Merry Christmas! Short story going out RIGHT NOW!

12/25/2016

Mailing list story going out RIGHT NOW! And instead of being either of the stories I had planned and worked on, it's a Deathmatch instead, because WHY NOT?

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

-Will

66 Comments

Christmas

12/25/2016 08:39:21 pm

Bless you

Will link

12/26/2016 07:21:42 am

I feel blessed, Christmas!

jim

12/25/2016 09:07:14 pm

noice

Jim

12/26/2016 03:11:04 am

Maybe a Lindon with Iron body transported to the competition against his clans irons?

Will link

12/26/2016 07:22:22 am

I feel like it may be out of character for Lindon to run around shouting "HAHAHA, GET REKT FOOLS!"

Madeline

12/27/2016 11:45:58 am

Really? That seems very in character, considering that they were so dismissive of him previously

Will link

12/27/2016 02:15:01 pm

I'm mostly concerned about the use of the phrase "GET REKT FOOLS," as Lindon would phrase it differently.

April

12/28/2016 10:58:49 pm

I feel like this would actually be a fairly close fight. While Lindon's iron body is superior, and he has some knowledge they don't, at this point he still doesn't have any real training in the sacred arts, and only has access to a few techniques. How far will that superior body take him, especially against a clan of illusionists?

Will link

12/30/2016 09:05:27 pm

That is true, but at the same time, Sacred Valley people believe that you can only train in one discipline (Ruler, Striker, etc.). Lindon now knows that's crap, so he won't have to train very much longer before he's as far above SV Irons as Yerin was above SV Jades.

...I'm not saying this is relevant, and I'm not saying it's not.

But I suspect you will enjoy Blackflame.

Azqa

12/25/2016 09:18:14 pm

Fun change of pace, thanks! I was amused to see that the character with the main point of view got the small chance to do what he did, based on your reply in the other post. Will be fun to see how the next rounds go...

Will link

12/26/2016 07:23:43 am

Yeah, I wanted to show what Simon's big chance would be, as well as what Urzaia's advantages are.

Which, you know, if Simon took advantage of everything from the very beginning, the match would be two seconds. And if Urzaia took advantage of everything from the very beginning and Simon didn't, it would be three seconds.

Had to give you a longer fight than THAT, at least for the first one.

Azqa

12/26/2016 10:38:07 am

I particularly liked the fact that Simon, going all out, still had a moment of fear that it wasn't going to be enough. That, I really liked for the story itself. The line about how Simon's attacks had no art, no real studied skill to them - echoing an observation in a previous short story - makes me look forward to what he learns in future writings of any kind.

Will link

12/26/2016 06:57:08 pm

It's nice to leave him some room to grow, especially since he has kind of rushed himself up to this point. No years of training or anything.

April

12/25/2016 09:26:54 pm

More please!

Will link

12/26/2016 07:24:54 am

Coming up next!

Mahfuz

12/25/2016 10:13:51 pm

Please,PLEASE don't do a Lindon fight before Blackflame. If this fight was the standard for death matches, Lindon as he is now would need a seriously nerfed opponent for the match to be interesting and that'd be bad!
We want fights that can crack that stone!!!
...or is that too much?

Will link

12/26/2016 07:24:32 am

If I don't think it's going to be an interesting fight, I won't write it. That would be boring for me.

Cracking the stone would be a lot to ask for.

Kevin

12/26/2016 08:10:32 am

Awesome that you liked my proposal from the death match post. You have a fan for life.

Will link

12/26/2016 06:55:27 pm

I thought it would be a fun one to show, Kevin!

The advantage of this one is that I (SPOILER ALERT, EVERYBODY) got to write a result counter to what I said would happen. Because it's close, and they each have a possibility of winning depending on how seriously they take it and how the chips fall.

Which makes it a better story!

jim

12/26/2016 11:10:44 am

If your 3 months between novels pattern holds, we should be getting Blackflame soon?

