Tag: Theadia

Filling in the gaps

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I am now at the point in Theadia where I have to visit all the WRITE THIS LATER gaps and…well, write them. Thankfully, I planned ahead of time during this last reread/revision, where I wrote out a paragraph or two of each plot point I need to hit for these scenes and chapters. Also thankfully, most of them are scenes featuring a not-quite-secondary, not-quite-primary character, which means I can focus mostly on the action. As you can guess, I wasn’t entirely sure at first how to approach him as he’s not the kind of character I usually write, and that’s mainly why I skipped them. One, so I won’t lose focus on the rest of the novel, and two, by the time I come back to these scenes, I’ll have a better idea of who he is and why he does what he does.

So why am I putting them there in the first place? Well, if I truly felt that I could get away with not putting them in, I probably would have shoehorned a variant version of the scene (or the information it’s relaying) elsewhere and via a more important character, but I don’t feel that’s the case here. This is a character that isn’t part of the tight-knit main character circle, but they do have a very important link with at least three of them that I think strengthens the story’s logic and flow. He’s an insider that helps the mains achieve their goals without actually abandoning his link to his status within the ranks. He’s gruff and cranky but he’s also extremely intelligent and supportive.

I’ll be honest, using the WRITE THIS LATER gap style of writing novels is still a rather recent change in my writing process. I always write in chronological order from start to finish, and I’m always worried that if I skip scenes too often, the multiple interwoven plot threads running through my head will unravel. This changed when I wrote Diwa & Kaffi, however, when during one of the rereads I realized I’d forgotten to add a key scene that would make the logic and flow work even better.

I still use the style quite infrequently, but these days I’m not as nervous about it. As long as I use it for the right reasons and not out of any sense of laziness or ‘just don’t wanna’ avoidance!

In that middle ground again

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It’s been a rough couple of weeks here at the New Digs. There’s been a bit of drama at the Day Job that I’ve been juggling, not to mention the rise in customer volume considering it’s Q4 and the start of the holiday retail season. I’ve also been doing a hell of a lot of thinking about how I’m going to finish Theadia, and what project(s) I’ll start after that one’s completed. Then there’s the cold/allergies that laid me out for a few days a while back.

Right now I’m feeling very much like I’m somewhere in between where I was and where I need to be, and that can be tense when I can only do so much to keep it moving in the right direction. Sometimes I’m fine with that — the journey’s part of the learning process, as they say — but other times the journey feels like one frustration after another that has to be handled in a certain way in order for the remainder of the trip to be smoother. [Come to find out, this is an ongoing theme in Theadia.] All I can do is just keep going despite the impatience, the anxiety, and the annoyance.

Still, there is a bright side. I’ve gone through this many times before, and if I play this bit of 5D chess the right way like I’ve done before, the end results will definitely be worth it.

And now for the next step…

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I am just a few short(ish) chapters away from completing this current revision of Theadia, which means two things. One, my next step in completing this novel is to go back again and fill in all the ‘WRITE THIS LATER’ scenes I blocked out. This one’s going to be a bit tricky, as a lot of them will feature a character that’s just as important but only works indirectly with the two main characters. They know of each other, but they’re never seen in the same room, let alone on any kind of communication device. He’s not the kind of character I normally write, either, but he’s just as important to the overall story, so I’m going to have to work out just what I want and need him to do.

The second thing? Well…I’m going to have to finally figure out how I’m going to end the dang thing. I’ll admit this is similar to how I had to deal with finishing The Balance of Light…that is, I kinda-sorta have an idea of how it ends, but no set plan on how to get there. In order to make it work, I’m going to have to take the time and plan it out so I can nail the landing. Which means I’m probably going to have to give it a few more re-re-re-rereads like I so often do. Hey, whatever works, yeah?

This novel’s history is rather similar to the history of the Bridgetown Trilogy in certain ways. I’ve returned to the ‘extended ensemble cast’ for starters, and it’s also a story that’s been given a from-the-ground-up worldbuilding process (minus a conlang this time out, though a few characters do affect a certain patois, somewhat inspired by a similar setup on the tv series The Expanse). It’s also a story that’s had a bit of a hiatus for varying reasons due to Real Life Stuff. I think this is partly why I have a soft spot for this project — it’s something I’ve worked on for an extended time and with patient care. It’s not a novel I can phone in.

