Welcome to the land of no names. I started my edits on Third Life this morning. It isn’t long, only 20k words so more or less 80 pages. It is fun though. Only two characters have names, the protagonist, and his brother. The rest are nameless, and eventually faceless, except the two leaders of warring tribes. They don’t have names but titles.

I am really excited about this story because it’s the first time in a while that I really let my imagination run free. It’s not that the audience wasn’t on my mind; it’s more that I care about them in the edits and not so much in the rough draft. Part of the issue I had with the Absolute, and part of the reason I lost the excitement of it is it just sorta lost its way. When I originally wrote it, it was more the kind of content my mind goes to on its own. A story with a big question that could never actually happen.

It became something bland. Something that reads like I was overly concerned with pleasing everybody that it just became boring.

Thid Life is definitely not for everybody. I’m not even sure if it’s any good, but I know I’m excited about it. I built a world of rigid discipline. A world where life is cheap, people get more than one, and its sole purpose is to serve a higher purpose. The two tribes fighting believe in opposing purposes, one to the world and the other to the longevity of those who are living.

What I am most concerned about is my info dumping. I was so excited to create this brand new world that I think I got carried away, particularly in the first chapter, with explaining every detail. It’s also difficult to edit because I want those details there, and part of the reason I think the info dump might work is that it occurs during moments of “blank stare,” which is a side effect of adults in the Formation (the tribe the main character is a part of).

I hope to finish my first round of edits this weekend and send it off to some beta readers. I’m always looking for more so if that’s something that interests you please shoot me an email on my contact page.

I was forcing the Absolute because I really felt like I needed a full-length novel out, but I think it would be best if I give it a brief pause and work on some of my novella ideas. I also think that would be best for the people who actually read my work because it means more content!