Author's Note
First of all, let me just thank you for reading this. I began writing this in mid-2018 during slow hours in the office when I just needed to look busy. I didn't have a plan for where it was going to go or how it was going to end. I've spent most of my life starting writing projects that never got more than 20 or 30 pages before I'd either lost interest, forgot about it or got distracted by something else which would invariably lead me to starting something new that I'd never finish or get more than 20 or 30 pages in. This one came as kind of a surprise, given that I really don't write "fanfiction" or borrowed worlds and characters.
I'm also extremely self-critical – another reason I abandon so many projects – so to those of you that favorited, followed or reviewed this: thank you, sincerely. When I started posting chapters online, I was only about half-way done with the story. It lit a fire underneath me to outpace my posting and finish the darn thing and I'm half-proud and half-disappointed to say that I wrote more in 3 months than I did in the previous 5 years. The bright side is that I discovered I can write at this pace if I have a reason to do so. You all became my reason, so for all of you: I'm grateful.
There will no doubt be some questions regarding the characters and plot devices from the story, so I wanted to jump in and explain a few things:
This story was primarily written with the TV Series' version of events in mind. There are some elements from the novels that I borrow, but given that the books aren't finished yet and the TV Series is, it made it a necessity.
I did not plan ahead very far. I knew from the beginning I wanted Arya to be the Night Queen – a curse passed on to whoever killed the previous one. I wanted to do that because the lore of the world insists that the world is 10,000 years old, that the White Walkers reappear every thousand years, destroy everything, then sleep until the next round comes. I didn't understand how that could be possible: At what point does the Night King say "Alright, we're good here. Let's pack it up, boys!" and head back north of the Wall? Is he doing some sort of calculation with the human population? Is there a time limit? The only explanation that made any sense to me was this: Every thousand years, they come back. Humanity fights back and a hero kills their leader. Only, they come back again, right? So, therefore... you see where I'm going with this.
Because I did so little planning, it was difficult to develop the characters beyond the idea that they just wanted to live. The subject matter, in my opinion, made it kind of difficult to determine exactly how they could change in any other way. I'm not very good at writing love stories, so I kept romance mostly out of the book – though there are some implications I included. I'm also not particularly good at writing children – which is ironic, because I was a schoolteacher for many years prior to starting this – so there aren't any kids. There's no need for any real political motivation, as the original novels (and TV Series) are so good at portraying, so I left as much of that out except for a few references to the current state of the world. I tried to sprinkle in some flavor with history – including events that occur in the thousand years between this story and the original ASOIAF material – without being too heavy-handed, so if there's a reference you don't get, that might be the reason why.
On that note, I also felt some of my references were extremely ham-fisted and unnecessary, so I apologize for mentions of Benjen Stark and Valyrian Steel Swords. I only included the dragon because – spoiler alert – when I wanted to "end" magic, I figured that was probably the best way to do it. Truth be told, I didn't know what I wanted to do about the swords – I just wanted to add some depth to the story and it unfortunately fizzled out. I also liked the idea that Benjen's spirit was still in the woods, fighting the good fight. I wanted to show that heroism is a virtue that should be remembered.
Finally, I realized after writing that I wrote this story in a few different styles – the first act is a medical mystery that becomes a zombie apocalypse story. The second act is very much a "zombie survivor" story. The third act kind of meanders between a survival/military/fantasy tropes, so if you started reading one part and liked it more than the others, I'll get it – and if you didn't care for how rushed the ending felt, I definitely understand.
All things said and done, I'm mostly chalking this story up as a learning experience for me so that I can use this as a springboard into some original writing. If I do get something published one day, maybe I'll update this to let you guys know I have a book out... or maybe I'll just remain anonymous.
For those of you who are also writing or wanting to start writing, I would recommend you definitely do it. Think of some characters – archetypal, anecdotal or even dissections-of-self are great places to start. Think of the story you want to tell – where does it start and where does it finish? Work on the in between as you write, but plan the key elements of the story ahead of time or you wind up with a useless arc to rescue swords from a museum for no reason. Lastly, don't be afraid to share it. Had I not started uploading the chapters, I probably wouldn't have had the stomach to finish this. Had I not finished it, I wouldn't have taken the lessons I learned from writing this home. I think that's the biggest difference between this and everything else I've "wasted time" on writing. The things I gave up on before only taught me failure. I needed this win, as trifling as it is, in order to really understand my own style and the things that I need to do better.
Hopefully, I'll feel better about my next effort – and the one after that, etc. I hope you will have that opportunity as well, should that be your desire.
The White Hand
March 30, 2024