Finished! Right on time! (jk)

4/21/2017

If I had been updating you on my Blackflame progress for the last six weeks, it would have sounded like this:

"I've had to make some more changes than I thought, but I'll be done this week for sure."

Rinse and repeat, x6.

This book took me a lot more work than usual, but some books are just harder than others. Part I of Blackflame has a lot of setup, Part II has a lot of training, and Part III is essentially one long scene cutting between like six different fights.

Kind of a weird structure for me, but I just kept playing with it until I was happy with it.

And now I am! Woohoo! Release very soon, unless I see something very wrong with it that I've somehow overlooked until now and requires extensive rewrites, in which case it'll release June 1st.

Either way, ALMOST THERE!

-Will

P.S. Abidan Part V is coming next, I've just been swamped with Blackflame. I got up at 4 this morning, and I went to bed at 4 the night before, so I don't even know what a sleep schedule is. ONLY BLACKFLAME.

111 Comments

April

4/21/2017 02:54:25 pm

Yay, we finally get to find out what happens to Shera and Calder. That is the book you're releasing right?

Kevin

4/21/2017 03:00:33 pm

Blackflame is the next book in the Cradle series, not the Elder Empire series (which features Shera and Calder).

April

4/21/2017 08:40:08 pm

I know. I think my humor font is broken.

Will link

4/21/2017 10:07:05 pm

*I* got it, April.

Will link

4/21/2017 03:05:10 pm

Yes, that is...that is exactly the one...

April

4/21/2017 02:55:39 pm

Also, go take a nap.

Will link

4/21/2017 10:07:17 pm

I should have.

Lyndrek

4/21/2017 03:04:46 pm

You know Will, I was wondering why no pre-order was available for Blackflame. Glad your almost done with it!

Will link

4/21/2017 03:05:50 pm

Well, there's no pre-order because I don't do pre-orders. They screw up my ranking.

I'll try them again soon to see if anything's changed, though.

Devin

4/21/2017 03:19:31 pm

Soooooo. This week as in by Sunday? or this week as in by Friday of next week?

Lyndrek

4/21/2017 03:57:44 pm

Did not know that, but good to know.

Will link

4/21/2017 10:07:39 pm

I don't think I said I would release it this week...

Joel

4/24/2017 10:19:00 am

I'm curious why pre orders mess up ratings. Is that Amazon only or does it affect all authors? Seems like pre orders should all apply to the day of release. That's when they actually charge for the purchase I believe.

Will link

4/24/2017 05:51:56 pm

@Joel

Yeah, that's the issue. The sales count for ranking purposes when the pre-order is placed, not when it's charged.

So instead of getting a big spike on Day 1, which is what I need to launch high up in the charts and get visible to new readers, I get a slow, steady drift upwards into medium visibility. Which is useless.

Mike

4/21/2017 03:21:53 pm

Thanks for your hard work Will! I look forward to your releases as much as any author and I appreciate how prolific and communicative you are.

Will link

4/21/2017 10:07:53 pm

Thanks, Mike!

Ethan

4/21/2017 03:23:16 pm

So glad to hear the progress. So sad that it won't be out till june. Thank you for working so hard on your books and creating such intresting and engaging reading material. My only wish is that it took me as long to read your books as it does for you to write them, but when the books are as good as yours I just can't put them down.

Nitin

4/21/2017 04:00:07 pm

" Release very soon, unless I see something very wrong with it that I've somehow overlooked until now and requires extensive rewrites, in which case it'll release June 1st."

David

4/21/2017 04:33:45 pm

Don't worry man, he said it'll be released June 1st only if he has to rewrite it again. It is likely it'll be released much sooner than that.

Will link

4/24/2017 10:15:52 am

Just confirmed: it will be May 1st.

June was a worst-case scenario anyway.

James A.

4/21/2017 04:14:00 pm

Is that 4 am to 4 am - as in 0 hours?

Dustin

4/21/2017 04:30:48 pm

That would be 24 hours. I assume Will meant 4:00PM to 4:00 AM which would be 12 hours.

Will link

4/21/2017 10:11:15 pm

No, just a weird sleep schedule.

I went to bed at 4 AM on the 20th of April and woke up at 9:30 AM on the 20th of April.

