Huh, well. That’s not such a straightforward answer, Nonnie!
As @fuckthisimgoingtoerebor can attest, the chapters started short and GREW. They were initially around 4-5K long.
Chapter 41 is 21K long.
(ricky, i am so so so sorry.)
I am cutting back now, to between 12-15K per chapter. Chapter 42 was 14K, which felt manageable. I aim to keep them all at around that length from here on!
I’m roughly the shade of beetroot here. You are WAY WAY TOO GENEROUS. Thank you, beautiful kind person.
Ohboy, okay, here we go, answers one after the other:
At what point did you realize that Sansukh would be not just long, but OMG Freakin’ Epic?
I always knew it was gonna be enormous – I think there’s a note right at the first chapter that is a little bit jokey, a little bit ‘it’s ME so ofc it’s gonna be long and over-complicated hahaha aren’t I a dumb’ – but I NEVER THOUGHT IT’D BE THIS ENORMOUS holy shit. I think it was about chapter 19-20 or so, when I began to think ‘okay, that’s one book down… ohgod but The Two Towers is SO MUCH MORE COMPLICATED and ROTK IS EVEN MORE SO … ok, breathe, shit we’re gonna be here A WHILE.’
And that was when I started to think, all right. So it’s going to be a behemoth. That’s ok. That’s fine. You can do it. No rush. Don’t burn out and abandon it because you pushed yourself for more than you have to give at a time. You WANT to finish it. It means too much to you to have a forever-WIP on your slate bc of something as stupid as burnout.
So, I’ve taken my time. When I can’t, I don’t. When I can, I do. Slow and steady, as the tortoise said 🙂
Did you ever think you’d be writing well in excess of HALF A MILLION words just on AO3, to say nothing of tumblr headcanons, ficlets, meta, songs, and and and?
NOPE. NOT IN A MILLION ZILLION YEARS. NOT TO ANY OF IT. NOT TO THE WORDCOUNT, AND NOT TO THE COMPOSITIONS AND HEADCANON SPLURGES AND META AND FICLETS AND APPENDICES. I’d wouldn’t have dared to dream that I could make all that. I wouldn’t have thought I could even do HALF of that.
I think I trust myself a bit more, nowadays 🙂
Ohgod you’ve reminded me too – I really really have to update the masterposts, they’re SO behind!
Do you anticipate writing at that length ever again (after a suitable recovery period)?
Oooooh. Um. Possibly. I would have to find the kind of premise that really grabs me. Also, it would have to be a story I need to tell. there are elements of Sansukh (the Dwarf-centric and Dwarf-sympathetic viewpoint, for example, as well as many of the themes – such as hope having virtue in itself rather than as a means to an end, fucking up and moving past it, found family, learning who you are, working through institutionalised racism, mental illness and management, racial and sexual and gender diversity, etc etc) that mean so damn much to me, that came pouring out of me in a torrent.
Plus, if I were ever to write anything as massive as this ever again, I would have to ensure not to have a baby in the middle of writing the dang thing. Puts a massive crimp on your writing time!!! 😛
Did you think your creativity would inspire so many others?
Never. I didn’t even think it would get noticed. When I began writing it, the trend in fandom was for very fluffy Beorn’s-house or Laketown fics, some cute pining, mostly requited, lots of very enthusiastic porn.
And there I was, with HELLO ANGSTY CHILDREN, EVERYONE’S DEAD AND EVERYTHING SUCKS. HERE ARE A MILLION FOOTNOTES AND HALF A RESEARCH PAPER. AND JUST IN CASE YOU’RE FEELING TOO CHIPPER… HEEEEEEEERE’S MORIA!! *jazz hands*
I’ve never really stopped being overawed and amazed at the creativity of everyone. The animators, artists, singers, musicians, writers, the cosplayers and voice actors, the sound editors and podfic folks and composers and recipe-makers and those who had a giggle on the sansukh page at TVtropes and GOD, so many folks. I’ve made so many dear friends, ones I will hold in my heart my whole life long. I’m so so grateful. I’m constantly, never-endingly staggered.
And @fishfingersandscarves, who is behind the Sansukh Graphic Novel, and has created over 100 individual pieces of art for Sansukh. 100. Just. Wow. Fishy is a powerhouse, a fountain of creation and creativity. She has an incredible future ahead of her.
And finally, did you ever know that you’re my hero?
AHH NONNIE I AM SO GLAD you decided to let me know! I’m stoked to hear it!
Yeah, the end is finally coming into view! I decided to finish on a nice neat 50 🙂 I know that there are a few others who lost track during the big hiatus(ses), and some out there who only read finished works and not WIPS. I’ve received some lovely messages from those folks saying ‘ohmygod really? really? At long last?!?’
and I’ve been all ‘RIGHT???? IT’S BEEN OVER THREE YEARS, I’VE BEEN WRITING THIS THING FOR MORE THAN THREE. SMEGGING. YEARS.’
I’m hoping to have it done by the end of the year. I hope, I hope, I hope. EIGHT CHAPTERS TO GO.
And then *timpani roll* the long-promised happy ending at LAST!
Other people have written heaps on character creation, but I’m not gonna go into all that, that’s available at writing blogs and sites and such. I’m just gonna explain my main rule of thumb when it comes to creating and writing characters…
what they look like is the LEAST important thing about them.
Seriously. I mean it. I give them two or three physical attributes. I mention these attributes once only – maybe twice, if it is particularly important (say, Gimris’ hair for instance). Then the rest of my effort is always devoted to personality characteristics. This in turn informs their actions and dialogue.
That’s why Bomfris’ dialogue is different to Hrera’s is different to Gimris’’ is different to Laerophen’s is different to Gimizh’s. If I’ve done this well enough, then I should be able to write a few random lines of dialogue below and you should be able to discern which of these characters is saying it.
1. “I’m NOT havin’ a bath! I won’t! I dun wanna! Leggo of me!”
2. “Tsk. What a performance, good gracious. Such a dreadful show of poor breeding. It’s your family he gets it from, you know.”
3. “Um… excuse me? Pardon me? Um, yes hello – uh, I have an idea for that, if you’ll just let me through…”
4. “You’re nice, but it’s not needed. He’s just being an uncombed and idiotic fathead again. Wait, did I say ‘again’? I meant still.”
There we go, nonnie. I hope that is a help to you!
I am wishing @determamfidd all the inspiration and time and good vibes in her writing of the next Sansukh chapter.
In the meantime, does it make me a very, very, VERY bad fuzzy blue alien when my reaction to Thranduil having Major Kittens over the Legolas/Gimli is this?
(Look, I’m not really worried about Gloin and his own kittens, because Gloin has plenty of people around him to smack sense into his Attack Shrub Brain™ not counting the Dwarfly Ghostly Peanut Gallery™ )
HEHEHEHEHEHEHEH
dyou know, i…. think I have finished? omfg. 14k of it woohoooooo!
(God, it feels rough as guts, every word has been like carving runes with a chisel, I AM SO RUSTYYYY, ugh.)
I’m gonna let it sit for an hour or two, before I come back to do the final read-through and edit. And then: POST
Oh boy yes it’s real. It’s very very real. And very very good.
Shit’s going down.
You’re welcome.
AW DUDE
i really appreciate you taking the time to look over it. Super relieved that even though I’ve felt clunky and rusty as hell, it doesn’t read that way to you. *falls in a pile* THANK FUCK
Aw Yiss 