Subscribe to Blog RSS Feed
Subscribe to Blog RSS Feed  

Blog

Return to full blog

Destalis "Reimagining" (Draft 5)

Due to the need for a fifth round of significant edits, I put Destalis on the shelf for a few years while I wrote BC9. I needed to do something new, and I also figured--correctly, it turned out--that I could write a second novel faster than I could rewrite the first one, given all I learned the initial time around. Now, with BC9 nearing completion, I've returned to my first project, determined to revamp the story until it demonstrates the greatness that exists within my head. Here are the major changes for what I'm calling the "re-imagining" of Destalis:

- Lynn's character has changed significantly along with her name. Lynn is now Lyana. Lynn was too modern-day. So, I decided to go with Lyana, which remains close to Lynn but sounds more unique. Lyana starts out at age seventeen instead of twenty-five, and since the story now covers multiple years, she will have time to grow from a timid, disgruntled teen into a confident leader. Gone is Lynn the philosophy student. Lyana still practices martial arts, though. Finally, Lyana's dreams are less abstract and more integrated into the plot.

- Complete rewrite of the first quarter of the story. Everything from the beginning through Lyana's escape from Dainichi plays out differently, and my goal is to get Lyana on her journey more quickly. I plan to rewrite much of the story, although in general, less rewriting will occur closer to the end.

- Shortened length and tighter, faster-paced writing. Draft 4 is 194,000 words. I plan to drop this done into the low six-figure range. Also, my ability to write has come a long way in the last half-decade. Draft 4 suffers from "wordiness," uses passive tense and adverbs, and isn't very tight in general.

- Higher-tech. Not that it matters terribly within the context of the story, but Destalis takes place about ten thousand years in the future in another galaxy. So, the technology needs to reflect that. Now, many characters, including Lyana and Lutar, have cybernetic augmentations. People also live for hundreds of years and can be revived, which affects the timeline and logistics of the story.

Comments (0)

 

Return to full blog

 

Mailing List

Sign up for the new releases and deals mailing list

Subscribe to the author's mailing list to read the first three books of the Beyond Saga for FREE.

Beyond Saga

Beyond Cloud Nine

BUY NOW! AVAIL NOW. Ace star fighter pilot Brooke Davis dreams of becoming the first human being to fly faster than light.
Read more

Beyond the Horizon

BUY NOW! AVAIL NOW. Ensign Maya Davis must foil a plan to exterminate a benevolent exospecies during the first interstellar mission.
Read more

Beyond Yesterday

BUY NOW! AVAIL NOW. Captain Maya Davis travels back in time to learn how a piece of modern tech ended up in the past.
Read more

Beyond Existence

COMIN SOON. With the Earth conquered, Admiral Maya Davis must travel through space, time, and alternate universes to prevent mankind from being wiped out of existence.
Read more

Future Works

Destalis

Lyana, an orphaned martial artist with bio-augmented abilities, embarks on a quest to liberate her home world and prevent the fabric of the universe from unraveling.
Read more

Bears in Space

Boz and his goofball crew must save the galaxy from cliche alien invasions, trite zombie apocalypses, and bad rom-coms.
Read more

Goodbye, Mars

Ryssa Nilsson must avoid the deadly stings of heat-loving bugs known as thermophiles and escape Mars before the Sun's expansion sterilizes the planet.
Read more

SSL Certificate