NBB is DONE!!!

At 20,283 words in beta draft. *headdesk* And I always add more words when I go back to edit, because I am of the, "Whoops, I completely forgot to mention this very important bit of connective logic, and also that entire scene is happening in front of a blank white sheet of paper, better fix that," school of drafts, rather than the, "Throw everything and the kitchen sink in the first time and then yank out the irrelevant bits," school of drafts.

So yeah, sure, this is only a 10,000 word mini-bang, not a full big bang, obviously I'm not doing the proper challenge, just the reduced version, don't worry, it can't possibly take that long to write.

My. Left. Foot.

Why did I think this would be the short, easy story? Why? It's not a short, easy story! It's about war and ethics and politics and religion and growing up and deciding who you are and what you want to do with your life at far too young an age. It's also about horses, and random descriptions of cities, and far too much grass and general topography and stuff, but mostly it's about Ilgamuth Tarkaan thrust into situations beyond his control that he would not necessarily have chosen to be in had he known what they would entail, and making the best of the resulting choices.

But anyway, it's done. I got through the politics, and then I did a second sweep through the closing scenes to hook them even more tightly into the new preceding material. I think you can still tell where the seams are if you're looking, but at least they're now hidden from a casual glance.

...

And now I am going to bed, because I agreed to cover my coworker PB's shift on Friday and that means I can't sleep in. Sometimes I am too helpful for my own good. :-\

thoughts on editing and themes

After my second editing pass-through, my NBB is now 21,200 words, give or take. I fixed several egregious problems that occurred to me with the grace of a day's perspective, and also tidied the beginning so it matches the middle. That had become nearly as much of a problem as the end matching the middle, since the middle is where I refined my characterization and figured out my themes.

...

You know, I really have one story I write over and over in variations. It goes like this: Under pressure from circumstance, a person chooses a way (whether good or bad) to balance their personal morals/needs/goals against the needs and structures of their family/community/society/culture.

Very often this is paired with a secondary storyline: A young person is thrown into a situation with which they are not quite prepared to cope, and develops as a person in the process of learning to metaphorically swim. (Or, occasionally, sink.)

Put those two together and you have pretty much every long story I've ever written. Shorter stuff and challenge fics are of course more variable, but those basic plot structures -- along with the themes of (mis)communication, social awkwardness, and found/chosen family, and a deep obsession with ethics and the cultural aspects of world-building -- seem to be what ping me where I live.

My NBB fic is no exception.

...

Okay, now that that project is out of the way until next weekend, I will most likely return to being all Homestuck all the time. Sorry to any of you who are here for other fandoms!