Will link

12/26/2016 06:56:03 pm

Soon? Yes.

But I'm not finished with it yet, and until I am, anything I say about a release is just an estimate.

Lashan

12/26/2016 04:08:34 pm

Thanks Will and Happy Holidays!

Will link

12/26/2016 06:56:20 pm

Same to you, Lashan!

Adarsh

12/26/2016 06:03:04 pm

Very nice.

Just wondering, would the Iron Scroll give Simon actual combat skills on par with Urzaia, or is experience still better?

Will link

12/26/2016 06:54:09 pm

The scroll would have helped, but he still would have started the match in the same place. He didn't have enough information about Urzaia to make a tactical decision from the very beginning, and the scroll wouldn't have changed that.

Adarsh

12/28/2016 11:17:53 am

Ok, so would it still have altered his fighting style into something better suited to fighting another human as fast and strong as him?

Will link

12/30/2016 09:08:19 pm

Oh yes, it certainly would have. His tactical approach would have been way better, and he would have adjusted to fighting Urzaia almost immediately.

But then Urzaia might have taken the fight seriously, in which case he wouldn't have screwed around and tried to play up for the audience. Which might have been even worse for Simon.

Simon's biggest chance was unleashing everything he's got right out of the gate, but he didn't know that, so he wouldn't be favored to win the matchup even if his swordsmanship went up a notch.

Adarsh

12/30/2016 10:05:00 pm

Since his swordsmanship would still have sucked initially(assuming he doesn't use the Iron Scroll right off the bat), Urzaia would still have underestimated him, at least at first. Now, if Simon suddenly called on all of his Steel, Essence and the Iron Scroll at once, would that have been enough to take Urzaia without the mask?

Andrew

12/26/2016 06:03:59 pm

I absolutely loved this short story and I can't wait for the next one!!

Will link

12/26/2016 06:53:17 pm

Thanks, Andrew! Glad you liked it!

Madeline

12/26/2016 06:08:27 pm

I dont know if I want to read this. Because you said what's his name (cannot spell it ._.) Would win and I do not wish to see Simon lose a death match

Spoiler!!!

12/26/2016 06:28:03 pm

*SPOILER ALERT*

He doesn't. At least not this one.

Will link

12/26/2016 06:52:59 pm

Trust me, Madeline. Trust me.

Pretend I'm Kaa from the Jungle Book and truuuuussssst in meeeeee

thomas

12/26/2016 07:06:56 pm

shera VS. a young kai before his mind was turned to oatmeal after watching his adopted father slaughter his adopted family

Brian C

12/27/2016 07:14:23 am

I was a little upset the short story wasn't the continuation of the Halloween ball one where Simon would be attending the Winter's End Ball. That just seemed like it would so funny. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the fight! I just like laughing at the situations Simon finds himself in.

Will link

12/27/2016 07:19:34 am

That was one of the ones I started writing. Then, when it got too complicated, I set it aside and went "SCREW IT, I'M WRITING A FIGHT."

Kobin

12/30/2016 01:15:34 pm

I'm a recent addition to the mailing list. Will there ever be a chance to catch up on the short stories I've missed?

Will link

12/30/2016 09:09:25 pm

Only if you email me and ask nicely, Kobin!

...which you have already done, and I sent you the stories a few minutes ago! I'm only answering you here for posterity's sake.

HEAR YE, READERS OF THE FUTURE! EMAIL ME FOR STORIES!

Joey

12/27/2016 10:05:20 am

Awesome story, this was a very fun short read! You have easily made it to one of my favorite authors of all time Will! When do we get Blackflame? Are you also thinking of jumping back to the Travelers Gate anytime soon?

Thank you!!!!!

Will link

12/27/2016 02:16:20 pm

Blackflame as soon as I manage to finish it, Joey!

And I'll be back to Traveler's Gate as soon as I can, but that means after this next round of Cradle and Elder Empire, so...

