Three Years Later

In the beginning of 2022, I found myself at a low creative ebb. Writing grounded dramas involving arguments over kitchen tables is all well and good, it seems, until it is all one experiences over the course of a year or two. None of the projects or ideas I had been working on or mulling over had me particularly stimulated, nor were they moving forward in any way. At the same time, I was becoming besotted once more with the fantasy genre for the first time since my teens. Turns out, a side-effect of my time in lockdown was a desire to be swept off in my imagination to far away worlds, and I began burning through the fantasy classics I had not yet read (and plenty more modern offerings) - Jordan, Hobb, Sanderson, Abercrombie, Jemisin, Lynch and many, many more.

So, as a result of all this, with no other source of inspiration in sight, I decided to set myself a challenge. Could I write a fantasy novel from scratch? I had a vague idea - a single image in my head - but little more than that. This challenge, combined with a desire not to overcomplicate things and taking inspiration from the likes of Robert Jordan (and many others, I'm sure) to attempt reimagining the classic quest narrative of 'The Lord of the Rings', eventually grew into what is now known as 'The Worth of Scars'.

A little over three years later, and almost exactly three years since I began writing the very first chapters, and I am done. Well, not completely done, I hope - it needs at the very least some more polishing before it could ever be published - but done enough, I think, to send out into the wider world.

It has been an incredible, sometimes difficult and frustrating, but always worthwhile experience getting this book to this point, and I am extremely proud of it. Looking back to three years ago, do I wish I might have been a little less ambitious? Sure. Do I wish I had known certain things, such as the average length of published debut novels? Of course. But, while I wouldn't go so far as to say I wouldn't change a thing, I am happy with how it turned out in the end, whatever happens next.

Thanks so much to anyone who read any of the book and gave me feedback, I hope you managed to squeeze some enjoyment out of the experience, and I will return the favour somehow one day.

And now, after focusing so intensely on this for such a length of time, I'm itching to get going on something else. Depending on if for some reason anyone ever reads this, more on that to come (maybe?).

Cheers,

Gabe