Update on Fifth World Sequel and other Projects
I have been working on the sequel to The Fifth World for the last five months. It has definitely been an enjoyable process the second time around. The tough lessons from the first one have made some things go easier and revealed new ideas and possibilities I never would’ve thought of last year.
The first draft is about 70 percent complete. Several other projects have divided my time up lately and pushed back my timetable. My day job for one takes up considerable time along with travel over the holidays, other writing projects, and just good old fashion procrastination. I originally was hoping to have the first draft done in January or early February, ready for the first round of editing. Unfortunately that is no longer realistic. My new goal is to have it ready to go by March 1.
It took 3 months to go through all the rounds of editing last time. First came the critique, then the line-editing, then the copyediting to get rid of those pesky grammar and spelling mistakes. The experience was very educational and helped me avoid many mistakes the second time around. This first draft might actually be readable!
Add in all the marketing and promotional stuff that goes with publishing a new book and I’d say The Fifth World sequel could be out by early July.
I haven’t decided on a title yet or an ending but everything else is pretty well mapped out.
The sequel has more action along with political intrigue. Readers will learn a lot more about Gaia. Many of the characters from the first novel are in the second with especially prominent roles for Alex, Becca, and Colonel (now General) Moleiro. You will also get to know Alex’s family a little better as well as other Gaians. The Federation returns with a new leader named Thomas Solwin. Solwin is eager to avoid the mistakes of his predecessors.
The second novel also won’t be as dark as the first one. No more post-apocalyptic imagery. The book will take place almost exclusively on Gaia. It is more about fighting for the future. I want to show more of Gaia so that readers can see what the Oraibi rebels are fighting to keep.
The experience of writing the first novel has helped me in many ways. For one, I feel like my writing style is improving. As a first time author and a novice at fiction, I knew this would be the area I would need to work on the most. I’ve have also immersed myself in science fiction and fantasy novels for the past year. From Arthur C. Clarke to China Mieville, I’ve tried to learn what other greater writers have done and gotten a better idea of where the bar is in terms of science fiction. I’m far from their level and may never reach it but I certainly intend to try.
Over the past few months I’ve also worked on developing outlines for a third and fourth book in the series as well as a couple new ideas for stand-alone works. Whether my novels become bestsellers or not, I’m just gonna keep writing them. I have one short story I might share on this site rather than try to get it published but haven’t decided yet. As for the other material on the site, I’ve been slacking with the Diary of Miguel Moleiro and the Stories of the Ark sections. I will try to get back on those in the next two months.
The end of 2012 was busy on all fronts and early 2013 promises to be the same. It will take some time management and multitasking skills (of which I don’t have much) but I will get another novel and some short stories out by summer.
Jacob
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