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

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

• I don't have many notes this week. Like I said last time, I'm quite proud of these chapters, and I'm mostly excited to share them with you.
• Wanyi's speech and refusal to bow to Ramreunya is quite possibly the very first scene I envisioned when I started working on this story. I've been eagerly working towards this act of defiance since the very start.
• That said, one area I think this climactic moment could be made stronger is if it also coincided with some of Wanyi's own internal struggles. He has been on this side (the side of keeping Hukan free) since the very beginning. And I think that is okay, but as I go into revisions, I want to find ways for him to grow more as a character. And if I can weave that in to this scene, I think it will make it all the more powerful.
• Additionally, this is the first scene where we really get to see what Wanyi can do. In my head, he has always been an accomplished combatant. In this story, however, we've only seen him tussle with Fahyo and Dandan. Hopefully this fight doesn't feel too much like a rug-pull, and the signs have been there all along. I like Wanyi to be in control of himself, not resorting to violence when he doesn't have to, but it might be worth it to show what he can do if he has to earlier in the story.

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

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Until next time!