Celebrating 1 Year: Reflections and Insights from the Release of The Elemental’s Guardian
The Elemental’s Guardian turns one next week!
As the anniversary approaches, I find myself reflecting on the incredible journey to reach this point and the invaluable lessons learned along the way.
Three key lessons have shaped both my writing process and the way I approach my author business as a whole. They were difficult lessons to learn, but ones I’m more than happy to implement going forward.
Lesson 1: Pacing and Story Structures
In the early days of The Elemental’s Guardian‘s launch, I learned the importance of watching pacing thanks to my reviews. I kept the reviews in mind while revising Project Elementals 2 and noticed how slow the pacing was firsthand.
In fact, nothing huge really happened until chapter twenty! When my alpha readers pointed out exactly what I’d noticed, too, I knew something had to change.
I tried figuring out story structures, which are the recognizable order in which stories are laid out. There are lots of different story structures. I was completely lost until one of my accountability buddies walked me through the 5 milestone story structure (the setup, an inciting incident that changes everything, a crisis where you think things couldn’t get any worse, another crisis where it just got worse but there’s hope, and finally, the climax and resolution) by using what I knew—Marvel Movies—as examples.
Even though I’m a pantser (I don’t plan or make outlines), I can still work around this story structure.
Paying attention to pacing and story structure has not only improved my writing, but it should also enhance the overall reading experience. As a reader, you may have noticed how well-crafted pacing can immerse you in a story. I intend on keeping my readers hooked from start to finish.
Lesson 2: Proper Market Research
I quickly understood the importance of proper market research when a few reviews for The elemental’s Guardian came in with less than three stars. Some of the concerns were that I’d advertized it as Sailor Moon meets Avatar: The Last Airbender. My reviewers had a completely different expectation of what that meant.
The “X Meets Y” pitch means putting two popular things together to give readers an idea of what to expect. It’s a great way to introduce someone to something new in terms they understand, and it works. Mostly.
I think I had a much broader view of what it meant, as in comparing those two series would appeal to and draw in a specific audience. But apparently, some people take it to mean a mashup of the main story elements and formula, like genre, plot, style, characters, etc.
My reviewers were disappointed I didn’t have a cast of teenagers. Or girl power or a love story like in Sailor Moon. Or a flying animal companion or that lightning manipulation belonged to the fire element instead of air, like in A:TLA.
I merely had the idea of “what if people could control the elements akin to A:TLA?”
And “what if warriors/royalty were specific to those elements, almost like the senshi were to the planets in Sailor Moon?”
And “What if those warriors/royalty had guardians comparable to the shitennou in Sailor Moon?”
My market research also opened my eyes to writing “to market.” That means writing what I know, writing with an audience in mind, and hitting the accepted genre tropes. It doesn’t mean I can’t write what I like, though! I can still do that, as long as I make sure to write books that align more closely with readers’ preferences. That ensures the stories resonate and offer a more tailored and satisfying reading experience.
Lesson 3: Completing the Series Before Launching
This one might be a complicated lesson to act upon. As a pantser, I don’t have full series planned out and outlined. Take Rise of the Sky Pirate as an example. The Adventures of Captain Keenan is the name of the series. And I have absolutely no idea what to do for the other books. Yet.
My initial rewrite of Project Elementals 2 found a few hiccups I had to work around because the events in The Elemental’s Guardian are set in stone due to being published. No big deal. But my rewrite of Project Elementals 3 faced far more hiccups—and plot holes. They involved lots more changes, including more changes in part 2.
I can only imagine what would’ve happened to part 3 if part 2 had been published before the massive rewrite.
Of course, completing a series before launching won’t always be possible for me, as stated earlier. In that case, I think maybe making sure I have a detailed Book Series Bible would work best.
A series bible is a screenwriting term for a reference document with information on characters, settings, etc. Authors also use this term for their novel series.
Having a detailed series bible would help with the little details, like when I mentioned in part 2 that Anya was the only character who could perform a certain task, only to have another character in part 3 do it. Oops.
Looking Back and Moving Forward
The support and feedback of my readers has been a major driving force behind my growth as an author. I am forever grateful.
I’m excited about upcoming projects and the opportunity to share more stories with you. Stay tuned for what’s next!
Raine
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