail for those who want it, and those who don’t can just skim (like I do).

  Right now, those who want more detail are just shit out of luck, so I’m starting to think I might need to switch my writing to be a little more detail-oriented.

  What do you think?

  In the same vein, I also write combat to my own preference, which is mostly for efficiency. I also tend to start skimming when I read a combat scene that goes on and on and on and always has another twist and another secret weapon to be revealed.

  Again, not that that’s a bad thing—just not my preference. I tend to write combat that serves the plot first and foremost, and I don’t like to drag it out much.

  I also don’t like the trope of fighters clashing and conversing at the same time. I do a little of that, but not much. I like the idea that a fight between masters will be decided in just a few strokes.

  If you have any thoughts about what I’ve mentioned, please let me know in the comments! I’m always looking for feedback and thoughts that aren’t my own (I’ve got enough of those)!

  Here’s a fun fact in closing and as thanks for reading my rambling:

  My original outline had Braden and Julia together until the end of Book 1. It was going to be an entire book about establishing their relationship. She was going to run that advanced dungeon with the new party, and she was going to make some other relationships with people in Striton.

  As I actually started writing, I disliked Julia’s lack of agency. Granted, you could argue it’s perfectly normal and understandable for a child to not have much agency, but still. I wanted Julia to start making her own choices rather than just the ones curated for her, so I pushed her out of the nest!

  If you could vote in the poll below, I would appreciate it! I’ll be going back and cleaning up Book 1 as well as continuing to write Book 2. Those will be happening regardless, but I’m curious which you’d prefer I focus on.

  Again, they’ll both be happening. The poll is more like, which task do you want 70% of my focus on while 30% is on the other?

  Should I focus on writing Book 2 or cleaning up/editing Book 1?