The Road to Anarchy

As I begin the second novel, it’s interesting to revisit the characters further down the road. I spent several years working on The Road of Fathers. The outlining process took about nine months itself. And throughout the editing and rewriting, I molded and shaped the characters into which they were.

For example, Gorka Osa started out as a more classic villain, few redeeming qualities and representing evil. But as I moved forward, I realized his morals were fluid and his place in the story was more ambiguous. Certainly, the decisions he makes seem evil to Gabriel Theobald. But Gorka Osa has his own unique philosophies. He has specific viewpoints on King Azjik based on his own violent past. So, Tyrian becomes attracted to these qualities.

And, whereas in the first novel, Tyrian is a self-conscious sixteen year old, full of rage and rebellion, now I get to develop him as a more measured young man. His rage has given way to a steely anger. He looks back at what he was taught and begins to develop disagreements with his old mentor.

It will be interesting to create his arc in the second novel, tracking his growth even further. The difficulty will be in creating a balance so that he does not grow too much, in an unrealistic way, but enough that I can show a progression.

What I enjoy about it is that it becomes my own puzzle, piecing together characters and subplots; weaving together several journeys to tell the same story.

I am currently on Chapter Four of the second novel, The Road to Anarchy, where we find Tyrian, no longer an awkward boy, but a man becoming a soldier.