Saturday, September 24, 2011

Novel Territory

So I'm writing a novel.

Nothing new about that. I've started, what? Five or ten novels in the last decade, easily. I even wrote a whole first draft while listening to mortars scream in the blue skies of Baghdad. So why am I announcing I'm writing a novel?

Because this is one I'm going to finish.

Working on all these sci fi short stories last year has given me enough ideas to build a world. And not just any world. A world in which I can set an:

EPIC SPACE OPERA!!!

Why Space Opera? Because it's cool. You can sweep across space and time. You can have aliens with crazy bodies and out of control sense of identities. You can have space pirates. You can explore socio-cultural-metaphysical issues.

In short, you can do whatever the hell you want.

I'm going all in on this one. I've already passed the 10,000 word plateau and I feel like I'm just getting started. Which is good, because I am.

2012 must be the Year of the Novel. If you think so too, head over to W1S1 or Absolute Write and sign up for the W1S1 Novel challenge.

4 comments:

  1. Good luck on your quest! W1S1 has impeded my novel-writing this year, but I hope to finish my current manuscript next year and start re-subbing my others.

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  2. Yep, I'm in the same boat. Only, I don't think W1S1 has impeded me so much as I think it's given me the break that I needed. The space and time to let ideas roam free without pressure to get them down or worked out right away. I too am doing the novel challenge in 2012. See you guys there!
    And congrats on your W1S1 Sept. progress, M.S.!

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  3. Good luck with the novel. And congratulations on keeping up with the short story challenge in September. We're closing in on the finish line now. W1S1!

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  4. Congrats on meeting another month's challenge and on your first publication. I read about winning the contest in one of your earlier posts.

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