It’s been a busy and stressful month since my last update, and unfortunately life and work has kept me away from writing as much as I would’ve liked. But now in the wake of the recent U.S. elections, I’ve taken a long look at what is truly important in my life, what sort of world I want to live in, and what I can do to help to bring that world to fruition. I’ve realized that I can’t make the world a better place from the inside of a cubicle, so I’ve resolved myself to placing a much higher priority on doing that which I truly believe can make a difference, something that I love to do with all my heart, and that’s telling stories. And as a storyteller, I’ve come to realize that -- quite by accident! -- I’ve already been working through my fears about the state of the world within the pages of this very novel.
I began work on Land of the Setting Sun long before this election began, spending over a year of my life researching and outlining and developing centuries’ worth of lore. And now I find myself writing a story about a wealthy aristocrat who attempts to manipulate and exploit a populist nativist movement in order to seize power for himself, and the multicultural team of individuals who come together over the course of the story to oppose him. It goes without saying that my own perspective on this subject matter has changed irrevocably in the past few days.
Since starting work on this project, I’ve always viewed it as a work of fantasy, with some mild social and political undertones thrown in for good measure. But now, I’ve suddenly realized that this subject matter may have a great deal of resonance which goes far beyond a simple “Cowboys & Samurai” adventure tale. Not only has this election cycle forced my to look at my own story and characters in a new light, it’s filled me with a far greater resolve to complete the damned thing and get it out into the world before it’s too late.
Of course, the novel was never designed to be an allegory of any sort, and I have no intention of turning it into some sort of political pipebomb. Land of the Setting Sun will remain, first and foremost, an adventure story. However, I can say with absolute certainty that this election cycle is going to fundamentally change the way I approach this subject matter, both in ways that I am conscious of, and in ways that I’m not. I believe that now more than ever, it’s essential that we create and share stories of cultures joining together, rather than splitting apart. And my hope is that, in its own small way, this novel might help to combat the fear and hatred that this election has fomented.
Apologies for the semi-political update, but this is something that I’ve been thinking about quite a bit over the past two days. I’ll be back soon with an actual progress report shortly!
So after months of tiptoeing around the idea of registering here on Inkshares and posting the first few chapters of my first novel, I finally took the plunge Sunday night, and in just two days I’ve already gotten a far greater response than I’d ever anticipated! So thank you everyone for following! I’m still new here, so please bear with me as I navigate these unfamiliar waters, but I’m looking forward to reading all of your projects out there!
So just a bit about myself: I’m a 37-year old with a Creative Writing degree who somehow ended up with a career in the corporate world, which unfortunately leaves me little time to write. But after a decade or more, I finally decided to dust off the word processor and make the time. And now that I’ve made some progress on my novel, I’ve fallen in love with writing all over again. Land of the Setting Sun has been a labor of love for the past three years -- a lot of research, a lot of outlining, and so many notes! But now I’m thrilled (and a little nervous!) to put it out there for the world to see!
I’m not much of a social media person, which is part of the reason I was a bit reluctant to join Inkshares in the first place (though I’m already glad I did!). And unfortunately, my day job is extremely demanding on my time, so I’m not certain how frequently I’ll be posting updates. But I’ll be reading your comments, and I’m extremely grateful for any feedback that you’re willing to give. So drop me a line, I look forward to hearing from you!
As for the state of the draft: I’ve posted the first four chapters of Land of the Setting Sun (plus the Prologue), because I wanted to really give you all a sense of what to expect from this novel. Chapters 5 through 10 are in varying states of completion, but I’m hoping to have them finished by the end of November. So keep an eye out for future updates, and thanks again for following!
Hello Inkshares,
It’s been a busy and stressful month since my last update, and unfortunately life and work has kept me away from writing as much as I would’ve liked. But now in the wake of the recent U.S. elections, I’ve taken a long look at what is truly important in my life, what sort of world I want to live in, and what I can do to help to bring that world to fruition. I’ve realized that I can’t make the world a better place from the inside of a cubicle, so I’ve resolved myself to placing a much higher priority on doing that which I truly believe can make a difference, something that I love to do with all my heart, and that’s telling stories. And as a storyteller, I’ve come to realize that -- quite by accident! -- I’ve already been working through my fears about the state of the world within the pages of this very novel.
I began work on Land of the Setting Sun long before this election began, spending over a year of my life researching and outlining and developing centuries’ worth of lore. And now I find myself writing a story about a wealthy aristocrat who attempts to manipulate and exploit a populist nativist movement in order to seize power for himself, and the multicultural team of individuals who come together over the course of the story to oppose him. It goes without saying that my own perspective on this subject matter has changed irrevocably in the past few days.
Since starting work on this project, I’ve always viewed it as a work of fantasy, with some mild social and political undertones thrown in for good measure. But now, I’ve suddenly realized that this subject matter may have a great deal of resonance which goes far beyond a simple “Cowboys & Samurai” adventure tale. Not only has this election cycle forced my to look at my own story and characters in a new light, it’s filled me with a far greater resolve to complete the damned thing and get it out into the world before it’s too late.
Of course, the novel was never designed to be an allegory of any sort, and I have no intention of turning it into some sort of political pipebomb. Land of the Setting Sun will remain, first and foremost, an adventure story. However, I can say with absolute certainty that this election cycle is going to fundamentally change the way I approach this subject matter, both in ways that I am conscious of, and in ways that I’m not. I believe that now more than ever, it’s essential that we create and share stories of cultures joining together, rather than splitting apart. And my hope is that, in its own small way, this novel might help to combat the fear and hatred that this election has fomented.
Apologies for the semi-political update, but this is something that I’ve been thinking about quite a bit over the past two days. I’ll be back soon with an actual progress report shortly!
Hello Inkshares!
So after months of tiptoeing around the idea of registering here on Inkshares and posting the first few chapters of my first novel, I finally took the plunge Sunday night, and in just two days I’ve already gotten a far greater response than I’d ever anticipated! So thank you everyone for following! I’m still new here, so please bear with me as I navigate these unfamiliar waters, but I’m looking forward to reading all of your projects out there!
So just a bit about myself: I’m a 37-year old with a Creative Writing degree who somehow ended up with a career in the corporate world, which unfortunately leaves me little time to write. But after a decade or more, I finally decided to dust off the word processor and make the time. And now that I’ve made some progress on my novel, I’ve fallen in love with writing all over again. Land of the Setting Sun has been a labor of love for the past three years -- a lot of research, a lot of outlining, and so many notes! But now I’m thrilled (and a little nervous!) to put it out there for the world to see!
I’m not much of a social media person, which is part of the reason I was a bit reluctant to join Inkshares in the first place (though I’m already glad I did!). And unfortunately, my day job is extremely demanding on my time, so I’m not certain how frequently I’ll be posting updates. But I’ll be reading your comments, and I’m extremely grateful for any feedback that you’re willing to give. So drop me a line, I look forward to hearing from you!
As for the state of the draft: I’ve posted the first four chapters of Land of the Setting Sun (plus the Prologue), because I wanted to really give you all a sense of what to expect from this novel. Chapters 5 through 10 are in varying states of completion, but I’m hoping to have them finished by the end of November. So keep an eye out for future updates, and thanks again for following!