As I wrote this piece, I remember thinking the chapter was somewhat confusing. If neither the Company nor Neuman-Life wanted George to succeed, then who did?
I didn’t know.
Also, why was the Company’s representative at the meeting? And what was this bombshell about George’s mum and brother’s accident not being accidental at all!
The whole chapter was written without knowing why.
I have been told that some writers plan every step. Some make Mind Maps, and others keep notes or draw storyboards. In fact, there are hundreds of different and interesting ways to prepare. I don’t do any of them. I kind of follow in the footsteps of Hemingway – I have a few drinks (oops) and then relax. This allows suppressed moods and feelings to wrap themselves around me. These then tell me what I need to write.
The following day, I read what I did. Sometimes, surprising myself with what I have written or how few of my thoughts managed to get out of my head (LOL).
With any business or game as big and as popular as Creation is supposed to be, naturally, there will be various interested parties, all hoping to make a profit or manipulate some aspect of it to their advantage. Neuman-Life and the Company are but two groups. What exactly their roles are in the story and how to present it is left to the spirit of Hemingway. (LOL)
The confusion, however, has caused me to rewrite the chapter slightly before writing this blog. I have not changed the original layout but have tried to clarify things in a more manageable fashion. Knowing what comes later in the story has helped. (Books 4, 5, and 6 are printed and finished. Book 7 is written but needs cleaning – this is another strange writing habit that I have. My thoughts never come out in the correct order. I don’t know why. They first appear all mixed up. LOL, I can already hear you saying: it’s the drink, and maybe you’re right, but better out than in – Shrek LOL. It takes me months to put them into the correct order. It’s like a 40.000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Luckily, there are chapters!)
Anyway, on to other points about the chapter. I enjoyed naming my digitally free zone a Three Monkey. I thought it was clever and cute, especially in a world where everyone is so worried about being hacked, stalked, or having their personal data stolen. I also enjoyed creating a digital land run. This idea is again clever and cute, especially as the seventh level is in America. Having the players race across the first four levels in the hope of getting to level five before it was officially opened was a nice parallel. Another point I enjoyed was adding how the workers’ representative, Mr. Flanagan, was bought. I guess I wanted to say that everyone in the room was corrupt.
I can remember doing a lot of research for the chapter. (I always enjoy this part of the writing. I enjoy trying to authenticate my fictitious stories and therefore usually end up doing some research for each chapter. I suppose this is why my books have so many footnotes.) But here, due to the office scene being a relatively new world for me, I needed to do more.
I consider myself lucky to have made Creation a copy of the pre-digital world. (Basically, the time in which I grew up.) And also for allowing the game’s champions to have historical names. All of this has made it easier to write. I have spent less time trying to think of what the world would be like in the future. This art of prediction is strenuous and not always fun, especially if my writer’s feeling tells me negative things about the future.
So, on to the second part of the chapter. This concerns Evylin and her slow but sure change to becoming a Creatling. (A child of Creation). First, she cuts her own hair, and now she begins to show signs of favouring Creation over her own reality. She begins to see the beauty of Creation. And begins to question her desire to End the World. A theme that naturally grows as the story develops.
