Yesterday I finished the first draft of a story I started all the way back in 2012. I had the idea based on the Dresden Files as well as Muramasa the Demon Blade video game. An odd mix I know but I think the core idea worked…

What didn’t work as well is actually how it came together. I think that a big way in which the story was lacking is that of character development. Jin doesn’t really progress much as a character throughout the story. In some ways, Ikiru does more, but they both don’t have anything of a substantial character arch.

I think that also the story feels like a series of connecting set pieces and or scenes (which isn’t all bad, as a lot of stories have that). Problem is that I’m not sure how deeply Jin falls into being reactionary as a hero instead of being proactive. Again some stories like Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Hunger Games, however, it’s not a good thing.

All of this means that by the end it’s just been a series of action scenes and set pieces that tie together and by the end, I’m not sure how well it all ties together.

What do you think dear readers? I do plan to take all of this and rewrite it again sometime (perhaps offline when I’m a bit less busy and all together. Not just piece by piece.) I’d love to hear feedback and thoughts.

The next few days I might write some flash fiction and or dust off some previous stories that I want to flesh out before I start in on rewriting or start in on another long story.