Newsletter - April 25, 2023


We had another busy week, followed by a weekend near Dallas for a basketball tournament. I had to miss my middle daughter's final dance competition in San Antonio which went on at the same time. 😥Meanwhile, our youngest is going nuts with her crocheting (in a good way).

I finally got through the principal theme of the Troll's Teeth story. Ironically, I stumbled coming out the other side, not realizing I had a gotcha. But I had some time to think it through on the three-hour drive home from Dallas, and I think the gotcha has turned into a way to make the story even better. I'm not 100% sure, because the change has tentacles that would reach broadly into the world, but I'm excited about it. (I think. Hesitantly excited.)

I haven't done this in a while -- I'm attaching a first draft of a segment of the story. It's not from the first book of Thaumatropic Roots, but rather the second... unless I decide to smash them together. So part of my write-ahead rather than keep-editing efforts. Note that the story may look vastly different by the time it is done. But it's fun to share some early work from time to time--just don't hold me to the details.

​Trolls Teeth.pdf​

o To-Do list for writing last week:

  • Email updates
  • Keep editing Mother of Trees - yup, some small but continued progress
  • Write ahead - Finish the scene prior to Troll's Teeth, then jump back to the Troll's Teeth story - I've thought that segment of the story through some, and it won't be quick to write. I'll be working on it for a few weeks.

o To-Do list for writing this week:

  • Email updates
  • Keep editing Mother of Trees
  • Write ahead - Work through the gotcha for getting them back out of the Troll's Teeth. The solution I came up with requires some noticeable backstory changes.

Previous Newsletters

​​May you get lost this week in another world.

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Steven J Morris

If you read fantasy for the magic, the world-building, and the occasional moment of dark humor—I write that. One urban fantasy series, one epic fantasy series, both set in the Fractured Arcana universe, with more coming. My newsletter takes you deeper into the worlds, the characters, and what's next.

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