I haven’t written a fantasy, or
science fiction novel in several years.
I have spent so much time lately writing science fact, and animal
training programs, that I simply haven’t had the time. I’ve decided that I need to make the time, so
I’m starting a new novel.
Since it’s been a long time, and
it’s one of the things I get asked about the most, I thought it might be fun to
write about my journey, and share my experience with whomever might be
interested, and so…here it is.
I don’t know yet what I’m going to
call this novel, for myself, I refer to it as the first in the Savahjz series;
since I do hope to make this a series. I
started with thinking about all my favorite stories, and what elements I truly
loved about them. I thought about my
favorite authors, and what I loved about their work. Then I started thinking about how I could put
together all that – Yep, ALL of it.
This first stage to me is where I
let my imagination go wild. I don’t care
if anything makes sense, or if it’s a good idea, or if it will sell. I don’t worry about anything, I just get
crazy, and literally figure out a “story” that allows every element I want to
be in it. This can take a few hours, or
many days – the important thing is to be complete free from all “Have to’s” and
“shoulds” and just run amok having a great time!
After a while, things actually
begin to form, usually into something so grand that I wonder if it’s even
possible to write such an epic, complex story…but I don’t let myself linger on
such notions. No room for doubt, this is
a creative, limitless process.
Once I have the idea, I start to
create the world that I would be working in.
In this case there are two of them.
One I don’t have to create, because it’s all around me. The other only exists in my mind, at least
for the moment.
Writing down the basic “rules” of
how the new world will work is another process.
This time I focus on pure logic.
What I want to have happen, and how I can make that work. In my new world for example, there are wolves
and humans, but the roles are somewhat reversed. In order to have the species communicate I
have to give the wolves something like telepathy. Not because wolves can’t communicate, but
because humans don’t have the necessary senses to fully appreciate the nuances
of wolf communication, and because even with their enhanced senses, complex
ideas would be very challenging in wolf language. In order to give the wolves a complex
language, that could communicate philosophical ideas, I have to either change
their anatomy (so they can verbal speak), or give them another way to do
so. These are the types of thoughts and
questions I have to answer for myself in order to determine how the story will
progress.
It took me somewhere in the neighborhood
of 80 hours to define the new world, the rules for it, and to even map it out
geographically. Now that I have a world,
and a direction (all the elements I want to put into the story), I can begin to
create the characters that will live in this grand world, and participate in my
adventure.
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