My mind’s an endless void, space, but filled with ideas for books. Whole worlds find their shapes in there and new pieces swarm out, building onto what I’ve already pushed out onto paper. Because of the ways these ideas take shape I’ve chosen to keep writing most of my stories in the same universe, and if I may say so myself, it’s lead to a growing number of settings, all with rich world-building. If all goes my way, it won’t lead to rehashed concepts and dry-milking of book series that could have ended after, like book two or something. If all goes well, I’ll have a full universe worth of writing.
Stories might be miles, countries, continents, or, eventually even world’s apart, but they will be connected. For those who’re not, they take on more of a contemporary location. Possibly set in our world.
What I’m still struggling with though are longer books. I’m progressing in that writing that first draft is a smoother process. One day, like writing short stories and flash fiction, I will be able to finish novels at a higher pace. I’m not forgetting that until recently it seemed impossible to finish anything at all. Progress. In little steps.
For those finished works I’m assembling collection books. Though currently unnamed, there will be one for dark fiction, dark fantasy, and horror. There will be one for my romance, which up until now all happens to be paranormal romance. But in the future there might be another one (well, I’m sure there will be multiple, but for now I have an idea for the near future). Instead of dividing them genre, this third one could be one for my developing universe’s settings mythology, folklore, and legends.
As I’m getting better at organizing my world-building ideas I stumble onto several interesting moments in the settings’ timelines. Many of them are later remembered as the setting history, it’s legends, it’s mythology. Of course I haven’t decided on anything yet. It could just as well become another book in a series, linked by their settings.
Legend of Savanna (WIP)
For now, I’ve almost completed a second draft for my first of Mnaluria’s legends. It’s at about 5000 words so it also seems like I’m finally getting the hang of writing longer short stories 😀 As I’ve never written this type of story before, I expect to stumble a great number of times, but eventually, something will come from this. And if not with this legend, then with another story.
I’m pretty happy with what I’ve got so far, so I’d like to share a few paragraphs to give you a taste of what I’m planning. Here’s a small excerpt, the first lines of the Legend of Savanna (working title):
Irshad listened for the ristling of shifting sands, of flowing rivers born with every footstep. Somewhere past the desert dunes the goat wandered for greener pastures. Greener pastures it would never find.
He scaled up a broad hill, finding higher ground and a better vantage point to scan the area, every step impossibly loud in a world of silence. Heat rose from the tuscan sands, a roiling dunescape underneath the azure skies; empty but for the white sun that burned the world free of its shadows.
And yet there were clouds. Clouds drifting in a gentle dance as if to play with a breeze. Too far away from home to be the clouds of Nahrin rising into the sky with the blessing of coming drizzles. No. None divine, and yet, a miracle. Surreal, he would not believe it be real. It pulled on his soul inspiring a curious hunger that demanded be sated.
He shouldn’t. A woman alone, anyone alone in the desert would not be as they seemed. Anyone knew better than to head alone into the desertscape. And yet, here they were, a lone wanderer.
He meandered down the hill towards it, and the closer he wandered, the richer the vision appeared.