Month: January 2026

Into the bin it goes

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Looks like my plan to expand on a few scenes in Theadia isn’t working out as well as I thought. Truth be told, I’m not too bothered by it because it kind of felt more like an experiment than a well thought-out plan. I’m still inserting a few new chapters here and there, but I’m dialing most of it back. Why? Well, sometimes I just have to go with my instinct of something doesn’t feel right to me. The more I inserted, the more it felt like the wrong way to go. Simple as that.

I’ve gotten used to this kind of editing over the years, which means that I’m less worried about having wasted time and spoons trying to make it work. It is what it is, and I can always insert it in abbreviated form somewhere else if the information is important enough. [There is also the fact that the novel is a bit over 180k words and still not complete, so keeping it reined in is probably for the best.]

Editing and revising as I go has been part of the overall process for me for ages now. In fact, I prefer that style because it keeps me from writing too many rambling scenes that don’t lead anywhere. It also makes the whole process go by faster, in that it gives me a clearer vision of where the story should lead, as well as what early scenes need fixing or replacing. This has also helped me let go of scenes (and projects!) that need to be put in the bin.

That said, this does clear up my schedule for 2026 a bit, which is a plus!

Almost six years…?

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Has it really been almost six years I’ve been working on Theadia…? More to the point, how is it that I’m not freaked out that I’m still working on this one project and NOT feeling like a failure for taking so dang long?

To be honest, however, I think it comes with maturity and patience. The obvious reason I was able to turn around my last few novels so quickly was that it was actually a two-year, two-project schedule: one written while working on the editing and release of another. [It also helped that those novels were not epic projects like the Bridgetown Trilogy or Theadia, but shorter stories that didn’t need several hours of prep, work and so on.] Still, I’m glad to say I’m on the back end of this one and I hope to get it out to y’all on the back half of this year.

It’s interesting, though, comparing it to the time I spent working on the Mendaihu Universe. Back during the Belfry days I purposely didn’t give myself a set deadline because I knew this trilogy would be done when it got done. On the one hand I did kind of feel like I was lagging behind every other writer my age out there who was already seeing their works in print, but on the other hand I often reminded myself that I was doing this for me only. Being a successful (or even semi-successful) (or even having some random readers at that) was a goal, but not THE goal. I focused on wanting to tell the stories I wanted to tell, and allowing myself to do it the way I wanted to do it.

These days I don’t really mind that it’s taking me this long to release this story, because I know that doing it right means not rushing it.

If you could…

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Sometimes when I’m working on my novels, I think about how potential readers are going to react. Will they like this? Will they think my work is just a bit too out there? Is it work that at best is a C-average when it could be so much better? I never think about it to any large degree, mind you, because in my head I’m always writing these for my own enjoyment first and foremost. If other people like it, then that’s pretty cool too!

With Theadia, however? This is definitely a novel about rebelling against authority.

Mind you, I’ve been wanting to write something like that since I was a teenager. It’s just something I’ve always been drawn to, whether out of a sense of justice or simply that I gravitate towards that sort of thing. It’s just how I’m drawn, I suppose. It’s what happens when college radio blows your mind at fifteen and tells you that there’s more out there than just rigid conformity, and that it’s not only okay to question authority, but there are times when it’s necessary to do so.

I wouldn’t say that Theadia is a reactive commentary on refusing to follow authority, because our two main characters say almost from the beginning that they’re exhausted by having to react to such situations each and every time. And to do that, it’s less about waiting for things to happen and more about understanding when things will happen and preventing it from taking place. This kind of story is a bit tricky to write, because your mains could come across as high and mighty. Or worse, just as authoritarian. The characters must always keep in mind that they’re not merely doing this out of a sense of justice. They’re doing it because it’s necessary.

More than a few times, our mains will say “You know what? Fuck it. If authority isn’t going to follow their own established rules that are there mainly to keep us bound? Then neither should we.” Like bones, sometimes you need to break rules and guidelines in order to make them stronger for the body as a whole. They notice a shocking lack of engineering compliance and use that to their advantage. They notice rent-a-heavies trying to bother the protesters and distract or call them out. They make a noise and escalate to as many legislative bodies as they can to stem the tide. And at all times, they connect with other groups as a way to make communication even stronger.

It’s tiring work, but sometimes it has to be done.

Oh, this should work perfectly

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Every now and again I’ll figure out a long-standing block in my current project, and in the process, I’ll be of two minds about it: one, that this unexpectedly clears the path for everything else to run smoothly…and two, that it’ll be a hell of a lot more work than expected. I suppose it’s the variant on the angel and devil on your shoulders bit, really. You feel thrilled that this one problem has finally gone away, but you don’t want to fully trust it just yet.

This has happened twice recently with Theadia, actually. Late last month I’d come to the conclusion that the problem I’d had with a certain character had nothing to do with their actions or what I needed them to do…it was that the character didn’t work. They were just…boring the hell out of me. I hated writing them and initially thought it was because it was a scene I ultimately would not need. That didn’t quite feel right to me, however. The clarity came when I decided that maybe I should have their actions be played by a character I had a bit more interest in but had woefully underused. And LO! It actually worked! These new passages are still a bit weak and in need of revision, but I’m not too worried about that — right now I just want to get the scenes done and written.

The second time was just a week or so ago, when I FINALLY came up with a plausible ending for the novel. This was just like The Balance of Light, in that I knew how I wanted the story to end, but I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to get there. Thankfully there was no years-long block this time, only a general I’ll get to it when I get to it avoidance. Suffice it to say, I happened to have the day off then, and allowed myself to ruminate over this bit of clarity for a bit to work it out. After about an hour or two, I had a pretty good idea of how I was going to play this out.

As of this moment, I am focusing mostly on the first revelation, as they are the main character of nearly all the ‘WRITE THIS LATER’ scenes I’d skipped over the last year or so. This is actually working for the best, as I’m able to expand on this new character organically, just like I had with the other mains. And once that is taken care of, I can finally finish the novel properly.

And everything will fall into place perfectly.

I hope.