It’ll be worth the wait, though.

Theadia: Side stories…?

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I’ve been thinking over the last few days that while Theadia focuses on a set number of main characters, the world building has grown enough that I can definitely see some minor side stories cropping up over time. And given that Theadia is about protest and rebellion of different sorts and flavors, writing short fiction about those affected by the events within the novel sounds like a lot of fun.

One, of course, came to mind: a young teenager hearing the sounds of rebellion for the first time. What if their reaction to hearing that sort of thing was a parallel to, say, me discovering college radio in the mid 80s? Two different levels of mental and emotional awakening, sure, but it’s hard to resist when the outcome is the same: getting your mind blown for the first time by the idea that there’s a much bigger and better universe out there than what you’ve experienced in your own small regimented world. And that someone’s out there, boldly telling you that you’re not bound by the rules that stifle you — be that rebel if you have to be.

There’s more ideas out there, sure. After all, a lot of this novel is inspired partly by what’s going on in the real world here and now, and how it’s being handled (or not handled) (or handled terribly) by certain people. Everyone’s got that kind of story out there, waiting to be told. And I’d like to know what some of them are.

Writing again…sort of

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I think it’s time to start writing again. The itch to do so has been constant lately.

Even though I’m working on Theadia (and doing a soft-start for the remaster of The Persistence of Memories), I’ve been itching to just write something new. I’m not sure what just yet, and I’m not going to force it. That, and I’ve sort of resurrected some of my writing habits again — noting word count in the small black moleskine calendar notebook, for instance. I’m not doing it every day of course, I’m merely entering it every now and again when the thought and the temptation strikes.

I know I talk about this here every now and again, and I admit sometimes I’m like a broken record (a skipping cd? a corrupted FLAC?) but it’s been an ongoing process that needs constant adjustment and tweaking. We writers sometimes get all meta about our process and it’s usually because we’re trying to figure out why our processes are the way they are, why they sometimes no longer work, and what we need to do to change them. That kind of thing never ends, I’m afraid, but it’s something I’m used to at this point.

As always, it’s just a matter of doing it. Once I start, the rest comes easier.

That time of year again

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It’s been a bit over three months since we moved into our New Digs, and things are finally settling and falling back into place. I might still have to remind myself that those month-end payments aren’t for rent anymore but mortgage, but other than that I’m happy that we’re here. We might be slightly further away from the shopping corridors but we’re two blocks from our community garden plot, a block away from a major bus route as well as a very large public park, and the neighborhood is thankfully much more peaceful. (Yes, even during recess for the kidlets at the school across the way.)

This is good timing, as it’s that time of year where I feel the need to change things up. And you know how I am in autumn: excited about the new music releases and contemplative about where I am and where I want to be. I’ve already made a lot of positive changes over the last few months — with room for improvement, of course — so it’s really just a matter of doing it at this point. Or not doing, depending on the situation. Some habits I find I just do not need nor want anymore. Some habits I’d like to revisit once more.

And what about writing? Well, the remaster of A Division of Souls is out and away, and I’m thinking of starting in on the remaster of The Persistence of Memories pretty soon. I’m also focusing on Theadia and it’s still looking good and on schedule for release sometime next year. But I can’t help but think: I’ve got a journal and a notebook gathering dust in my satchel right now, and my 750Words sign-in remains woefully ignored. I mean, I’ve worked on multiple stories at that same time before, so this is nothing new. I can certainly play around with writing extremely rough drafts of new ideas while spending most of my creative energies on the two main projects. And in the process, probably disconnect from a few IRL things that I don’t need to hyperfocus on.

And what better time to do it than during the season that works best for me?

Fly-by: Nothing much, just busy

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I’m working on Theadia and I’m a few chapters in already, so that’s a good sign. I still need to fix things here and there, and I do need to insert a new chapter or two here and there to expand the cast more, but for the most part the current draft is looking good. Most of my creative focus has been there these days, so my blogging may be scattershot for a little while until I feel I’m better able to hold onto a schedule.