Then I went to bed at some point on the 20th and got up at 4 AM on the 21st, and I haven't gone to sleep yet.

There you go. Just weird writing hours.

Wooton

4/21/2017 04:26:28 pm

Congrats! And congrats to us readers who get to read your work again!

Will link

4/21/2017 10:11:32 pm

Thanks, Wooton!

Dustin

4/21/2017 04:32:06 pm

All that work and I'll be done with it 2-3 hours after it goes up for sale. :P

Will link

4/21/2017 10:11:50 pm

I only wish I could write as fast as I could read. Alas.

Gethel

4/21/2017 04:33:24 pm

Heart attack on page 1 or page last?

Mahfuz

4/21/2017 07:45:57 pm

EPILOGUE

And then Lindon had a heart attack and died.

—THE END—

Joel

4/24/2017 10:21:17 am

Iron bodies don't get heart attacks you fools.

Corey

4/21/2017 04:36:50 pm

So anywhere between a couple weeks to a month or two ^_^ so excited !

Will link

4/21/2017 10:13:00 pm

Well, it SHOULD be either:

A.) About ten days, or...

B.) A month.

I'm trying to release as close to the first of the month as I can. HOPEFULLY that's the first of May, but if I discover any last-second problems, I don't have much time to fix them before May 1st, in which case it would get bumped to June 1st.

4/22/2017 08:30:37 am

Please by next weekend!!!!!!
Ready set go!!!

Diego link

4/22/2017 10:15:02 am

Such dire words. Damn man your gonna give me a heart disease saying things like that. :(

Will link

4/24/2017 10:16:17 am

Option A is a go.

May 1st.

Dustin

4/24/2017 04:40:35 pm

Woot!!!

FoolRegnant

4/21/2017 05:01:57 pm

Mwuahahaha

That's right, write for our pleasure. Write for us!

I've been feeling a little bereft in my reading selection recently, so this is welcome news.

Will link

4/21/2017 10:13:40 pm

James Cameron does what James Cameron does, not for James Cameron.

Riley

4/22/2017 07:34:36 pm

James Cameron does what James Cameron does because James Cameron is James Cameron.

Hahaha just watched this last night, glad to see you're a fan! My birthday is tomorrow, so even if you miss by a week or a month, I'm considering it a big win! Thanks for being so awesome Will!

Will link

4/24/2017 10:16:48 am

Only a week off, Riley! Happy (late) birthday!

Nocturniquet

4/21/2017 05:18:44 pm

**H Y P E I N T EN S I F I E S **

May 1st hype train ALL ABOARD

Part 3 sounds swag. Tons of fighting? Sounds fine by me. This sounds like you managed to squeeze Lindon's year of training while literally the entire fanbase didn't expect that to be the case. They expected Lindon to fight Jai in book 4 or something. We shall see.

Will link

4/21/2017 10:15:02 pm

May 1st is the plan, and I'll hit it...unless a story problem crops up between now and then, because if it does, I won't have time to fix it.

I've never discovered a major story problem this late in the process, but you never know. I feel like I've spent way more time on this book than usual too.

Nocturniquet

4/22/2017 02:44:19 am

Consider May 1st the early access beta, whose entry fee is $3.

This way if us readers discover something flawed you can patch it like a game developer. This gives us reason to read the book again. Sounds good to me.

Will link

4/24/2017 10:19:04 am

I actually used to do that, Nocturniquet. Amazon used to work differently, where if you released changes to the Kindle book, anyone could choose to update their book to the latest, most polished version.

Now, unless I make SIGNIFICANT changes to the book (like adding three chapters or something), Amazon doesn't do that. You're stuck with the version you originally purchased.

So I try to get my books a little more final before release, although there will still be little things I need your help catching.

Daniel young

4/22/2017 10:06:04 am

If the hype train is stopping in Seattle I'll definitely be purchasing tickets!

Sir Wolpertinger

4/21/2017 05:56:24 pm

So very excited to get to read this soonish, maybe!
Will out of all the books I've read yours are always a breath of fresh air. Your unique style and perspective are absolutely amazing. It's even because of you that I started to write again after years of avoiding it! Thank you so much for your hard work and remember to get some rest!

