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Jim Melvin's avatar

Awesome!

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Jim Melvin's avatar

Thanks for the great comment! I've been limiting myself in that the meat (and most interesting parts) of each chapter I've published thus far comes well after the excerpt. But some of the fun, magical stuff is coming soon. Part of the reason I've done this is because I didn't want to serialize the novel for free (my site is perma-free as of now). Another reason is that most subscribers won't churn through a 30-page chapter. Do you agree?

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Daniel O’Donnell's avatar

Sorry Jim. I didn’t get a notification of your reply. I agree with your point about the size of the excerpts. They give you a flavour of what’s going on and add to the mystery of the story without you having to publish in a longer format which some people might find unwieldy in this format. Also, as someone who is just getting back into this writing game, I’m finding your notes on the process really helpful 👍🏼

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Amanda V Shane's avatar

I love that picture of the dog! And I agree with what you said in your writing tips - sympathetic characters are soo important.

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Jim Melvin's avatar

Thanks! And I agree with you about characters. Any of us writers could go into great detail about how to create these characters, but I figured that would be for another time. 😀

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Jim Melvin's avatar

Thank you!!!

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Joshua Shapiro's avatar

Crisp, visual, propulsive writing from start to finish. I am not a YA reader generally but am enjoying these excerpts.

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Daniel O’Donnell's avatar

Really enjoyed this weeks excerpt Jim. I liked how you covered the trepidation both boys were feeling and that having a laugh along with Blue/Whitey helped break the ice. If your dog trusts someone then you can trust them too!

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