Written In Shadows

Holy revenge plots, Batman! Shadow’s Rise, Arc 2 is roughly 24 hours away! I can’t express just how excited I am to continue this journey with the rest of you. The next arc of this journey is going to really put perspective on what’s going on in the lives of the Wolf Hunters by giving us a view of exactly what they’re up against. The Wolfpack. There are some characters that are introduced in this upcoming arc that I’ve been waiting years to learn more about and Blackbird has a really great way of showing us the innermost workings from all of her characters.

Now, some of you might be wondering, who the hell am I? Some more attentive fans might recognize me, but for those who have just been in it for the story, you might not know me. I’m not putting fingers to keys in order to deliver a fantastic story twice per month, but I’m still an integral part of this story. But again, who the hell am I?

Hello! I’m Plotstains. You could call me a many deal of things in relation to Blackbird; I think, however, the most accurate and all-encompassing descriptor would be that of Blackbird’s authorial soulmate. We’ve been writing together for as long as the ideas that birthed Shadows Rise have existed. To put that into perspective, that’s been nearly 10 whole years (Since November 2010). During this time, we’ve written over a million collective words and never go a day without speaking to one another. We’re each other’s greatest motivators, but also our greatest distractions. One only needs to look at our enormous Discord discussions to understand how our relationship goes beyond just the written words which you get to see.

In capacity to Shadows Rise, I’d mostly call myself the editor. I make sure Shadow Rise is as legible as it possibly can be without taking away the integrity and voice of its wonderful author. I give my creative input and ensure that there aren’t any plotholes along the way. Sometimes I give some tough love and make suggestions that are painful to fix. At the end of the day, I’m the reader’s greatest advocate. Everything I do is geared towards making Shadows Rise as good as it could possibly be.

Now that I’ve introduced myself, onto business. I’d like to make an announcement.

I really enjoy hearing what the authors think about their books, but what’s even more interesting is when you get an editor or publisher telling you about the work. They share a great deal with the author in their dedication to the projects, but they see it from a completely different perspective. An author can’t be excited about things in the same way an editor can. Like any average reader, an editor gets to read the story for the first time. The author knows exactly where the story is going, but the editor doesn’t know the minutiae behind the stories. They experience it with fresh eyes while still having an intimate relation with each word on the page.

It’s this perspective that I want to share with you. After every chapter, I want to tell you the things I like and the things I don’t like about the chapter. I want to tell you how I see the story going forward and my opinions about characters, settings, and plots. Essentially, I want to be a fan like the rest of you! Selfish, I know. But why not?
Most importantly, though, is my ability to share details about the editing process that you might not otherwise ever know about. For example, up until last night, the first chapter of Arc 2 was completely different. I made suggestions that probably gave Blackbird a mini aneurysm! This chapter is in no way what it was supposed to be when Blackbird started writing it and both Blackbird and I think that the end result will be completely worth it.

Blackbird and I have a unique relation when it comes to most writers out there, I think. People who are interested will now have a deep look into that relationship from my point of view.

So please keep your eye out, one week after the release of each chapter, for my thoughts on Arc 2, Chapter 1 as both an editor and a fan. You will find the first episode of The Plotstains Perspective on March 8th where I’ll be discussing why I wanted to make such drastic last minute changes to the chapter and Blackbird’s reaction (among other things). If you have suggestions for the title of this or on how I could make this even better, please leave a comment or Tweet me @Plotstains or @DaShadowsCrew. Or you can contact @Bbird_26 if you want to get in touch with the author of Shadows Rise herself. We’d love to hear your feedback.

Until then, I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter of Shadows Rise, coming out tomorrow at 7pm EST / 6pm Central.

From one fan to another,