When I first created the world of The Wishing Blade, I had no idea how much I’d change of the story as it progressed. And how much I’d add. Like a whole ‘nother language… (Wheee, language creation!) I had only really considered the main series, and how some of its immortal characters lived throughout time, but not the lives of the characters from The Legends of Cirena series. Not Edyli and her sister in Stone and String, or how varied Litkanston might look.
Even major elements now, like the Cantingen Islands with its word magic, were only briefly mentioned and didn’t play a large role in the story. (Word magic didn’t even exist yet… I don’t think?) Pretty sure the islands weren’t directly mentioned in any of the early drafts, though I did find a later pixel version of the map that had them added in, likely as I expanded the story after the events of The Wishing Blade series.
I think this was “storyideamap26.gif” if that gives you any idea of my process. For reference, the map below is one of the first maps I ever made referencing Cirena, in all its pixel-y goodness.
(I later created the current version in pencil and ink and then polished it in Photoshop)
Notice that several features have changed from this version (storyideamap26) for The Wishing Blade series…
To the most recent version for The Wishing Blade series:
- For example, scaling and spacing got readjusted. Neel, while still a city, also became a desert region.
- Toranih’s estate doesn’t even get a dot on the map.
- The Cantingen Islands (and pretty much every landmark) got redefined.
- The Shadow’s Pass and the Pass of Cirena haven’t even been touched in the current series. (Though we might still see a version of these as the series continues).
- The Midder Triangle (in my head now as “Midder’s Triangle”) also hasn’t been addressed… though some of the Legends stories that are in development (The Dark Forest of Aneth) are now making references to that goddess, and the concept of the Triangle might eventually make it into Litkanston lore if any of my current headcannon makes it into published cannon.
As the story developed, much of the plot and world-building changed. I guess that’s what happens when my first ideas for this series started 12 years before I published the first book (Magic’s Stealing). I was still in junior high, daydreaming in choir and whenever I had free time.
I set the idea for The Wishing Blade series aside for a while after high school, though I occasionally tried rewriting the concept without much success.
Then, after college, I tried reworking the story again, and finally published Magic’s Stealing in 2015.
It took a while to finally get the world to a place where I was satisfied, but I’m excited to see what changes as the series continues, and what plot points and characters stick around.
For example, Toranih’s sister, Siklana, plays a major role in the current version of the series, which was a big change since she was only seen in a couple scenes in the earlier drafts. She even has a major arc in the third book, Magebane.
I expect plenty more to change, though there are still major scenes that I look forward to finally writing.
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A heinous plot is unveiled when magic is stolen…
See the result of my world-building changes in The Wishing Blade series:
(And yes, there’s at least one, if not two more books planned for the complete arc).
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Happy reading and writing!
Stephanie Flint - Author and Artist 