FAQ

How often does SILK SONG update?

Right now, the story updates about once per month. The poll will be open for approximately two weeks thereafter, and then it will close and Emily writes the next segment. If she finishes it early, then lucky you! The process repeats itself sooner than hoped.

How long will each installment be?

I've got to keep this story in workable, chewable chunks. Of course, each update will vary in length, depending on the needs of the current scene, but as a rule, I'm aiming to make each update around 1,000 words long. That's about 4-5 pages of your typical YA novel.

Who is this story appropriate for?

This story is a Young Adult novel, so think older children, teen-agers and up. And I'm not the edgiest person, so it's not going to be the next Perks of Being a Wallflower either. Think somewhere around PG. Mild swearing. Maybe some violence. Maybe some romance. Honestly, I can't say. Depends on what people vote for.

Are you really putting your story in the hands of the people? Or is this all just a gimmick?

I sure hope it isn't a gimmick! I read a lot of choose-your-own-adventure books as a kid, and you have no idea how angry/annoyed I was when I reached a segment that asked me to choose between the left and right hallways, without knowing anything about them other than their direction. Who cares about a choice like that? My goal is to give my readers meaningful choices - choices they can hopefully sense implications from.

That being said, this will be something of a balancing act. While I want you to have a hand in developing the story, it's also one of the cardinal rules of fiction that people keep turning pages because they're curious "what happens next" and maintaining that curiosity WILL mean holding some of the cards out of reach of my readers, so that they can be surprised by the results.

How do you decide what choices to offer your readers?

I have my MFA in creative writing, and during my time in school I spent a lot of time studying story structure. Knowing the general beats of a story is extremely helpful when it comes to posing reader questions, because those beats direct you towards the questions a reader naturally asks as they read your book. But instead of answering them all myself, some will be turned over to you! :)

AAAAAARGH! I have this cool idea for the story but you don't have an option in the poll where I can vote for it! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

I try to keep the poll options focused on things I at least have a few ideas for/want to write about. I might personally prefer one option over the other, but I won't back down if the poll doesn't go my way. So maybe your idea was something I considered but really didn't want to do (sorry).

OR!!!!

Maybe your idea is something I haven't thought of yet, or something that could be used later in the book. I do read comments! You can always suggest something. With the comments, I'll pick and choose what I think might work, so it's always worth a shot.

What's going to stop this from becoming an incoherent mess?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I DON'T KNOW HAHAHAHAHAHA

In all seriousness, I'm looking forward to the challenge of piecing everything together! It will be interesting, because I can't really plan ahead, so I expect some sections to be bumpy and double back over stuff that maybe could have been shortened. But if people WANT the story to take a detour, the detour must happen!

It's somewhat outside my power to FORCE the plot to make sense. I'll massage it here and there, but in some ways, this will feel like a first draft of a novel. I'll try to give you good, polished scenes, but they might not flow perfectly or build towards the climax in a way where every scene foreshadows it. We'll do our best, but if this doesn't at least occasionally veer into weirdness, I think I'll be disappointed.

Do you write other stuff? Can I read it?

I do! You can find my blog on writing/children's literature here. My other fiction is currently unavailable.