Currently viewing the tag: "The Splintered Kingdom"

This week I’ll be writing what I hope will be the final scene of my latest novel – the first draft typescript is pictured below. With that in mind, I thought it would be the perfect time to reflect upon what reaching ‘The End’ means to me, to share some of my experiences and to offer some tips.

First draft of my new novel

Firstly, getting to the end is rarely as dramatic or as definite a moment as is often popularly imagined. You can forget those film montages in which the writer types furiously through the night until, with the sun coming up, he gives a huge, contented sigh and types those two simple yet immortal words. This perfect moment of elation, exhaustion and fulfilment might look good on screen, but it hardly ever happens in real life.

Sometimes, it’s true, I do attack that final scene in a mad rush, but not always. Often it must be approached slowly, paragraph by paragraph, over several days. If you come at it too quickly, you risk scaring it off.

Sometimes you don’t even know you’ve reached the last sentence until you get there. It can catch you by surprise: you find yourself typing a sequence of words that you never intended but which just feel right.

At other times you know exactly the final phrase that you want to arrive at – maybe you’ve known for months already. In that case it’s especially important not to rush, but to work methodically and carefully. The End still has to be earned.

The joy of finishing can be short-lived. My experience is often one of anticlimax. I say to myself, ‘What now?’

A case in point is my second novel, The Splintered Kingdom. The words were flowing so quickly, so beautifully and easily and I felt so ‘in the zone’ that, after I’d typed that last sentence, I didn’t know what to do with myself. It was like coming back down from 200mph to a standstill in the blink of an eye. I had so much adrenaline that I desperately wanted to keep writing. But I had nothing more to say.

The Conquest Series (so far...)

For these reasons, typing your final sentence isn’t always as satisfying as you feel it ought to be. What I’ve come to realise, after writing five novels, is that this is entirely normal. I no longer worry about it.

Pro tip #1: it’s about the journey, not the destination.

Another reason why The End isn’t necessarily as fulfilling as you might hope is that sometimes it turns out not to be The End after all. You can be in the middle of writing it when you realise it’s not quite what you had in mind. It’s perfectly okay to put in something provisional: a placeholder that will serve until a better idea comes along.

If this happens, it’s possible there’s a problem elsewhere in the story, or something as yet unresolved. Look for what might be missing: it’s possible that some final understanding or inner growth is still required on the part of your protagonist, for example. Resolve it. Then try again.

Pro tip #2: things rarely come out perfect first time.

You don’t have to write the whole thing in one go. What I call my ‘first draft’ sometimes only contains the first 90% or so of the novel. I add the ending later, after reading through the whole thing and giving it a thorough edit, once I’m sure of the direction of travel. This happened with my current work-in-progress. (The ‘first draft’ typescript pictured above is, in fact, incomplete.)

It’s crucial to stress, too, that The End is never the actual end of the process. Despite what those film montages might suggest, the writer still has work to do before his novel is finished: redrafts to do, edits to make, early reader feedback to take into account. He’s close, but he’s not quite there yet.

To summarise: although writing that final sentence and completing a draft is something to celebrate, for me it somehow never quite turns out to be the big moment that people seem to imagine it is. It’s just another stage in the process.

And it should go without saying, of course, that you don’t have to actually type the words ‘The End’. Others might disagree, but I find it old-fashioned and unnecessary in most cases.

In most cases. In this one I’ll make an exception.

Tagged with:
 

The US paperback edition of The Splintered Kingdom hits bookstores today! Published by the wonderful team at Sourcebooks Landmarks, it can be yours for the meagre sum of $15.99, available from all good bricks-and-mortar and online retailers. (Ebook editions are also available for all platforms.)

The Splintered Kingdom (US hardcover)The Splintered Kingdom is the second book in the Conquest Series, featuring the knight Tancred and his quest for vengeance after his lord is murdered by English rebels. One year on from the end of Sworn Sword, Tancred has been rewarded for his exploits with a manor in the turbulent Welsh borderlands.

But Tancred’s hard-fought gains are soon placed in peril as a coalition of enemies both old and new prepares to march against King William. With English, Welsh and Viking forces gathering and war looming, Tancred is chosen to spearhead a perilous expedition. Success will bring him glory beyond his dreams; failure will mean the ruin of the reputation he has worked so hard to forge.

As shield walls clash and the kingdom burns, not only is Tancred’s destiny at stake, but also that of England itself.