Thanks for your patience!

Somewhere in between

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I’m kind of in an interstitial space right now creatively, I think. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve stopped performing a lot of the habits I’d had over the last several years in Spare Oom — the whiteboard schedule, the logging of the word count, writing at 750Words, and so on. The main reason I stopped is that I wanted a fresh start here at the New Digs. For the most part it’s been a positive choice as I haven’t felt the stress of not hitting scheduled goals. It’s helped me focus on current projects with more clarity.

Not that I’m complaining, however. I like being here at this time, because it means that I’m breaking away from old habits and yet to forge new ones. I’m allowing myself to try new things and approach current projects in a slightly different way. Perhaps this is why I’m also allowing myself to indulge in a wave of comic reading on Hoopla these last several weeks…I get to try something new, see what inspires me.

I’ll be honest, I do occasionally feel the temptation to fire up the 750Words or do a bit of journaling, but I’ve been responding to that with well, you don’t HAVE to if you don’t really want to. Which, to me, means that if the only reason I want to do any of that is out of a sense of missing it, then I probably shouldn’t waste my time. If I’m going to return to the daily words or the journaling or anything else, I want to have a good creative reason. For the moment, I don’t want to split up my concentration on anything that’s mere folly right now, not when I want to put as much focus as I can on the Theadia project.

I suppose if this stage is anything like the one I had during the Belfry Years, this will (hopefully) mean that a lot of positive creativity will soon come out of it.

Coming 2026

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If you could…would you do the right thing?

Althea Gataki loves what she does, even when it drives her crazy. She works tech support in the communications field and knows all the ins and outs — and maybe some paths that aren’t entirely all that legal. She puts everything into her job, because she likes it done right the first time. She’s not afraid to take chances, especially when she finds answers where no one else dares. Her older brother is an ace military pilot, and she’s annoyed that he doesn’t write more often.

Claudia Beecham is an engineering wiz but works far below her status as a coding boffin for a vendor that creates communication devices, both public and military. She’s quiet and unassuming and she’d like to keep it that way so she doesn’t attract unneeded attention. She’s also one of those Beechams, part of a large extended family stretching across several levels of the FairIsle Space Force.

Althea and Claudia are lovers, huge nerds, avoiders of family drama, and owners of a ridiculous and sassy Maine coon cat named Grizelda. They’re both turning twenty and must soon make their Citizen Claim for FairIsle, deciding once and for all if they will become permanent stationsiders or planetsiders. And all they want is to spend their hard-earned vacation time relaxing and staying away from the chaos of FairIsle’s fiftieth annual Emancipation Day celebrations. Simple request, yes?

Not when your homeworld is on the verge of being re-invaded by that same federation it escaped those fifty years ago.

Theadia is the story of two young women coming to terms with an uncertain future. It’s the story of a young planet and its space station making a name for itself as a successful transportation hub in the local galaxy. It’s the story of friends and comrades realizing they cannot always depend on their leaders. It’s the story of one’s willingness to take dangerous chances, even when it could mean your job…or your life.

Theadia is the story of doing the right thing.

Almost there…

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I am SO CLOSE to finishing this go-round of the Trilogy Remaster for A Division of Souls! I’m about twenty pages from the last one (this includes the original endnotes and whatnot), so that means I can give it yet one more read-through before prepping it for the planned September release. I’m almost never this ahead of schedule!

Speaking of, I’ve also been thinking of having a bit of fun with the tenth anniversary remaster here at the blog and possibly elsewhere. Sort of like when I celebrated the project’s twentieth anniversary back in March 2017 (for those curious, I started The Phoenix Effect in March 1997 which would become the trilogy a few years later). Posting things like outtakes, maps, drawings, stuff like that. Stay tuned!

But for now, the next step in my plan is to get it all ready to go early, that way I can get back to working on Theadia. That project needs a lot of attention I haven’t been able to give to it lately, so it’ll feel great to have that on the front burner once again. I admit I have a lot of vague plans for it and a few set-in-stone ones that I’d like to focus on. Most of you have read some of the outtakes here, but for the most part it’s a story I haven’t shared with anyone yet. I hope you enjoy it!