The second draft of Acorn Canyon was finished in the middle of last month. I passed it over to my husband, who always gets to do the first read. Not only is he widely read in SF and Fantasy, with a valuable perspective. He’s also very supportive and encourages me, rather than, say, suggesting that I might do the dusting more often.

It’s been interesting to get his reactions. He is one of those readers who always wants to predict what will happen, who the bad guys are, and so forth. His predictions are often quite accurate. That helps me know when I need more layers or a twist of some kind.

But with Acorn Canyon, he’s way off and it’s hilarious. Partly, I think, it’s because this is a middle grade book and he hardly ever reads in that age group. It’s also a cozy fantasy, which he doesn’t read as much, either. So he’s generally looking for more adult plot turns. He’s labeled a character as “evil” when nobody in a cozy fantasy is evil.

In addition, I moved a lot of boundaries in the world building. This is the story where there are no kings/nobility, no permanent warrior class, most of the locations don’t use money, and so forth. The plot structure also is quite different, since it is part 1 of 2. He can tell something is different, but I don’t think he’s sussed it all out yet.

It’s been really interesting to get his reactions. When he finishes, I look forward to hashing it all out with him.

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Now that I took out the problematic subplot from Acorn Canyon, I need to reconfigure the ending. What was an important point to the over all plot, but then went into the subplot’s ending, now is the end point. Surprise!

But in a good way, though. As I go through this revision, one thing I’ve wondered about is whether Cleodora could be considered a Chosen One. You know the trope — a young man is “chosen by fate” or some other divine force, to carry out a dangerous mission. Often the youth is also given some sort of powers or abilities to help with said mission.

Early in the book, Cleodora saves one of the nature spirits that’s been injured. It becomes bonded to her, and in her culture they are now considered one being, a “druet.” Her mother and mentor were discussing whether this made her a “chosen one,” and they talked about what that meant for her future.

Chosen One isn’t a trope I’m really fond of. They’re over-done, and also often used in a sexist and ageist way. Other characters will ignore all sorts of qualified women and older people to follow the chosen one. However, I’m enjoying a chance to explore this trope a bit. Was Cleodora chosen, or did she choose? Will people allow a 13-year-old girl to lead, or tell her to sit and be quiet?

As I’ve mentioned before, this draft has been a lot about deepening character relationships. This is especially true with Navaire, her mentor and step-father, who is trying to protect her in a parental role. Where I’m revising now, Navaire told Cleodora to wait for the adults to lay a trap, but she used herself as bait instead. He’s upset. Yet he himself is a druet. When he was younger, would he have let anyone tell him not to follow his path?

It’s been fun to reflect on this and work through it toward the conclusion. For those of you who are writers, I hope you’re having fun challenges in your craft, too.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.