Madeline

12/27/2016 12:29:29 pm

A question just occurred to me, where was Simon's ghost armor in the fight with Urzaia? Since he has Caela and Mithra with him I'm assuming this takes place after he earns it, but he never used it.

Will link

12/27/2016 02:15:37 pm

He has it, but he didn't use it because it wouldn't have done him any good.

It's made to block non-physical attacks. A hatchet would pass right through it.

Madeline

12/27/2016 02:38:11 pm

Ah, I forgot about the non physical attack part. Nevermind.

12/27/2016 05:57:30 pm

Is there a short story archive to be had on the internet? I just joined the mailing list and dont want to miss out on all the fun.

Thanks in advance.

12/28/2016 08:28:28 am

^This please.

Will link

12/28/2016 09:31:03 am

I get this question pretty frequently, so I have prepared an answer in my Frequently Asked Questions tab! Check it out!

http://www.willwight.com/faqs.html

(Spoiler alert: if you email me, I'll send you the old stories.)

Justin

12/28/2016 07:18:16 pm

I wonder, if a prize was offered for these fights, what would they ask for? I bet Simon would ask for a vacation or something like that.

Will link

12/30/2016 09:16:16 pm

He would ask for his mother and father back from the dead.

...but this is a fantastic question, and one I hadn't considered! If the Abidan *were* offering wishes, what would the characters want?

Urzaia would want to keep fighting where he could make a difference, ideally with Calder but he'd settle for something else.

If we assume Disney genie rules (no raising the dead, no mind control, no infinite wish loopholes), Simon would have to think and discuss with Caela first. I suspect he'd wish for all the lost Dragon's Fangs back, so that the Eldest would get off his back and let him do his many other jobs.

But he might surprise me.

Lindon would wish for a power-up, Yerin would wish for sacred arts knowledge (assuming resurrection is off-limits, again). Shera would wish for a box inside which time would stop and she could go take a break and nap whenever she wanted. Calder would also wish for increased personal power.

Kai would wish for the dolls to love him, and upon learning that his wish breaks the genie rules, he would instead wish for a new doll.

The Emperor would wish for a way to permanently destroy the Elders, would learn that it's essentially impossible, and would instead wish for the Abidan to take a more active role in keeping them suppressed.

kaden

12/29/2016 07:59:33 pm

Do a 1v1v1 with the main characters from your books (Shera, Simon,Lindon)

kaden

12/29/2016 08:00:42 pm

As a side note Simon should not have his mask

kaden

12/29/2016 09:27:40 pm

But Simon doesn't get his mask or access to Claede
Also Shera gets both awakened blades
And if you could possibly boost lindons power it would make it more even

Will link

12/30/2016 09:03:12 pm

Obviously Lindon would lose that matchup, so as you suggested, I'd have to give him a power-up. I'd also need to tweak the scenario so that Shera's ability to sneak up quietly and slit the throats of sleeping people might come into play.

But honestly, I'd rather wait on this matchup until Of Kings and Killers and the next Cradle book or two come out. That way, Lindon and Shera will have had as much screentime as Simon.

And then they'll all be able to go all-out.

Rhys

12/30/2016 04:49:28 am

Will, irrelevant to the post but, will lindon get 2 goldsigns , one for each core/path he takes?

jim

12/30/2016 05:13:26 am

Bro, did you even read all 350+ comments from the last 2 blogposts?

Rhys

12/30/2016 10:25:14 am

I read most, sadly not all. I must have missed the answer. Could you enlighten me?

jim

12/30/2016 01:14:33 pm

I think the answer was no.

Will link

12/30/2016 09:00:34 pm

Rhys, I'm pretty sure Jim was joking. There's no way you could possibly have read all the 350+ comments on the past several threads and gotten everything straight, especially since several new ones are being added all over the place every day.

I really need a better place for these big comment threads. Weebly's default comment organization gives me a headache.