Will link

4/21/2017 10:16:13 pm

That's awesome, Wolpertinger! Good luck!

...I'll have plenty of time for rest when my current wave of readers tells me there's no major problem with the story and I won't have to do another rewrite.

That is when I will rest.

Daniel young

4/22/2017 10:07:23 am

Make sure to get black curtains so you can sleep all day:)

Garbagiel The Raccoon

4/21/2017 07:05:33 pm

No more digging through your trash for Blackflame manuscripts!

Will link

4/21/2017 10:16:52 pm

Are you a digital raccoon? Because all my trash is on my hard drive.

Garbagiel cultist

4/22/2017 05:17:00 am

He is Garbagiel and thus the master of all trash. All praise Garbagiel!

Garbagiel the raccoon

4/22/2017 08:39:08 pm

Why are you surprised that the lord of trash exists in the internet Will?

Side note: I have a cult now!

Will link

4/24/2017 10:19:38 am

This whole raccoon thing has blown up way beyond what I expected. It's like Pawnee up in here.

Garbagiel the raccoon

4/24/2017 11:59:19 am

Without the regular sacrifice of Will Wight books, the incarnation of Dumpsteros has been unleashed upon the world. Under my scrutiny, he has been sent forth to propagate our cause.

DudeMcManGuy

4/21/2017 07:19:55 pm

Holy cow, love all your books a ton! Read em on Unlimited then buy them after, hope you get cash for both! Thanks for not doing a Preorder, i hate having a book cover stare at me for months unable to read it. I love how natural and real your characters are. Not a book so much about a persob but about his journey through a vibrant world! Totally equal to Sanderson in entertainment but in your own great style!

So thanks, I can't wait to see more of this universe!

Will link

4/21/2017 10:17:52 pm

Thanks, Manliest Name Possible! I'm 95% certain I do get the cash for both, but it's hard to test. Either way, thanks!

Zeussaxis

4/22/2017 08:18:34 am

That does make me wonder: if I read on unlimited....And then read again just by going to the start and charging back through, you don't get paid again. If I check it back in and check it out again from unlimited...Do you get paid again?

Daniel young

4/22/2017 10:08:47 am

I'm fairly certain that is how it works

Will link

4/24/2017 10:20:17 am

@Zeus:

Yeah, I think so. If you read it, check it out again, and read it again, I do think I get paid twice, yes.

A new addict

4/21/2017 07:22:45 pm

Wow, cant wait! I love this cultivation thing, any suggestions on other similar books or stories while i wait?

4/21/2017 07:49:11 pm

If you haven't heard of Mother of Learning, I highly suggest you check it out (plus it's free). It doesn't have Will's hyper action sequences but power growth is a very iterative process similar to cultivation in Cradle (rather than directly gaining more power, it's more about becoming more skilled in using what's already there).

You can read it for free on fiction press (https://www.fictionpress.com/s/2961893/1/Mother-of-Learning). It's currently about half way through the third and final arc and each arc is around book length.

Will link

4/21/2017 10:18:13 pm

I've really been enjoying A Will Eternal on Wuxiaworld.

Coldsteel

4/22/2017 12:09:21 pm

"A Will Eternal". I see what you did there, you eternity chaser.

Micah

4/22/2017 06:13:24 am

My favorite is Way of choices (ztj) on gravity tales. It just got turned into a cheesy drama and released in china this past week.

God of Towers cousin

4/22/2017 12:29:36 pm

Against the gods
A will eternal
I shall seal the heavens
Renegade immortal
(AWE, RI, ISSH all take place in the same wuxia-verse just different time eras)
Battle Through the Heavens

Bryce

4/21/2017 07:34:15 pm

So here is my question. Can you not say when you have a 'completed draft' of books going forward. Going by the difference of when you said that and when the release may be seems to make more sense not to, at least for sanity's sake. =/

Will link

4/21/2017 10:22:25 pm

Can't do that, Bryce.

I was very clear that it's not a linear process and it's difficult and misleading to say where I am in the journey until I'm essentially done, but people wanted status updates anyway, so I was as open as I could be.

First draft finished in late February, and every week since then, I thought, "This is going to be it. It will be ready after this."

