And here, we have ourselves at Chapter Five — the last written chapter. There is about half of Chapter Six written, and then no more of The Old Ways, at least so far.

Will there be more? I guess that depends on what people think. Let me know what you think of this particular chapter, but also let me know what you think of the series in general. I appreciate it.

On the whole, even if I never pick this back up — and it’s worth noting my father likes The Old Ways, so there’s every chance I will — I’m glad to have written at least this much. This has been a different kind of story for me.

It is worth noting that the ultimate idea would have been less fantasy adventure and more ‘breakdown of civility into the bush a la Heart of Darkness, which is hinted at in this chapter, just slightly.

Have fun.

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And so we hit Chapter Four of The Old Ways. It seems to be gathering some fans, which is nice. Among those fans is my father, who’s also a big fan of Theftworld. I think some depth comes into play in this one.

For the record, as of yesterday we’d broken 200,000 words on this site, not counting comments. Which is a good amount of content for 70 days of blog existence, any way you look at it.

It kind of scares me that we’ve been doing this for seventy days already.

Anyhow. Here’s Jack and the merry band.

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Here we have Chapter Three. Some of the feedback’s been quite amazing, and I’m really glad to get it. I get the feeling a number of people like The Old Ways, at least in theory, but the execution is a bit off.

On the other hand, I think this chapter begins to move more towards narrative and less towards storytelling devices (though not all of the way, of course), and people might think it’s finding its place now. Or not. We’ll see. Regardless, enjoy!

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And here we are with Chapter Two of The Old Ways. Chapter One had a mixed response. I’m a little curious to see if some of the concerns are addressed with Chapter Two, or if this is, in the end, more of the same. It’s a significantly different style than most of my other writing, which might or might not be a good thing.

Anyway, remember this series goes to chapter five, and then goes to the back of my brain to ferment. In the meantime, enjoy!

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I don’t know whether or not this will become a regular updated serial like “Interviewing Leather” or Theftworld or not. Once upon a time I’d thought to make a novel of this, but I’m not sure today whether I will or not. It’s a very different kind of work for me, really.

I guess it depends on how it’s received.

There are five completed chapters of The Old Ways right now. Maybe in five weeks — assuming I post all five — I’ll decide if I want to finish writing chapter six or not. In the meantime, I’m trying to figure out how to explain this one. It’s got some Tolkien in it, and some C.S. Lewis, but it also has some Jane Austin and the Brontë sisters in it too. A tragedy of manners, perhaps.

I dunno. Regardless, here it is. Let me know what you think.

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