Kevlar
Troubadour
I won't talk about what makes me good because I try as well as possible not to engage in the practice of being my own judge. Instead I'll talk about what makes me unique.
While I do try to work on smaller and less ambitious projects on the side, that one which is dearest to me is nothing less than a generational saga I'm still on the first book for - ever revising, ever changing it as I mature as a writer and as a person. The main characters of the current generation have a clear enemy for the first while, and a clear goal. Their enemy is no villain though, in fact he was trying to save the kingdom (albeit through the questionable method of assassinating the king that was a good man to the conspirators' own admission, but who was lazy and incompetent and allowing the kingdom to fall apart) and most of my 'heroes' are on the other end of a civil war and are actually the ones pulling the kingdom apart. Some of them even helped incite the war, as their enemy was just hoping to see a good king crowned and they had opposing and arguably less noble motives. This sort of ambiguity continues for the most part, though some of those they and their children fight will be a little less sympathetic. Right from chapter one of the first book and in many incidents throughout I'm setting up something huge that won't become an issue for multiple decades.
I like to believe that this stuff makes me unique, and yet I also get the idea that the scale this series would need to be would scare away a ton of potential readers if published. I'm considering splitting the saga into a few series because of it. I also need to move my ass and start writing it. I can tell you the first dozen rulers of the Kingdom of Raveinn, but Raveinn has been non-existent for a quarter of a century and the only bearing this has on the plot is background. These are the ancestors of one of my characters, so that helps me make an excuse for myself.
In summary: my story is way too long, ambitiously complex, and I spend a ridiculous amount of time obsessing about its history and don't spend enough time writing the damn books. What I like to think makes me unique is also a bit of a problem, but I'm too stubborn to give up.
While I do try to work on smaller and less ambitious projects on the side, that one which is dearest to me is nothing less than a generational saga I'm still on the first book for - ever revising, ever changing it as I mature as a writer and as a person. The main characters of the current generation have a clear enemy for the first while, and a clear goal. Their enemy is no villain though, in fact he was trying to save the kingdom (albeit through the questionable method of assassinating the king that was a good man to the conspirators' own admission, but who was lazy and incompetent and allowing the kingdom to fall apart) and most of my 'heroes' are on the other end of a civil war and are actually the ones pulling the kingdom apart. Some of them even helped incite the war, as their enemy was just hoping to see a good king crowned and they had opposing and arguably less noble motives. This sort of ambiguity continues for the most part, though some of those they and their children fight will be a little less sympathetic. Right from chapter one of the first book and in many incidents throughout I'm setting up something huge that won't become an issue for multiple decades.
I like to believe that this stuff makes me unique, and yet I also get the idea that the scale this series would need to be would scare away a ton of potential readers if published. I'm considering splitting the saga into a few series because of it. I also need to move my ass and start writing it. I can tell you the first dozen rulers of the Kingdom of Raveinn, but Raveinn has been non-existent for a quarter of a century and the only bearing this has on the plot is background. These are the ancestors of one of my characters, so that helps me make an excuse for myself.
In summary: my story is way too long, ambitiously complex, and I spend a ridiculous amount of time obsessing about its history and don't spend enough time writing the damn books. What I like to think makes me unique is also a bit of a problem, but I'm too stubborn to give up.
