Writing Three Stories at Once

It’s been awhile since I’ve given any news on the progress of Veznek. I know many of you are clamoring for details. I’ve had people message me with requests to proof read it, though my draft is not even fished. Many of you are probably wondering the reason you haven’t heard much. Quite simply: I’m working on three stories at the same time, so my progress has slowed considerably.

Veznek is actually on the back-burner for now, though I did manage to write another chapter yesterday. The book is great! Once again, it has a very different tone from what came before it. Where Iris was a long drawn-out claustrophobic mystery and Kholvaria was more of a straight up action/survival story, Veznek is a Kholvari-based political conspiracy thriller.

That’s right: Veznek is Kholvari-based. By that, I mean the Kholvari take the main stage and the humans become secondary. That fact alone dramatically changes the feel of the book and makes it stand out from the others.

Veznek also stands out in that every character is in a different place and on their own individual adventure. For that reason, the plot bounces around a lot depending on who you are following in that chapter (similar to A Song of Ice and Fire or the Lord of the Rings). Still, it’s a necessary book, as it puts all the main players in their proper starting-points for the finale in book 4 – tentatively titled Hive.

Hive is going to be awesome, by the way.

All in all, I’ve written 17 chapters in what I plan to be a 23 chapter book. With six chapters to go at the pace I’ve been writing lately, I don’t expect the draft to be finished anytime soon, though it could certainly happen by the end of the year.

Which brings me to my main point: If you’ve read this far, you’re probably wondering what the other two projects are that have taken up so much of my time.

One project I already eluded to in an earlier post. I’m working on a roughly 20K-word story which will (hopefully) be featured in a collection of comedy short stories. This is my first time writing a comedy piece and I honestly think it’s pretty funny. It spoofs Star Wars in many ways. The idea is this: what are the regular guys up to day-to-day in the Death Star? I’m not talking about the Emperor or Darth Vader or the generals. I’m talking about the guys who stand in line for hours just to wait and salute as the Emperor comes out of his shuttle, or the guy that works at the bar (you know there must be a bar in that huge space station somewhere). Also: how do people date in the Death Star? Is there a dating service? These are the pressing stories that need to be told.

More updates on that as I have them.

The second project I’m working on is a secret… for now, but I can tell you it has a pretty big name in the sci-fi genre attached to it. I can also tell you it will be a full-length story, not a short story. I wish I could tell you more. I think a lot fans of Iris and Kholvaria will like it a lot. I’m excited to reveal more news on that secret project – hopefully soon.

Again, more updates on that as I have them.

The good news is that I’m not currently working on any magazine stories at the moment, so in a sense, I am freed up a bit that way. On the other hand, I have noticed that when I don’t write magazine stories, I make up for that by writing more of these blog posts. So I guess it balances out.

Lastly, summer is almost over. Soon everyone will be heading back to school. Enjoy the last days of summer!