And every week I needed more time. So, there you go. That's how it works.

Sancus

4/21/2017 11:04:56 pm

As a counterpoint to this, I do like the status updates even though it's clear that you can't really predict how long is remaining from them.

I will say, however, that you shouldn't say IT'S REALLY FINISHED until it's actually uploading to Amazon ;)

Sean K

4/22/2017 01:49:42 am

I like status updates, but I think it would be less stressful for Will if he just didn't do them. No mention to when the book is going to be ready until he's like "hey guys, you should check out Kindle for the next book, just uploaded it!"

Will link

4/24/2017 10:23:40 am

People get angry at me (like, sending me actual angry rants on Facebook messenger or email) when I don't give them an estimate, and when my estimates are wrong.

Sadly, there really isn't a third option. Either I don't say anything until the book is absolutely complete, or I give my best guess that is prone to error. Either way, somebody's unhappy.

But hey, that means both groups are eager to read the book!

Dustin

4/24/2017 04:45:09 pm

The majority of people feel comforted by a progress bar. It doesn't matter whether it means anything or not. It's like the install progress bar for programs. It will zoom through 97% and then sit there with 3% left for 10 minutes before it completes.

Levi

4/21/2017 07:45:59 pm

Time to reread the first 2 so they are fresh in my mind

Will link

4/21/2017 10:18:42 pm

Don't worry, I will beam them straight into your brain.

Zach

4/21/2017 08:16:21 pm

Is the elder empire going to be completed? ETA?

Will link

4/21/2017 10:19:07 pm

Yes, they will be completed, and I should have news about that within the week.

The path of discordant melody

4/21/2017 10:15:31 pm

I can't wait to dig into Blackflame! I hope to see more of the world of Cradle, as thus far we've been relegated to the relative boonies and wilderness surrounding sacred valley. Keep up the good work!

Will link

4/21/2017 10:20:06 pm

It will slowly open up. I wanted to spend a little more time exploring the current city, but that ended up as a deleted scene, with the setting as essentially window dressing.

However, it does set the stage for the next book.

Rhys

4/22/2017 02:46:32 am

Could we maybe see that deleted scene will? Like as a short story or a blog post or something. An exploration of a city in Blackflame sounds awesome

Diego link

4/22/2017 10:11:03 am

Do u mean u have a limit to how much u can put in your book? Or is it a long complicated reason? Or maybe u set the limit to prevent urself from adding too much nonessential info? (Not judging, just curious here) Also thanks for the update. :)

Zach

4/23/2017 06:50:06 pm

Will you have the foundation for a 10 book 700 epic with cradle....take your time and thrill us. That's hey I asked if Oder series would be completed....great work bud and your getting better

Will link

4/24/2017 10:26:57 am

@Rhys: I have so much deleted content from Blackflame that yes, you probably will see some of it on the blog in the future.

@Diego: There are a few reasons why a scene could get deleted. Sometimes I realize a character is unnecessary, so I have to remove every scene that features him too prominently. Sometimes it refers to things that no longer happen in the story, or sets up something that is no longer going to happen. Sometimes I have to remove it for pacing or because there's a different, better scene that serves the same purpose.

@Zach: Thanks man! I don't think the future books are going to get any longer than this one, but there should be a lot of them.

Kaileonis

4/21/2017 10:57:39 pm

OoooOooh.. so either May 1.... or my birthday June 1. Haha.. which ever it is itll be a great ride. Thanks for working hard on it.

Will link

4/24/2017 10:28:04 am

It'll be a month-early birthday present for you!

Darryl

4/21/2017 11:58:08 pm

It's going to come out May 2nd just because I have 2 books preordered to drop on may second and Will wants to torture me by making me have to decide on which to read first! But seriously GREAT JOB WILL! *Acting like a 5 year old on Christmas Eve* if they do all drop the same day Blackflame WILL BE the first I read. Can't wait!

Will link

4/24/2017 10:27:45 am

Don't worry; May 1st! You'll have two days of fun new releases!

If you don't mind me asking: what else are you pre-ordering?

David

4/22/2017 12:10:36 am

ZOMG!!! I am so excited!!!!

