Pantser or Plotter?
Writers are often grouped into two broad camps. A pantser writes by the seat of their pants. They dive in with little more than an idea and let the story unfold on its own terms. A plotter builds the framework first. Characters, chapters, and arcs are mapped out before a single line of prose is written.
I fall somewhere in between. The Seeker’s Wrath and An Envious God were both written with outlines, and their core plots were clear from the start. The endings were known to me, the beginnings too. Yet the path from one to the other shifted along the way. Characters revealed more than expected. Some moments reshaped the journey. The bridge between start and finish was never a straight road, but the destination never changed.
Behind those stories are layers of work. I keep files and histories that most readers will never see. The Seeker’s Wrath began as the backstory of Marcius Saylong and his rise to power. It also brushes against Kaedryn Harth’s tale, though briefly, before his larger role in Teloshka’s new order. More may come. There are possible backstories for Kalltor Dalke too, chronicling his transformation from Armekalian Naval Captain to the feared Captain of the Mor ò Thail.
Every thread is planned, even when the writing feels spontaneous. The characters might discover their paths one step at a time, but their fates are already sealed. What happens to them is never an accident. It happens for a reason.
The same is true of the world itself. Teloshka is vast, and nothing is left to chance. Every city, every crest, every politician has a place. Even the symbols you may never read about have been drawn and stored away. This world breathes because it has been built as carefully as any bridge or tower in the real one. And you, the reader, can walk through it and watch it grow.