Writing

• Read A Day of Faces for free here.
• Read this specific chapter here.
• Read all the writing notes here.

A structural oddity of A Day of Faces is that there’s rarely an evident antagonist, let alone an obvious Bad Guy. Holt fulfils that role for a while, but otherwise there’s only a general sense of insurmountable, conspiratorial forces. It’s rare for Kay & co to actually run up against them.

On the one hand, this runs into the Lord of the Rings ‘issue’ of there being no meaty Big Bad. Hence why the movies kept adding in Hero Orcs that the audience could properly dislike, while Sauron continued to be a vague background threat. (more…)

• Read A Day of Faces for free here.
• Read this specific chapter here.
• Read all the writing notes here.

This is the chapter in which Furey finally takes the gloves off. She’s been a controlled, simmering background player for the most part, with only occasional, brief moments of actual action – most notably at the end of Arc 3 on Hong Kong’s Peak.

‘Limbic system’, while still from Kay’s perspective, is essentially a Furey chapter. This is where she shows her quality, and demonstrates why she’s good to have along. That we see the action from the point of view of two people who are from a very different world (literally and figuratively, I suppose) makes it all the more entertaining, I hope – Kay’s experience of watching Furey at work is much like ours. (more…)

• Read A Day of Faces for free here.
• Read this specific chapter here.
• Read all the writing notes here.

This chapter marks the real start of a globe-trotting series of chapters. ‘Neuron’ and ‘Imagination’ were more of a continuation on from the events in Hong Kong, while ‘Catalyst’ takes us to a new place, being the Locque equivalent to India. (more…)

• Read A Day of Faces for free here.
• Read this specific chapter here.
• Read all the writing notes here.

I’ve rather let these writing diaries slip of late, due to a rather intense month (entirely unrelated to ADoF). Let’s do some catching up.

Chapter 43, ‘Interlude #7’, concludes the mini-Cal/Holt sub-plot. This kicked off at the very end of Arc 2, and rumbled through Arc 3 in the interludes. At last, here in Arc 4, that storyline meets its ending. (more…)

Read A Day of Faces for free here. Read this specific chapter here. Read all the writing notes here. This isn’t the first time I’ve been to Qinhu. I first explored it in a short story for the appendices of the Arc 2 ebook, in which I dive a little Read more…

Read A Day of Faces for free here. Read this specific chapter here. Read all the writing notes here. I’ve been getting rather behind on my A Day of Faces behind-the-scenes posts. Apologies. ‘Paradigm’ marks the beginning of Arc 4, which means it is also the beginning of the end. Read more…