3rd Rewrite Finished!

So this is the first post i will be making, starting to showcase my journey towards publishing my first novel. I have been writing this particular novel since i was fifteen! It feels so great to have finished writing this story. Since its original conception it has undergone a significant amount of changes, including plot, characters and a greater attention to detail. That's not to say this current rewrite is perfect, but i am far happier with it than previous iterations.

Currently the story stands at 360 pages. Or 262,273 words. Its a lot and the general consensus amongst writers is to write something under 100,000 words for a first novel or book. But i honestly don't care what is usually done amongst first time authors. I only want to tell the stories i have been hiding away inside, desperate to share them with family, friends and the world.

If i could, i would sit everyone i met down and tell them face to face the entire story, beginning to end like storytellers would recount grand adventures through oral traditions (having memorised everything).

But i can't do that, so writing it down is the next best thing.

It has taken me longer than i would have liked to complete this current rewrite, but life gets in the way sometimes.

This story is the first of an 8 planned series under the banner title of 'The Keeper Chronicles'.

The title for this particular story is 'The Tome of Haren'.

Many of you might be asking what is a Tome? Its a pretty simple answer. A Tome is a large book, usually scholarly, but its just an older term.

What then is a Haren, you might be asking. Well, to put it plainly Haren is a person. A scholar of incredible wisdom and insight who, using his extensive abilities and knowledge in magic, creates a Tome made out of magic and incorporating everything he knows and more.

So then the story follows the search for this Tome of Haren.

If you were to ask me what the story is similar too, i would say...think of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Eragon, X-Men and Matthew Reilly all kind of rolled into one. I don't mean to say it is as good as any of these other creations or creators, but the feel of the story will remind you at certain points of some of these things listed.

The story itself follows the main character, Aeidor, destined to become the 'Keeper' of his home nation of Narean as he is brought on the important quest to find the Tome of Haren. Along the way he must contend with a variety of challenges, including elite horse riders, a valley of evil, a prophetic dragon, cannibalistic mercenaries, a city of the dead and a set of catacombs deep below the earth. That's not to say that his friends and allies don't go through challenges of their own, including assassins, magical discoveries and advisors in positions of power.

Hopefully that's enough at the moment to catch your interest. If fantasy, adventure, magic, action isn't really your thing then that's cool too. Don't write me off yet, as i have many plans for the future and hopefully i will write something you will enjoy one day. So what's next? Well, next is a rough edit, changing character names who were simply given placeholder names. Change bits and pieces, improve parts and chop out things i don't think fits. Then i have 4 Beta readers lined up to read the entire piece and give me their feedback.

After that is more edits based on their criticisms, both positive and negative, and then finally seeking out a professional editor. After that, there is still so much more to do, but step by step, bit by bit, the story is always getting closer to publication. Thank you to my friends and family who have supported me and continue to support me and my love of storytelling and writing. One day you will get to read these novels and when that day comes i hope you enjoy the experience, because that's all i want to do. I want to write something that someone, somewhere has a great time reading.