What is the date you began writing this piece of fiction and the date when you completely finished the piece of fiction? I started writing in November 2020, after I woke up from a dream. I started writing down the dream and it turned into a book. I finished writing in March 2021.
Where did you do most of your writing for this fiction work? And please describe in detail. And can you please include a photo? I do all my writing in my trailer (since I am still building my house and that is going very slowly). It’s a messy desk.
What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on laptop; specific time of day? I always write on my laptop. I think that I do my best writing in the morning but I also write late at night. I usually have a cup of tea or a glass of wine, depending on the time of day. Sometimes I write in absolute silence or I listen to music. It depends on how I feel. Sometimes I play music that sets the mood that I’m describing in the book.
Please include just one excerpt and include page numbers as reference. This one excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer. This excerpt is in the middle of chapter 24. I re-wrote the battle scene between Eva, Darryn, and the flying snake many times.
Its skin was made of steel and its whole form seemed to be welded together. Unlike normal snakes, this legless creature’s body was held together by three joints, and its head was a large, square protuberance. Big, square yellow eyes stood over a fanged mouth.
In horror, he stared at the fangs that were as long as his forearms. It went after Eva, intent on biting her head off, and at once, Darryn rose and leaped as high as he could, hitting the snakelike thing on its tail, surprised that the blade with the golden hilt was able to cut through it. He had expected the weapon to bounce off, but it made a clean cut, and yellow, pus-like blood seeped out. In a rage, the snake turned its ten-foot-long body on him, the wounded tail spattering Eva with the revolting life fluid. It charged at Darryn, its terrifying fangs bared and its eyes wild with revenge. Eva followed it, not letting Darryn face the monster on his own. Darryn raised his sword, now grateful for all the fencing lessons Captain Green had given him. He spread his legs to have a firm stance. The creature attacked and he met its charge with a hard blow of his sword. It slashed the side of the creature’s mouth, barely injuring it, but he had saved a few seconds for himself. Quickly, he ran around the monster while Eva landed on its back and tore her deadly nails into its hard skin. More blood spurted out. The snake writhed in pain and a pitiful wail escaped its mouth, its voice echoing off the canyon walls. None of them had ever heard a snake cry, and the heartbreaking sound would have caused pity in them if the creature hadn’t tried to kill them first.
Again she dug in, intent on causing as much damage as she could. The snake’s tail hit Darryn and he flew over the ground, hitting his head on the canyon wall. He was up at once, ignoring the pain, not wanting Eva to do this on her own. He rushed back to the battle scene. The snake was rising, trying to fly away still with Eva on its back, and before it was too far from him, he leaped once more as high as he could, his feet still running in the air, and he raised his arm. It came down with a vengeance, and he felt the blade slice through flesh.
He fell and landed hard on pebbles and rocks that cut and scraped his skin, but he didn’t care. He looked up and saw the most peculiar scene. Eva’s wings were spread wide as she glided down towards him. The snake was nowhere to be seen, but when he looked to his side, he saw its head, cleanly severed from its large body. The tail lay a bit further, still writhing in the throes f death.
Eva landed next to him and tucked in her wings.
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Why is this excerpt so emotional for you as a writer to write? And can you describe your own emotional experience of writing this specific excerpt? This excerpt is based on the dream I had, the dream this whole book is based on. Although my dream scene appears in chapter 24 and I began a whole new story before that, the writing effortlessly led to that scene. When I started writing down my dream I thought it was going to be a short story but it turned into a book.
Were there any deletions from this excerpt that you can share with us? And can you please include a photo of your marked up rough drafts of this excerpt. There were no huge deletions, just a lot of re-writing, editing, and re-editing. This may be the scene where editing took me longer than in other scenes.
Most of the INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links can be found at the very end of the below feature:
http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2021/03/stephenson-holts-arranged-marriage-is.html