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

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

  • This is another quick chapter that’s heavy on dialogue. I’m once again worried about the white room problem, as I don’t think I gave much of a description of Chengroh’s study in this chapter.
  • I don’t know why, but I love having in-world books that the characters read. It’s one of those things that makes a world feel real. Like it has depth and history. It just feels right for those to exist in this world.
  • I like the conflict between Wanyi and Yishan here. It feels on-character for both of them. Yishan is super loyal and would rather not talk about how he is questioning his liegelord’s behavior. Wanyi is conflicted by his feelings for Meisun, his friendship with Yishan, and his duty to Hukan.
  • Again, when I set out to write any scene with Yishan, I never intended for him to always walk away with a heavy line. But here it has happened again, and I’m here for it. The man’s got some fire. 🤷‍♂️

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

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Until next time!