Read the first chapter

Many thanks to everyone who entered my recent prize draws on Twitter to celebrate the arrival of the festive season. Each week since the beginning of December I’ve been giving away two signed paperback copies of one of the books from my Conquest Series.

The Conquest Series (so far...)

The Conquest Series (so far…)

Each week’s winners have been selected using a random number generator from all the entries received. And so without further ado, here they are:

Week 1
Sworn Sword
@JamesRees83
@AJWatersAuthor

Week 2
The Splintered Kingdom
@eblueaxe
@amaz_ed

Week 3
Knights of the Hawk
@RebellionJason
@shaun_chalky

Congratulations to the winners – I’ll be contacting you directly on Twitter. If you didn’t win, better luck next time! For full details of the competitions, click here.

“At Christmas the swineherd Garwulf brought me one of his fattest boars as a gift. We slaughtered it in the yard and roasted it over the hearth in my hall. The whole village came and we feasted like kings on its meat for three days, until there was nothing left but bone. There was drinking and there was dancing; the hall was hung with holly branches and the fire burnt brightly through those long nights.”

–Tancred, The Splintered Kingdom, ch. 17

To celebrate the festive season, and following the success of the competitions I ran earlier in the year, I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be running another series of giveaways. Starting on Monday 1st December, each week I’ll be offering up 2 signed copies of my books to lucky readers.

The Conquest Series (so far...)

The complete Conquest Series set (so far…)

The rules are simple! The competition will run on Twitter, where you can already find me tweeting about 1066 and all things relating to the Middle Ages (@JamesAitcheson).

All you have to do in order to enter the prize draws and be in with a chance of winning is RT one of my competition tweets. You’ll be able to tell which ones they are, because they’ll look something like this:

Each week’s giveaway will run for 48 hours, from midday GMT on the Monday to 11.59am GMT on the Wednesday. You can enter as many times as you like during that time. The prize draws are open to UK residents only. Here’s what will be on offer each week:

Week 1
1-3 December
2 x signed paperback of Sworn Sword.

Week 2
8-10 December
2 x signed paperback of The Splintered Kingdom.

Week 3
15-17 December
2 x signed paperback of Knights of the Hawk.

At the close of each week’s giveaway I’ll use a random number generator to select the two lucky winners from all the entries received. I’ll post the results of the competitions both on Twitter and here on my blog, and will contact the winners via direct message (DM) so that they can send me their addresses.

Good luck, and happy tweeting!

The Splintered Kingdom (US hardcover)

The Splintered Kingdom
James Aitcheson • Sourcebooks
416 pp. • Hardcover • $24.99

Many thanks to everyone who entered my recent giveaway on Twitter to celebrate the publication by Sourcebooks of Tancred’s second adventure, The Splintered Kingdom.

Five lucky winners of the prize draw were selected using a random number generator. Each will each receive a signed copy of the book in hardcover. Without further ado, then, here they are:

@Serhawk09
@sospokejessie
@FlowerFunTime
@JMAucoin_Writer
@hippolee999

Congratulations to the winners – I’ll be contacting you directly on Twitter. If you didn’t win, better luck next time! You can console yourself with the knowledge that The Splintered Kingdom is on sale now, available from all good bookstores and online, both in hardcover and as an ebook.

Tagged with:
 

The Splintered Kingdom (US hardcover)

The Splintered Kingdom
James Aitcheson • Sourcebooks
416 pp. • Hardcover • $24.99

Earlier this year I ran a competition for my UK readers to win a signed paperback copy of Knights of the Hawk. I didn’t want my North American readers to feel left out, though, so I’m pleased to announce today that the amazing people at my publisher, Sourcebooks, are kindly offering no less than five signed hardback copies of The Splintered Kingdom. It was only published last week, so it really is hot off the press.

The rules are simple! The competition will run on Twitter, where you can already find me tweeting about 1066 and all things relating to the Middle Ages (@JamesAitcheson).

All you have to do to enter the prize draw and be in with a chance of winning is to RT one of my competition tweets. You’ll be able to tell which ones they are, because they’ll include the hashtag #giveaway.

Entries are limited to those living in the U.S. and Canada. The competition will close at 11.59am EDT on Thursday, August 14th. At that point I’ll use a random number generator to select five winners.

I’ll post the results of the competition both on Twitter and here on my blog, and will contact the winners via direct message (DM) so that they can send me their addresses.

Good luck, and happy tweeting!

Tagged with: