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.