Writing and ranting discussion

So I'm writing a Christian medieval allegory called The Mercy Tree. I'm really excited about it, and it's going to be part of a bigger series.

Here's a synopsis/blurb:

What if there was a sacred healing tree? What if there was only one left? And what if it was hidden away in the most evil kingdom in the nation of Westferia?

Prince Alistair has never taken much stock in his father's old stories - tales of men swallowed by fish and burning bushes not actually burning. But when a mysterious girl is found deathly I'll from an ancient poison, the prince suddenly comes face to face with everything he DOESN'T believe in.
Follow Alistair as he secretly joins a quest for the Mercy Tree and must face both his greatest fears and his greatest doubts. From trying to escape the forbidden city of Kuzgoon to being kidnapped by a nocturnal race of Westferians, there is never a dull moment for Alistiar in THE MERCY TREE.

What do you think? Sound interesting?

Enemies to lovers is the best!

I'm having tons of fun worldbuilding as I've made a whole planet named Noor (it means light which was the first thing to be created:) one of my favorite things is that my horses enhanced abilities come from their colors instead of breeds. So a white or gray horse is really good at telling when storms are coming. A black horse is exceptional in the dark and has enhanced senses

That does make sense! mine has a lot of allegory, like the armor of God for instance or the Mercy Tree

Whats the first line of your book? Mine is "In hind sight, this had been a really bad idea."

Where are you in the writing process? I'm in the final edit before handing it off to my alpha readers. I'll probably have to edit it again before sending it to my beta reader.

The release date rn is April 18th!

It's called The Mercy Tree.

what's the title of yours?

🤣 that's fine! your name is great too!

ok what's the maine character(s) name? the main character is Prince Alistair, but it also follows his father King Soren, and his twin cousins, Prince Geordie and Princess Lucia

main whoops 😅

Do you have a favorite line you've written? Last night I was working with my ✨️scoundrel✨️ character and the girl he kinda likes, and he was trying to get her to trust him, and when he swore on his honor that he wouldn't betray her, she's like, "What honor??? Did you steal that too?!" 🤣 I must admit I have an odd sense of humor.

I've asked you a few questions about your book...are there any you'd like to ask me?

well my very first scene is with Alistair running away from a boar which I think came out really well and kinda funny! I also have s great plot twist that I'm really proud of. I won't tell cause, spoilers!

I'm so excited...I'm going to be getting my book to my two alpha readers this coming Friday! I'm really hope they like it...my confidence is like a roller coaster 😭

Also I'm really trying to connect with people on Goodreads to promote my book and get people excited for the release date...do you have any suggestions as to how I can get more people involved?

Where do you make your updates?

I'm planning on getting my manuscript to my beta reader in January after my alpha readers give their opinions...would you like to be one of my beta readers? I'd love for you to read it if you'd like!

Awesome! When I'm ready, we'll figure out a way to get it to you! I could always use more opinions

I thought you might like a little sneak peek at the first page!

