Hey everyone. I know what you all are thinking from reading the headline. “Oh Lord, she’s going to ruin sci-fi lol.” And you know what, I probably will. If I fail at it, at least I tried. It’s much too late to turn my work in progress into a regular story now. Too much would have to be changed, like the entire plot. I’ve always been a big fan of science fiction but writing it is hard. I’m not going to lie to you. It’s not for the faint of heart and no I am of no relation to the great science fiction author, Octavia Butler. But her writing expertise would help a lot right about now.

I am under much pressure to make this good (most of that is brought on by my fear), but it will not scare me away from at least trying. I think the hardest part about writing science fiction is Science.

Language and world-building are a challenge; it seems to depend on your imagination and how far you can take it. It can be a lot of fun if you know what you’re doing and this is where readers will expect you to be true to the genre. My story takes place on three different planets. One of them is Earth but not the Earth of this time. Earth in the far future. I went with a dystopian look and set it in my hometown of Chicago. Currently, Chicago is plagued with a lot of gun violence and nothing is being done about it. It’s to the point where I am afraid to go downtown now. Even tourist attractions have been affected by it. I thought of what Chicago will be like in the future and just how messed up things can get.

Transforming my hometown wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Some problems are pretty easy to predict if those problems are not solved in the future and this will be my vision of how I think Chicago will look if specific issues are not fixed in the next decade or so with a bit of my imagination mixed in. A simple thing like being able to walk down a street without getting shot will be the focus and my interpretation of how this could change in the future will be interesting not to mention how people will react to more unjust events and the fear that will overtake the entire city.

The story also takes place in two other worlds. Cardonia and Egolia. Both worlds are run by royal families. One bad and one good and both will drastically change the lives of the main characters in a big way. Cardonia is a poor planet but survives on its agriculture and the love of its families who are just trying to survive being under the control of the King who is corrupt and driven by greed. The look of this planet had to reflect this so there will be much green and farm life with small homesteads where the poor reside and ravines. Small villages and old-fashioned type place to buy things. There is no wealth except in the palace of the king and his family. His castle and its surroundings are larger than life of course with many servants running the show to keep his world looking like the great spectacle it is. But with a closer look, it is all just a façade and there is more misery, pain, and suffering than power.

The last part of the story takes place on Egolia which is a prominent wealthy planet that has a green sky and pink clouds, many tall mountains, and beautiful architecture with big cities and exotic animals. It is a peaceful planet with a history of defending its world with an iron fist always winning its battles no matter what adversity they are faced with due to its technology which is far more advanced than Cardonia.

Creating all of this in book form is a challenge for me and whether I screw it all up or do a half-decent job at least I’m having fun doing it. The book is in the process of being extended because it was too short so hopefully this will flesh out a much better story and bring new characters into the plot. I will keep you posted on this novel’s progression. Thank you for your patience.

Until next time…