Time for some new fanfiction, peeps! Just in time for Black Friday!

Making headway on “Illusion of Love”

Took the past month or so to hammer out the outline for the third urban fantasy novel in my “Shadowdance” saga, “Illusion of Love.” I had thought I’d done it already, but it was still pretty bare bones.

The characters went through their paces, but it was because that’s what the plot dictated not because that’s what they’d do.

I also had trouble discerning the story’s theme. I was stabbing at it, but it wasn’t there yet.

I’d made the mistake a year ago of starting the writing process without the completed outline. Trying that ran the story into the ground, which is why it was a year ago since I’d worked on it. Too frustrating.

So I gave the outline another pass.

Digging into character motivation and theme

By digging in deep to the characters’ motivations and putting them in the context of other characters’ motivations, the story came to life. No longer was it a series of “this happens, then this happens” with no emotional connection.

Now I had a story that read like “character X does this, but character Y opposes that and does this.” Protagonist and antagonist in action, baby! Cause and effect!

Defining these motivations afforded me a better look at the story’s theme and how each character reflected said theme.

Weaving characters’ motivations in with the theme helped me define the characters further. It also gave the story heart, a reason for audiences to read besides the badass action setpieces.

We all know a setpiece without emotional stakes is a waste of time.

Now its just a matter of putting my butt in the chair to fill in the gaps only writing will fill: setting, descriptions, and writing those badass action sequences.

Besides; no one wants to spend money on an eBook outline.

Back to fanfiction

With the novel easier to write thanks to the outline, I can now take some time to get back to the thing SYFY Wire featured me for — fanfiction.

I’m going to continue my “Star Wars” fanfiction series chronicling the adventures of my original characters, Jedi Nile Chinelo and smugglers Piani and Corana.

In episode three, I’m also introducing a new character, Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kaila Ores. She’ll bring a new dynamic to the series as she’ll struggle to find balance in the Force.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

In all, I’m pushing the “Star Wars” fanfiction to ten episodes. I’m going to muscle through and get through it all before sneaking back to my superhero fanfiction.

I have a “Birds of Prey” story with a bit of a twist in the casting coming. But more on that another time.

As I do with all the new episodes for “Star Wars” fanfiction, here’s the opening crawl for Episode 3 – “Old Wounds.”

The first of the six chapters in this episode will be out on Black Friday for your post -Thanksgiving/ shopping pleasure.

The rest of the series will post on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting November 27th. Enjoy!