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

Hello and welcome to my author’s notes for chapter fourteen of The Emperor’s Dream! This is the part where I re-read the chapter and write up my honest thoughts about it. It’s a first draft, after all!

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

If you are quite far behind, you can read chapter one here. Remember, 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!

• Sometimes I think I’m a little heavy-handed with stating the stakes. Saying the odds were slim that Wanyi could catch her, then, “He could not fail.” Does that sentence help the scene to feel more intense? Does it communicate Wanyi’s focus? Or is it just super obvious? Of course he can’t fail, Meisun’s plummeting to her death.
• I like how the first on-screen use of Lan Mhong came out! It’s the third of the three arts to be used in this story, and I’m excited to share more about it someday.
• I’m not sure how I feel about Wanyi being pumped after they land safely. Of course his first instinct was to check on Meisun, but then he immediately adds, “That was incredible!” which feels maybe a little insensitive.
• For the second scene of the chapter, I like the meaning behind it, but I’m not loving the execution and characterization. I’m okay with Wanyi being embarrassed by his mother and how she knows how to get him riled, but I think it might be a little too heavy-handed. As I read through it again, I think Wanyi feels a little too young and immature here.
• “And what if He separated us so that it might be all the more beautiful when we come back together?” Sometimes, when you’re writing, you really feel something. Obviously, I want you to feel things as you read, but it’s a surreal experience when I write something that hits with me as if I weren’t the one that wrote it. This was one of those lines. And as one-half of an interracial marriage, it means a lot to me. Do with it what you will.

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 fourteen yet, you can do so here. That’ll make this whole post make a lot more sense.

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Until next time!