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

Hello and welcome to my author’s notes for chapter twenty 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 twenty 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!

• Everything is falling apart now. Sorry, Wanyi. I’ve realized that I have a hard time putting my characters through hard situations, so I’m a little concerned that, from an overarching narrative perspective, Wanyi, Meisun and the others don’t suffer enough to make things compelling. I’m not trying to go all grim-dark, though, so maybe it’s okay. I just don’t want readers to feel too cozy, y’know?
• Meisun is definitely supposed to be worried in this chapter, but I want to be careful not to make her too flighty. She’s not just Wanyi’s love interest. She’s capable and can take care of herself. But she’s also a Sentient person with feelings. Good characterization is hard.
• The dialogue between Meisun and Wanyi felt a little quick. They each said their pieces, then she left. It might need a little more grounding in the scene, a little slower pacing after the last chapter.
• On the flip side, Wanyi comes across as terse in his conversation with Yishan. His speech is clipped. He’s physically and emotionally exhausted, and I think that’s coming across well.

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 twenty 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!