Micah

4/22/2017 06:16:27 am

Congrats Will, can't wait to read it. Now try and relax a bit! If you have any down time to read something new, Mark Lawrence just released his new book Red Sister this month as well. Would Recommend!

Nona

4/22/2017 08:03:19 am

10/10 would recommend. Kick butt action sequences.

Will link

4/24/2017 10:28:53 am

It's at the top of my to-read list. I love Mark Lawrence, and Red Sister seems to be right up my alley.

George

4/22/2017 08:55:54 am

Will, did you change major parts in comparison to your first draft, which you said was finished end of feb, or only minor parts, like the paraphrasing of sentences, in hope to improve the writing style.

Will link

4/24/2017 10:33:13 am

Major story stuff. I didn't start working on the sentence-level issues until this week (for the most part).

The general outline stayed more or less the same through the whole process, because I knew what I needed to do in this series, but a LOT of the scenes changed.

There was one new character that I liked and introduced and got a lot of screen time, but I ended up cutting him because I didn't need him. Which meant I had to rewrite any scene that prominently featured him.

Yerin originally had a big storyline of her own, but that would have almost doubled the book's length, so I had to fold it in to the main plot instead.

The ending sequence was more or less the same, but it played out differently. I rewrote basically all of the final fights...not because they were bad the first time, but so that they put the characters where I wanted them.

The first quarter of the book was too slow, so I added some scenes to hike up the tension, then I cut a bunch, then I added it back in so it was slow again...and so on. The cycle continues.

I didn't spend more time polishing this book than usual, just more time wrestling with it.

Azqa

4/24/2017 12:35:27 pm

And these are the problems we love our authors to have - too much story to tell that they really like, but that they have to trim back :D

The new character that got cut - any chance we'll see him in a later book when there's room?

Will link

4/24/2017 05:50:11 pm

Probably, yeah. I don't know where I'm going to introduce him at this point, but I'm keeping him in my back pocket until I need him.

Coldsteel

4/22/2017 12:06:14 pm

This is awesome news! Congratulations, Will! It sounds like this one was a tough slog.

I just finished rereading the first two books. In fact I finished Soulsmith a few minutes ago, went to check the blog hoping for some news, and found this posted. Perfect timing.

Is Blackflame any longer now than the first two books given all the extra work and rewriting?

Sean K

4/23/2017 06:18:21 pm

In his Facebook post he said that it was some 24% extra words than the other two. something like 80k words for Unsouled and Soulsmith, but 110k words for Blackflame, or something similar.

Will link

4/24/2017 10:15:18 am

Unsouled is 89k, Soulsmith is 85k, and Blackflame is 110k.

At the moment, my Blackflame document is 27% longer than my Soulsmith document.

...and the document where I keep all the scenes I've cut from Blackflame is 60k.

Coldsteel

4/24/2017 01:18:09 pm

I'm sad that you cut so much from the book, especially Yerin's storyline stuff. I hope you didn't cut so much out just for the sake of a smaller book. As long as it adds depth to the characters or the world and doesn't mess up the pace, longer is not a bad thing. Look at Sanderson's Stormlight books. They're longer than long but every time I reach the end of one, I wish it were longer still. I know a lot of authors go where the story takes them and if it ends up as a longer book as a result, so be it. You seem to very deliberately choke down on that. Is that part of your process?

Will link

4/24/2017 05:45:51 pm

I do choke down on that deliberately, but it's not as though I had a 170k book that I was really happy with, yet I cut sixty thousand words just to make it smaller.

Yerin's storyline as I had originally planned it would have added an entirely separate, full storyline that competed with the main plot. I didn't think that would serve the story well, so I cut it and the major scenes setting it up.

>"Look at Sanderson's Stormlight books. They're longer than long but every time I reach the end of one, I wish it were longer still."

That's a pair of great points.

1.) Brandon Sanderson very deliberately chooses the length and scope of his books to suit the story. Way of Kings is a behemoth of a book, but Steelheart isn't. He wasn't going where the story took him and feeling it out as he wrote; he knew when he started writing Stormlight that this was his series of massive door-stoppers.

In my case, I'm trying to become more like Sanderson (in every way, really) in that I do a better job of aiming for an appropriate length for the story I want to tell. But that means cutting words if the book is too long for the story and beefing it up if it's too short.

