Update #1: I’m writing a novel!

I’ve been writing bedtime stories for my kids for 17 years. Now I’m almost done with my first draft of an epic, 100,000 word fantasy novel inspired by those bedtime stories.

Below is an interview I conducted with three AI personas. I included a journalist, a teenager, and a publisher to get different perspectives on my project. Enjoy!

Want to be one of the first to read my draft when it’s ready for readers? Send me an email to jb@lot23.com, I’d love to hear from you.

Journalist: Thank you for sitting down with us. First off, can you give us a sense of what this book is about — without giving too much away?

Jon: I’m going to be writing an epic fantasy novel. I’ve done lots of essays and short stories, but this is my first attempt to do a full novel. There are swords, dragons, magic, a quest, and all the standard stuff that you’d expect to see in this genre. It’s based on the bedtime stories that I’ve read to my kids for the last 17 years.

Teenager: Are your kids the reason there are dragons?

Publisher: Dragons are fine, but every fantasy has dragons and swords. What sets this book apart in a crowded market?

Jon: Great question. I’ve been asking myself the same thing. I think the answer is that I’m not expecting to compete against the big published authors. I’m just trying to make something that my family and I can enjoy and be proud of, which is a hard-enough goal on its own. And if I can hit that bar, then who knows, maybe it finds a broader audience from there.

Publisher: Even if this is just for your family, you’re still investing time and energy. What does ‘success’ look like for you? Is it finishing the draft, sharing it with your kids, or something more measurable?

Jon: It’s making something great, where great is defined by me and my family liking it. Sometimes someone paints a painting not because of a gallery show, but because they wanted to paint the painting. That’s where my head is, but I’m not gonna lie, I do think I have the skills and the ability to make something good. There are sections of my own book that I read and I just think, gosh, this is great. And then there are sections that need a lot of improvement, so it’s on me to improve those sections.

Journalist: It sounds like you’re balancing ambition with a love for the process itself. When you’re writing those sections that you feel are truly great, what’s clicking for you? Is it the characters, the worldbuilding, or the rhythm of the language?

Jon: Let’s talk about the dragons directly. Dragons are not a massive part of the story, but when they do show up, like all great fantasy or science fiction, those wild moments are a reflection on human nature.

For example, one of the characters in the story really loves dragons, and she ends up battling a dragon thief because she’s so upset that this guy is poaching dragons. It’s less about the dragon and more about people who love animals and are willing to fight for them, which is relatable.

There’s another section where a dragon is chained up to provide the fire and flame that heats the hot water for the noble people of the city. So that’s getting into a little bit of social commentary and capitalism. Because rich people can enslave this poor dragon, what does that mean?

So I think the moments that are the most exciting for me are setting up characters, seeing how they’ll handle different scenes, and then seeing myself or my society reflected in them.

Teenager: If a dragon is heating water for rich people, does it ever sneeze fire and burn someone’s butt? I’d read that. Also, the dragon thief sounds cool.

Journalist: So you’re using dragons to explore human behaviors and societal themes. How do you ensure that the fantasy elements feel grounded and integrated with the world you’ve built?

Publisher: Same question from me. How are you going to find that balance? Does the message risk overpowering the plot or characters?

Jon: Point taken. You have to have the right balance, and that’s something that I’m actively working at. I get lost in the dialogue. I really enjoy seeing that character development. On the other hand, one thing that I’m trying to avoid is world building for the sake of world building.

Stephen King always taught me to take an interesting character, put them in an interesting situation, pair them with another character, and then they’ll tell you what’s going to happen. So, I’m a big believer in dialogue and the action of the scene driving things forward rather than having a preordained plot and grafted-on world building. I want it to feel as natural as possible, which is easier said than done!

Teenager: What’s your favorite scene so far? Like, the one where you were like, ‘Whoa, I’m amazing at this.’

Publisher: What’s your plan for editing? How will you tackle cutting or revising scenes that might not fit this natural flow you’re aiming for?

Jon: We’ve got a couple different questions here. Number one, I have some favourite scenes but I don’t want to share them yet.

Teenager: Lame, but okay.

Jon: Number two, how am I going to tackle editing? Ruthlessly.

Journalist: What does that look like in practice? Are you cutting entire sections, or is it more about tightening language and refining characters?”

Jon: The first 90% of a project is fine, but the second 90% will try to kill you. I know it’s always longer and more difficult than expected, so I’m ready for that.

I also know you need to kill your babies. I’ll take out whole chapters, whole characters, whole concepts. Because I’m not trying to make one song, I’m trying to make a whole album. And sometimes a song just doesn’t fit on the album, and it has to go.

Journalist: How do you decide when something isn’t working and needs to go?

Jon: I think you could ask 20 authors this, and they would give you 20 variations on the same answer: you’ll know it when you see it.

Imagine doing an album of folk music and then suddenly there’s a heavy metal track. It would need a good reason to be there. You could argue it’s there for contrast, but that would imply a 50/50 split between folk and metal. Having one outlier song probably wouldn’t serve the album.

Or compare it to baking. Someone might ask “how do you know when you’ve put too much sugar in?” And the answer is, there’s no one answer. The amount of sugar depends on the amount of all the other ingredients. So it’s all about context, and it’s all about what’s around it. And that’s what you find when you’re writing. You realize, gosh, this character just isn’t doing what I need them to. I just need to remove them and rewrite the scene to achieve my goals by other means.

Journalist: When you’re in the middle of rewriting, how do you stay connected to that bigger picture while focusing on the smaller, more immediate details of a scene or character?

Publisher: And how do you handle feedback when someone suggests cutting or changing something you personally love? Do you stick to your instincts, or is it more collaborative?”

Jon: My instincts are to be collaborative. So if you talk to one person and they say something is off, feel free to disagree. But by the time two or three people have told you it’s not working, now you’re the outlier. The key is to blend your own intuition with the signals you’re getting from others.

If you are told by 100 people that something doesn’t work, and choose to publish anyway, I don’t think that’s brave. I think that person is a bad listener and is not pushing their art to be as good as it can be.

Publisher: Are you already sharing your work and getting feedback, or are you holding off until the first draft is done?

Jon: Stephen King taught me to “write the first draft with the door closed and the second draft with the door open.” At this point my door is closed while I finish off my first draft. Once that’s done, the door will be open to feedback. I’m looking forward to reaching that point, hopefully soon.

Repeating myself: Want to be one of the first to read my draft when it’s ready for readers? Send me an email to jb@lot23.com, I’d love to hear from you.