In hind sight, this had been a really bad idea. The wild boar furiously pursuing him through the Alathean forest was testament to that. Of course, Prince Alistair had no one to blame but himself as he sprinted through the trees, his lungs burning and his breath coming in short, painful gasps. He could hear the hog’s angry grunts and squeals behind him, but the prince didn’t dare glance over his shoulder to see how quickly the beast was gaining on him. Luckily for him, the boar had still been nearly a hundred yards away when it had spotted him observing it. Unluckily for him, it sounded like it was making up steady ground, and if his guards didn’t do something very, very soon, there would be one less idiot in the world.
Alistair could hear the frantic baying of his dog Alfie somewhere in the woods and hoped that at least one of the soldiers was going to hold him back, and tightly. Alfie might think that he could take on the boar entirely by himself, but the Naserian Watchhound would be wrong. Between himself and his dog, Alistair would much rather it attack him; at least he had a sword, although whether he would have time to use it was another thing entirely.
But hopefully it was going to come down to that. His guards would rescue him, and they could all laugh about it later. For now, the prince would just keep running frantically, his legs and arms pumping, and hope the boar would tire or become uninterested in the next few seconds. Which, logically speaking, was unlikely.
Not that he seemed very prone to using logic, Prince Alistair thought ruefully, as he hurtled himself over a large fallen tree. There, maybe that would slow the beast down a bit. The young man risked a peek over his shoulder just in time to see the hog sailing easily over the log. Or…maybe not.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why had he even entertained the thought that this sounded like a good idea? Ah, yes, let’s go spy on what was probably the biggest boar in all of Westferia. Brilliant. If his audacity didn’t kill him today, his father most certainly would.
Ugh, his father! The council meeting! The prince desperately wished now that he had just stayed at the castle, as the steward had advised this morning. But no, Alistair just had to go on this one hunt before that boring…sorry…important meeting with all those lords. He was definitely late for that now, but whether or not he arrived in one piece was yet to be decided.

Sure!!!

Nice!!!! I like the ending.

Hmmmm....always remember to show how your characters are feeling instead of telling! Also, people often don't say exactly what they mean, but will skirt around it because we naturally don't like talking about our feelings. 😁 Just a couple things I've picked up along the way!

I've got my manuscript off to my alpha readers! It came out just over 88,000 words. Now to wait and see what they think. 😬🤞

Do your characters have any pets? My main character has a big dog named Alfie and a side character has an owl named Whisper.

an actual tiger??? or like a tiger cat? either way is cool. I love cats

a breed I invented for my world! called a Naserian Watchhound. it's kind of a mix between an irish wolfhound and a giant schnauzer

I've got some feedback from my alpha readers and I can tell I've got a lot of work to do 😅 I don't know if it will be ready for beta reading in January, but hopefully February. I can't wait for you to read it!

how many words do you have so far? I have just over 88,000

I'm hoping for it to hit 100,000 but we'll see!

what number draft are you on? I think I'm going onto number 5 😅

Slow isn't always bad! how long have you been working on it? I've been on mine for about 8 months

I was originally hoping for it to take a year, but it might be longer! but that's ok cause I want it to be perfect

Thank you! 😁

What's the hardest part of writing for you? So far, the hardest part for me is making my main character an idiot but still lovable 🤣 l

ugh yes showing instead of telling is so hard!

I'm doing some rewriting and the VIBES are just coming out so good. Very dark fantasy 😁

Rewriting is TOTALLY OK. Especially if it's your first book. I think most authors do actually. And you want it to be the best ot can be and find YOUR VOICE.

Have you ever read any of Tolkiens works? He's my inspiration.

Start with the Hobbit! Then the Lord of the Rings trilogy

every author gets inspiration in a different way! I get mine heavily from how tolkien writes and worldbuilds

So a little bit of more advice (something that i'm actually learning to do) is to set SMALL writing goals every day. I tend to be too ambitious and set huge daily goals like "write 3000 words" or "write this whole chapter." Then ofc it might not get done and I feel like a failure or a terrible writer. I'm learning just to write little goals that will all add up over time! So like the other day, I had a goal of just writing the description of one place. Normally if I was trying to finish the whole chapter, I would have just skimmed over it. But just focusing on that let me write in over 400 words! And yesterday my goal was to just write one particular scene, and it ended up being over 800 words. I just thought that might be helpful with rewriting. Maybe make a monthly goal, split it into smaller weekly goals, and then split that into even smaller daily goals. You can use a planner or a notebook, and then cross them off as you do them. It's a very satisfying feeling:)

I'm introducing something new into my book....multiple povs! I haven't really done that before. One will follow Alistair who is seeking a healing tree, one will follow Bruce who is an escaped slave searching for his beloved wife, and one will follow Lucia who is a bounty hunter searching for a dangerous villain (probably. I'm still working out Lucia's pov). What do you think? do these sound interesting?