While it is really starting to feel like the work is never done, I’ve reached a place where I can start calling GODs, GOLD and GOBLINS a manuscript rather than a draft. At 140k words (lopped in half earlier this year), it has been self-edited over 10 times, beta read, professionally edited, and in my mind on its way to being ready for the marketplace.
Over the summer I’ve been reacting to feedback from an editor, and I’ve since made the following updates and changes:
1.) Added a scene at the start of the book to give Allistair a little more context as to why he’s on the run
2.) Changed all of the “Northwatch” chapters to be from a singular point of view, that of the loyal mystic Maegellius in the place of his conflicted mistress, the Countess Valeryian von Helgrav
3.) Major additions have been made to the Astrid Sundershield chapters, linking her political maneuvering in Rivermark to the larger “things are disappearing and nobody can explain it” plot.
4.) Additions have been made to the Allistair plot to keep the tension high. Scenes and chapters were added to ensure it always feels like The Black Hand is only a step or two behind as he searches for his misplaced treasure.
5.) Chapters were diced up and reorganized to keep the pace high. I also added a number of “fireside chats” to help the reader get to know some of the characters more. Isi was also given more chapters to provide a deeper glimpse into her character.
6.) A magic system was built to give structure to the various magical iterations in the book. The following are pulled from my notes:
- Almost all magic comes from “reading the stars”
- You have to know how to “read the stars” – you are taught, study, or are trained (requires focus and a type of literacy)
- Noone knows how goblins have Earthcraft…they couldn’t see the stars in their boroughs. They just know it. Theory is, they lived so close to Trolgo’s domain, he blessed them with Earthcraft (or maybe they have deep, ancestral knowledge of Trolgo’s stars)
- Depending on what stars you study determines the magic you know. For example, the stars of a northern sky teach different types of magic than the stars at equator, you can study the stars around a certain god’s constellation to learn magic related to their domain (ie, fire & light for Azhora, earthcraft Trolgo), you learn cryptcraft from studying the first stars at twilight
- If you don’t study your stars frequently (ie, brush up), your skills will fade and you’ll get sloppy. Also, if you use too much magic before “brushing up,” you’ll deplete yourself of mana and potentially die.
With these changes made I’m hoping a few more beta readers can validate my feeling that things are sitting pretty well. Now I dive into the novel task of trying to find representation. More on that to come!
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