I finished my fist novel when I was sixteen. I got it copyrighted and remember the excitement when my certificate arrived in the mail. I once thought to query it, but I never did. Perhaps I thought it wasn’t good enough. Perhaps more work needed to be done. Twenty years later, and I never finished another story since then—a painful realization as I let the struggles of the economy, work, and daily life overtake my initial dream of being a published writer. A dream differed.
Instead, I blogged, started a slew of unfinished novels, and let my creativity rot under an ocean of distractions.
After my students’ creative writing reignited my spark, I began the slow process of remembering what it was like to love scratching words in a notebook. Rusty yet working, the love for storytelling returned. I decided to begin rewriting that childhood novel with a more experienced voice.
Premise
I am letting go of the perfectionist pantsing pattern I used to abide by. It clearly doesn’t work for me because I have over twenty years of empty output. The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome, right?
This original story I’m working on was inspired by a jade bracelet I had in history class in 7th or 8th grade. While spacing out, I pretended it was a crown, and developed this idea about magical princesses. I created a story influenced by my favorite fantasy books and video games, featuring four young people on a journey to save the world—completely original, I know!
This time, I’m rewriting the same characters’ in a much darker world. And instead of the usual story of evil kings, sorcerers, and Lord of the Rings tropes, I decided to shoot for something different: a world of dark representative governments and capitalists instead—something that parallels with our present, but still has the flare of fantasy.
What if I take the insanity of America’s 2016 and 2024 elections, and essentially “Fuck Around and Find Out” by going all madwoman and writing a fantasy story centered around the injustices and anti-intellectualism of my world?
The words began spilling out of me since April 2026. Leather bound notebook in tow, I’ve been writing religiously for five months. I spend most of the writing time outdoors where I can write without distraction. The only music is the rustle of trees, laughing insects, singing birds, and sighing creeks. I write in wildlife reserves, public parks, national forests, and public libraries.
The story is fleshing out, whether beneath stormy skies or cruel heatwaves. I have so much to say, and I’m taking the craft of storytelling seriously this time by studying the art and science of plot, psychology, characterization, and voice. I still feel like I have no idea what I’m doing, but I feel comfortable in this new writing pattern. I’m getting somewhere and am unafraid of the outcome of this story.
Creating What I Want to Read
I am writing the sort of story I wish I could read. There are plenty of stories I adore—and am welcome to suggestions because there are millions of unique stories out there—but I want to see a story where there are twists to tropes, diverse characters and experiences, and worlds that mirror our planet earth, yet also feel different and refreshing.
AI-Free Writing
I am proud to say that this is a human-made endeavor. I am not generating any writing ideas with generative AI, nor is this book being made with AI. The only thing I cannot escape are search engines that use AI overviews—but I am steadfast in following up on research verified through books and articles. In fact, I began this blog to prove my humanness so that my stories have a paper trail or digital footprint. My stories won’t appear out of thin air under an unknown name.
Let’s see together how far this story will go. I haven’t settled on a title yet, but for now let’s call my book Eclipse.
Galls & Walnuts 