Rynling R&D

The conceit for my Wizard Detective Fhiad stories is that Fhiad goes out into the world and investigates mysteries while occasionally writing to Agnes, who sits in the wizard university library and reads.

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The moral of this particular story is that: (a) necromancy is bad; and (b) I’ve got it down bad for lesbian MILFs.

At a certain point I realized that, if my art posts are only going to get one or two notes, then it doesn't matter if they're perfect. I can draw whatever I want. It can be messy, and that's fine. I can be self-indulgent and draw backgrounds filled with mistakes. That's okay actually.

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Although I haven't quite finished the final chapter, I'm going back to the beginning of An Unfound Door to start the second-pass editing.

I didn't keep any sort of progress record, but I seem to remember that I got the idea for this novel in late August 2022. I wrote the first eight chapters in a flash between September and October 2022 before running out of steam. I then wrote five more chapters in October and November of 2023 before returning to the novel in earnest in April of this year.

In other words, it's been something of a fractured process. I was therefore worried that the early chapters would have no bearing on the more recent chapters.

Thankfully, everything that needs to be in the first three chapters is there. The two main characters have distinct voices and personalities, and their motivations are clear. The setting and background conflicts are introduced with enough detail to be interesting but still mysterious. All of the important characters are briefly mentioned by name, and their relationship to the two primary characters is clear. Two of the main fantasy elements of the story that will become much more important later are also briefly mentioned, albeit subtly. The foreshadowing doesn't draw attention to itself. The language is evocative without being flowery, and the two main characters have good chemistry. Also, if I do say so myself, the opening hook is original and compelling.

At 7,500 words, these three chapters present a self-contained narrative arc that will make a strong first thirty pages. Obviously it's not up to me to determine whether this project is viable, but hopefully it checks all the boxes that an agent would be looking for in the initial inquiry package.

Oh no he's hot. 😳

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The errant knight Caelif rides to Faloren Castle from the south. Through Caelif’s eyes, the reader sees the castle city, which was once grand but has fallen into decline. Caelif enters the castle and is greeted by Agnes’s cousin Galien, with whom he shares a professional and romantic partnership. After they sleep together, Caelif admits to Galien that he believes Fhiad to be the demon he fought and defeated. Galien assures Caelif that Fhiad is no danger to Agnes, and he confesses that he’s far more concerned with who may have abducted her in the first place.

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Fhiad reflects on the uncanniness of the empty castle as he leads Agnes to his room. The study has been preserved, but the bedroom has been overgrown by plants and flowers. Fhiad is overcome by a sense of loss, and Agnes suggests that they rest and eat before continuing. After describing Erdbhein before the war, Fhiad talks about his three sisters, all of whom were highly competent administrators. He tells Agnes that he got his talent at magic from his mother, and that his dream was to build monumental stone structures aboveground to complement the stonework in Erdbhein’s mines. While leaning on Fhiad’s shoulder, Agnes falls asleep against him as he talks.

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After crossing the outdoor courtyard of the west wing of the castle, which is filled with bones, Fhiad and Agnes enter the main library of the former magic academy. It’s in disarray, but Agnes finds a reading room that’s still in good condition. While searching the shelves, Fhiad remembers how he was seduced and betrayed by Agatha, the princess of his era. Fhiad lashes out at Agnes, who weathers his emotional storm and tells him that she’s found a book with illustrations of the three keystones needed to open the door in the courtyard. Two of these stones are in Faloren, but the third is in Erdbhein. Agnes proposes that they travel there, revealing that she has experience fighting magically preserved corpses called husks.

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Agnes and Fhiad have a brief conversation with Galien and Caelif before departing from Faloren Castle. Fhiad’s personality becomes warmer and more open as they travel across the countryside. He’s friendly to travelers, and he shares his memories of the university in Cretia with Agnes. In the evenings, Agnes stretches and practices the sword forms that she learned from Mylah, who left the castle shortly after Fhiad’s arrival and hasn’t returned since. On the first night after they enter the northern forest, Fhiad watches Agnes practice and confesses that his magic won’t be useful against what they’ll face in Erdbhein. He asks that Agnes remember him as human before transforming himself into a boar.

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I guess I’m back to writing these chapter summaries. It feels a bit odd to be the only person in my own fandom, but someone’s got to do it.

Lucida Sidera hasn't opened applications yet, but I've been thinking about what stories I'd like to pitch them.

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All three of these pieces would fit nicely into 1,500 words, but they also seem like the sort of stories that wouldn't get any hits or kudos on AO3. I need to think about how to give these pitches more punch, and I also need to think about what to use as my writing samples.

And finally, I should probably set up a portfolio on Carrd. I've been putting this off, but I think it's time. For my icon, I might just use the portrait of Agnes that the zine's promo artist, Allison McKenzie, created for me. I'll probably never get An Unfound Door published; but if I do, I'm going to have to figure out a better way to describe it than to say "this is fanfic about a Final Fantasy game that I wanted to make when I was younger."

It’s not quite a beat sheet, but I wrote an updated chapter outline for An Unfound Door. It’s going to have 24 chapters and around 65,000 words, which is a solid first novel and perfect for the YA category. Also... that means I’m already 1/3 done!

I’m thinking about changing the way I write to try to get rough drafts of the remaining chapters out as quickly as possible. I can worry about editing and chapter summaries and #WIPWednesday preview graphics later. In the meantime, I’m not sure I can pull off 2,000 words a day, but I can aim for 1,000.