It’s sweater weather! Too cold? Put a sweater on. Too hot? Take it off! I love the colder months. No more sweating buckets while sitting still. The only downside is the mud the dogs bring into the house. There’s more, but I’m feeling optimistic.

September has been busy with not a whole lot happening.

I have had the opportunity to find a great Writers’ group to be a part of. Recently, the growing group has decided to be more active. Instead of only meeting once a week, we’ve set up a discord to keep conversations rolling. Several brainstorming events are underway to keep everyone writing. It’s easier to focus when there’s a group focus to be productive. We use the ten and twenty systems – ten minutes to socialize and twenty minutes of actual writing time. Most of the time, its productive for me. Occasionally, it takes me the whole twenty minutes to start writing.

Of course, not everything a writer does is in fact writing. I spend a lot of time outlining and brainstorming every scene of the story before beginning to write. Unless I’m truly inspired and can’t do anything without writing a particular scene (if I’m lucky, it’s the ending of the story). Usually, it’s a fight scene or when two characters meet for the first time.

I’ve been reading Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, and it pens a term for two different kinds of writers. The Plotters (me!) and the Pantsers (some scary people – I joke). Plotters plan out their novels before writing. Pantsers write their novels “by the seat of their pants”. I found it amusing. It simplifies a broad and unique spectrum of individuals, which can be true for many and untrue for the same amount.

Morvelving revisions are moving along at a snail’s pace. I finished three writer’s inline edits on the second draft and have two more to go. The last two ask hard questions and point out major flaws in the story. I’m apprehensive, but excited to go through and make difficult revisions.

Last month, I introduced one of the unique races in my legendarium. This month, to mix it up, I decided to do some character blurbs. There are a lot of characters in Morvelving, some with larger roles than others. Morvelving and Nippiktua are the main protagonists alongside a plethora of minor protagonists and antagonists they meet on the way.

Let’s start with Morvelving. ‘Morvelving’ isn’t his name it’s his title, and it carries the reason for the exile from his tribe. A constant reminder what he did to deserve his exile. He has taken it as his name, as its easier to state rather than having to explain like I just did. He’s four hundred years old, which is young for an immortal. As such, he has made plenty of mistakes. At the start of the story, we find him in a good place. That doesn’t mean anything will be easy, especially when Nippiktua runs into him. Reminding him of his deceased son, Morvelving vows to protect and raise her, putting him on the path of redemption.

Nippiktua is the second main protagonist. She accepts ‘Nippi’ as a nickname from Morvelving. Deaf since birth and her tongue removed in a tribal practice, she must navigate the world through sight, scent, and touch. Due to being a Frystlin – race of humans with blue tinted skin, red eyes, and white hair; she is regarded as a savage among other humans. As such, she is often the target of prejudice. This doesn’t stop her from removing and adding bizarre wants on her ‘list’ to Morvelving’s woe.

Ezrilkath is the leader of a small mercenary band. She’s a Monbargar, known for their red hair and hot tempers, and has been fighting her whole life. After a series of bad jobs, she is desperate to make enough coins to return to Monbargar and reclaim her land.

Orrothix is one of the main antagonists. She is a draekurm – a large fire breathing wyvern. Draekurm were created by the fallen god, Nameless. They are powerful and dangerous magic wielders. Orrothix conquers the city of Phoithese without warning and demands tribute. The city dwellers only hope for deliverance is if they deliver the answer to her riddle.

The Crippled Man is another antagonist. Burned and crippled when Orrothix took over his city. The Crippled Man creeps across the land with a radical band of followers to find the one who can answer Orrothix’s riddle and save his city.

There are several minor characters that Morvelving and Nippiktua interact with throughout the novel. I like to define them as “quest” characters. Their significance would be lost if I just listed them now, and it would be leading into spoiler territory!

I’m pushing to wrap up Morvelving as soon as I can. To do so, I may miss next month’s blog. I will update in Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/calebjswitzer/), and will be adding visual inspirations for the character blurbs. Happy spooky October!