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Population Figures

It might sound a bit nerdy, but I was keen to add a note of realism to the story by calculating some projected population figures. I did this by taking into account the technology referred to in the back story, and then factoring in birth and death rates, plus potential immigration levels given the political changes.

I estimated a population of around 12,000 by 2116 given the various factors, and produced a chart:



Believe it or not, I now have a spreadsheet with population figures for all the planets in the solar system up to 2132... More than I need for this story, but might be helpful for the next one...

Editing

I think I've finished the edit. It wasn't as thorough or creative as I might have liked, but I think I've tidied up the names, so it should make sense to newer readers... I hope the Wattpad system works better for those who've already downloaded parts....

From Zachery to Ares...

I've started a major edit. This has included a new beginning to Chapter One, and a huge number of minor chages for grammar, spelling or style.

The biggest change is that Zachery Foscolos is gradually becoming Ares Kokinos. I never really liked the original name and have increasingly been thinking that he had to go! I've still gone for a greek name but looked for something more punchy and also meaningful. Ares is the Greek name for Mars and Kokinos means 'red'. I think it's an improvement....

So far I've changed the Prologue and Chapter One, but Zachery is still lurking in later chapters. It might take a while to remove him completely, so many apologies to readers...

Chapter Five

Managed to get chapter five out. It needed a bit of reworking before publishing and I went back over it to add some more back story which I realised needed to come in here rather than later, or various character or behaviour statements would not quite work.

Since publishing chapter 5 the story has passed the 200 reads point and went back into the charts at #72. I know these things are all relative, but they do give you a bit of encouragement. This is much more fun than other writing projects where you don't get any feedback until you've finished...

Working on Chapter Five

I've been working on chapter 5. I've been finding it tricky because I've got a lot of exposition and character back story to work in. I also need to get this character into the right place for the conclussion... I think I'm nearly there and will hopefully publish the chapter later...

At the same time, I've been re-reading earlier chapters and think that some serious editing is needed. I'm still not happy with names and Zack needs to go! Not sure who he needs to become though....

I'm also not happy with the writing of chapter one. It was a, let's just start writing moment, and I need to go back and start again - with more of a sense of how the whole book is taking shape.

Just at the moment, my plan is to finish chapter five - which will take me to roughly the mid-point of a ten chapter project, and then do some serious editing before ploughing on. I may also take a break and do some more work on my short story Ouroboros...

All my stories have now dropped off the hotness charts. The algoriythm is against me! - or I haven't been publishing... 

Chapter Four

Just finished the last part of chapter four. I then combined all three into one. I'm not sure about releasing chapers in parts. I may go back to putting the out in one go... It's quite nice to feel you're making progress though... Chaper four was a tricky one since I really wanted a sense of time passing, but needed a few vigniettes to give it pace. Hope it worked.

Red Spring at #68 for 'hotness' which is nice...

Chapter Four Part 1

I've just posted the first draft of chapter 4 (part 1). This chapter is designed to bridge the action between the oppening section of the book and the middle part where the main action will take place. The first three chapters happen within a 24 hour time frame, but this chapter will span a period of several weeks. This makes it a bit different, but I need a link like this if I'm going to get a sense of passing time...

I've also decided to break down the chapters into smaller chunks. I've noticed that other Wattpadders have done this and I can see the advantages. In particular, it keeps the time gap between posts down and means that you have more chances of engaging with readers... It would be interesting to see if this works. I don't think it will make much difference to the reading experience, and I can edit the whole thing in my own way later...

I've also decided to add something about writting status in the title. Again, I've seen other people do this and I wonder if it helps readers? I may try something similar next time I post....

Chapter Three

A first draft of chapter three has now been posted. I've changed a few details which will need to be written back into the earlier chapters - nothing major but some of the names weren't working for me.

The main purpose of this chapter was to introduce the key threat in the story and an important character. I also wanted to do this in such a way that we leave some of our main characters in peril - for just a bit longer...

Prologue

I've just added a prologue, because I realised that the opening chapter throws us into the action far too quickly and also draws the focus onto the military side of the story. I'm hoping that the new opening gives a better sense of the main themes. I'd be interested to know what you think?