Recent Activity · 12:55pm Jan 26th, 2014
So far, I can quote the next chapter in its entirety.
Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 60: The Gambler
Yeah...not a lot of writing the new chapter going on. However, I haven't been just twiddling my thumbs. I just reread all of Reckoning. From my experience, few things are as tedious as reading your own story over and over again. I did fix a bunch of things like typos and a lot of those annoying extra spaces. Also did some streamlining. The word count has dropped from 277k to 261k.
I'm taking Astralrunner's advice and removing all of Spike's chapters at some point and turning them into a separate story. I'll do it after finishing Reckoning. It will require some tweaking as Chapter 10 is half Spike chapter and half Hassyth chapter. I'll also have to consult with a mod/admin as this is posting a previously published chapter as a new story, which, I recall, is against the rules.
I've also been working on this.
I've had this around for a while, but I've worked on it especially after reading the Descendant's Zenith and realizing just how difficult it must be for readers to keep track of information in long fics. Neighkodemus and several others have mentioned that Upheaval's serial method of updating hurts it a lot and it's true. People tend to ask who the hell just got mentioned or what the characters are talking about. I want the World Notes to be a way to get information easier. They also contain some information about the world of Upheaval that may not get directly mentioned in the story. It's a bit of a cop out, but I'd still like to put them out there.
Things about the World Notes
1. It's incomplete and still in progress.
2. It's quite spoilery so you may not want to read it if you haven't read most if not all of the current upheaval story.
3. It's still rather disorganized.
4. Characters listed include very minor characters and characters that were only mentioned briefly.
5. Schools of Magic are lifted from Dungeons and Dragons. No prizes for pointing it out. Not even a free internet.
I think notes like those and things like story appendices are actually a great idea. I use them in my own stories, although mine are more so that a reader can peruse them before beginning a story, if they don't want to read the previous one. Having an appendix attached to your story for ease-of-access reminders has always been a favourite thing of mine, because I do often lose track of things in long fics, like you say.
I know exactly what that is like, as I've reread my main story over ten times again and again to pick up as many mistakes and fill in as many jokes as I can. You get burn out doing it, or you sometimes go back and think to yourself 'did you really write this? Wow. This is awesome!' Or complete crap.
You are one of the best authors on this site, and I think a little trimming helped. You are a master of storytelling and I know you've grown because of your writing, as we have grown following you. For quality like yours, we can wait.
And really no one does world building like you. No one. I literally don't know how you've created such an amazing world out of nothing. You... I envy that.
Having a compendium of knowledge for the Upheaval series is a good idea, for new and old readers alike.
Plus it was pretty crazy to look back and see how fleshed out the Upheaval universe really is.
Twenty pages of notes is nothing to sneeze at, especially considering how the compilation is still a work in progress (O_o)
Definitely a good idea to list out all the characters and their statuses in the story, as I'm positive many readers have long since lost track of all the goings-on in the Upheaval universe. But that's only a testament to just how big and expansive it truly is.
Keep up the great work, and I look forward to reading every forthcoming chapter.
Good to hear you're going back and fixing various mistakes in the story, don't worry we can wait for the next chapter.
those are some detailed notes...you could've probably left out the ultra-minor characters who are only mentioned or have very few lines of dialogue but whatever. There are a couple of interesting background details like where the Wolven came from and how lust dragons...work, I do hope they makes it into the story proper. Also:
I don't personally agree with breaking the Spike chapters into a different story, but I can see why you would do it.
Wow...
Did someone say FORESHADOWING?
Additionally, any plans on going into detail about any of the other races that were inside of the barrier when it was raised like Gryphons and Zebras?
Thank you for those world notes. My plan was to simply wait for the stories to be completed since it was becoming too difficult to remember some plot pieces and characters. This will help immensely.