Author's Notes: The Emperor's Dream Chapter Eleven

Hello and welcome to my author’s notes for chapter eleven of The Emperor’s Dream! These shorter notes are my reactions to the chapters that I have posted, as well as some fun facts about the writing process. So if you like peeking behind the curtain, or if it’s helpful to hear how another writer looks critically at their writing, read on! If that’s not your cup of tea, don’t sweat this one. See you next week with chapter twelve.

If you haven’t read chapter eleven, you can read it here.

If you just saw “The Emperor’s Dream” and you had no idea what I was talking about, no worries! It’s my ongoing epic fantasy novella that I’m sharing a chapter at a time here on my website. You can read chapter one here. These are first drafts only, so the final published version might change a little or a lot, but hopefully you either enjoy or learn something from seeing the process.

Now on with this week’s author’s notes!

• Part of me wonders if this chapter opens too early. All the preamble and people arriving seems like it could be boring, but it does give me a little more than just people talking in a room.
• Similarly, Wanyi’s opening line of the meeting sounds a lot like maid and butler dialogue (“as you all already know, but just to make sure the reader is informed…”). Realistically, though, I would probably open a meeting like this and recap the situation as well.
• I like the aside of Lishan napping without a care in the world. It contrasts with Wanyi’s worries, and makes him more aware of them.
• It seems like, for the first several things Yishan says, Wanyi goes, “Oh, that was harder to hear out loud than I thought,” and I’m not a huge fan of how that characterizes him. Wanyi does think carefully, and he is smart and experienced. As I read it again, I picture him cringing a little bit, and Wanyi chief of the Owl Clan is not a man who cringes.
• Once the meeting gets going, this feels a bit like another white room. When editing comes around, I would like to learn more how to balance dialogue with setting details, while also keeping things snappy. I’m guessing that means tightening up the dialogue and condensing some things.

I think that’s all for this week, friend! What questions do you have? I’d also love to hear your feedback. Let me know your thoughts!

And again, if you haven’t read chapter eleven yet, you can do so here. That’ll make this whole post make a lot more sense.

If you’d like to support the work I’m doing here, you can buy me a coffee here. Or, if you’d like to become a monthly supporter, you can do so by becoming a paid subscriber on my website. Whatever floats your boat. I’m grateful either way. See you soon!

Until next time!