Anyway, what I definitively said "no" to was a different question: "Will Lindon get the benefits of multiple Iron bodies as he raises his multiple cores to Iron?"

No, he won't. His body has already been transformed, so it won't be transformed again.

HOWEVER, I think I declined to answer the question you're asking.

But I don't really remember why I declined, so I'll answer you now!

Yes, Lindon will get multiple Goldsigns.

However, the mechanics of that might be somewhat different than you imagine. Stay tuned!

Azqa

12/30/2016 10:12:04 pm

Any chance you'll have time to wrangle up some forums for discussion as a better way to handle the large comment groups? I have no idea how easy it is to add that kind of module to whatever CMS you're using for the site, and I assume that it hasn't been worth the time and effort yet, but is that in the roadmap for the nearish future?

Rhys

12/31/2016 03:56:27 am

Yeah, I was joking. Sarcasm can be really hard to portray over the internet. Thanks will. Seperate question - do goldsigns help in a fight? I might br just forgetting something in soulsmith but I can't remeber

Sean K

12/31/2016 06:08:03 am

I Would LOVE some forums to discuss stuff! As to Lindon getting multiple gold signs... OMG THAT IS AWESOME!

Yerin's gold sign in Soulsmith did help her in a fight. It was mentioned several times that it conducts sword madra better than her fingernails and there was that one fight as they were getting captured where she used hers, then that truegold used his and put her down.

ben

12/31/2016 06:39:49 am

@Rhys, re:goldsigns helping in a fight

Obviously would love to have Will weigh in, but I'm pretty sure the answer is "yes, with a side of 'it depends' "

On the "yes" front: We've seen in the books so far Yerin use her sword-limb goldsign in a fight but think to herself that it wasn't optimized yet because she was still getting used to it/powering up. Plus the spear guys basically said their hair sign works as a helmet.
On the "it depends" front: there seems to be enough potential variation among goldsigns that I expect some to be non-combat oriented, and others to be potentially helpful but highly situational

jim

12/31/2016 07:10:57 am

Hey Will,

I was wondering how you stay productive. Do you use a specific technique (Pomodoro, etc.), or do you just pound some coffee for hyper-focus and go at it? Or is it something else?

Jim

12/31/2016 08:00:20 am

Also, do you send "fresh" pages to your editor(s) right away, or do you wait to give them the whole book in a big chunk?

Will link

1/6/2017 08:46:12 am

Oh crap, Jim! I forgot to reply to this!

I actually got it when you asked, and I looked up the pomodoro technique and everything, but I forgot to respond.

I just remembered to go back and check because I remembered your question specifically; it's a great question!

As a matter of fact, I use a program called Write or Die. It's basically an enforced Pomodoro Technique in that you set a word count goal with a specific timer. Right now I'm doing 1500 words in 45 minutes, but sometimes it's higher or lower. Then you race the timer with your word count.

It's a great way to be hyper-focused for a few minutes, take a break, and then dive back into it.

I give my editors and beta readers the book only when it's done in one big chunk, because I've found that you can't really split up a draft. There are a lot of times when I finish a first draft and I realize the first chapter doesn't work, so I have to go back and change something fundamental.

Well, if my readers had been editing it all along, that would really throw them off. Half of their feedback would be redundant; everybody flags something in the last chapter that was contradicted by the first chapter, but I already know that. I'm going to change it.

If I stuck to my outline more thoroughly, it might work to hand in chapters one at a time. But I don't. I like the freedom of being able to depart from my outline when I feel like I need to, so character motivations shift and change slightly over time, which can result in the need for bigger, more substantial plot changes. As a result, I never REALLY know 100% of the story until I've written the first draft.

Emily

1/19/2017 09:21:05 am

Is it too late to get a copy? New reader

Will link

1/19/2017 09:33:33 am

Send me an email, Emily! I'd be happy to send you the stories!

([email protected], or just use one of the Contact links sprinkled around the site.)

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