2.) IMHO, you should end a book while the reader still wants more. Don't overstay your welcome. If the reader starts thinking they've had enough, the book is too long.

"Too long" being individual to each story. Words of Radiance is over 300k, and it's not too long for its target audience. A taut thriller might be too long at 90k.

"More" doesn't mean "better," is what I'm saying.

>"A lot of authors go where the story takes them and if it ends up as a longer book as a result, so be it."

Yeah. This attitude scares me, because it draws me like a siren's song.

Not to name names, but we can all think of examples where the series gets drawn out too long, and now every book is bigger than the last, and it's crammed with characters you don't care about and locations you won't remember and it feels like the story is buried in fluff.

The authors are navigating by feel. They feel like the story needs more, they want to give it more, so the story just gets longer and longer.

If I did a full storyline for each character in Cradle as the muse took me, Yerin would have had a whole plotline in this book. Then Eithan might have had one in Book 4, so now we have three storylines. By that time, we've got a whole new cast of characters. I even want to show what's going on in Sacred Valley, so maybe I have a plotline over there too...

Before you know it, you have a series where it goes from 89k in Book 1 to 189k in Book 6. Happens all the time, and it's a trap.

Kaden

4/23/2017 08:13:17 pm

Yes finally now EE will be completed and I will finally be able oh wait judging by Will's past brushes with OKAK he is either going to get inspired to write a new species or blow it off with another cradle book (please don't I won't send another badger or try to hack you again ever again please Will I know you are reading this!). But congrats on the new cradle book can't wait to read it!

Also

Could Will write a will after his willpower ran out and he willed himself to finally succumb to the eternal slumber of Will?

Will link

4/24/2017 10:13:46 am

I won't be writing another book between now and OKAK.

...however, I might RELEASE another book between now and OKAK. More info to come.

April

4/24/2017 10:48:32 pm

...

?

Nikk

4/24/2017 05:50:00 am

I don't see a problem here. Go to sleep and use Astral Projection to write while your body is sleeping. Or follow a Path that involves Sleep Writing.. or dying! Making your spirit write, then resurrecting yourself. OR use the Nye Essence!

George

4/24/2017 06:49:23 am

Will, How many words does Blackflame have?
After the first Draft you wrote 55k, I think.
Did the number change, now?

Will link

4/24/2017 08:36:45 am

110k. Soulsmith is 85k and Unsouled is 89k.

Axenos

4/24/2017 08:19:07 am

Honestly, the thing I'm most excited for with this entire series is the moment Lindon comes back to the Valley and greets his family as a goddamned God. The excitement intensifies every time I re-read Unsouled. If that ends up happening, of course. But man will it be sweet.

Will link

4/24/2017 10:34:06 am

SPOILERS!

SPOILERS EVERYONE!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

AVERT THINE EYES!

(...oh, it's going to happen.)

Nocturniquet

4/24/2017 07:01:03 pm

This makes me think of when Naruto returns to the Hidden Leaf to save whoever was left after Pain destroyed the city.

But the question is Lindon going to show up in the far future to save the day just in time or will he be returning to Sacred Valley earlier on to pick up some other characters and add them to the cast (i recall in a Word of Will that Lindon's sister would be a character later on) so this is what I think will happen.

Will link

4/25/2017 07:28:55 am

Kelsa is going to return as a character, yeah. And in the very first, original plan for Unsouled, she was Lindon's twin and traveled with him out of Sacred Valley.

That version was scrapped before I even started writing the first book, but I'm still trying to consider how major of a character I want her to be.

Bennett

4/24/2017 10:40:51 am

Hey Will, big fan here. I was just wondering if you had any plans to continue the travelers gate series? The magic system is just so incredibly unique and I can't wait to see where it goes. Keep it up!

Will link

4/24/2017 05:28:41 pm

Yes I do, Bennett! I have to finish Elder Empire first, but a new Traveler's Gate trilogy is my next non-Cradle project.

Garbagiel's Grandcultist link

4/26/2017 12:54:46 pm

How many books do you think Cradle will have!

Also: Garbagiel, 8th Judge of the Abidan Court

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.