Patrick Jan Van Hove

Archive for September, 2008

Novel Writing Month project: Login

In NaNoWriMo on September 22, 2008 at 9:04 pm

I’ve been scratching my head over what to write for the National Novel Writing Month, trying to pick out an idea from my Old Earth world, and I came up with a rather odd idea.

The idea is centered around the network interface I imagined for the 27th century, which is still used three centuries later. The story is called “Login”, and by a cheap play of words I use the “Log” for the timescale, which will be in ten parts, each an extra logarithmic step beyond the departure point.

The story starts in 2010, at the first steps of the mind-computer interface, then in 2011, when the first prototype starts working, then 2020, once the prototype starts production, 2110, when the internet and media market becomes ripe for direct-implant network.

By 3010, once the sun has been blown up in a war, the people of one of the outer world have their whole civilization based around the relationships that it allows between people. In 12 010, humanity has moved beyond the solar system in order to seek out a new star, by 102 010, they have constructed a new earth around a new sun, and are expanding their footprint on the galaxy. By 1 002 010, humanity is turning into something else, something of a hive-mind entity, with individuality being slowly erased.

By 10 002 010, humanity no longer exist. It has become adapted to space travel since time is irrelevant to the hive mind. By 100 002 010, war has broken out between different factions of the ex-humanity and of the Star Spawn, an ancient race that made contact with earth back in 2700 (which is the centerpiece of my “Return to the Old Earth”….), and the new-humans, using a tactic used in an old human war, blow up the galaxy and more on to intergalactic space…

Crazy, eh?

I’m just wondering if it might actually work…

Getting in writing gear…

In general on September 16, 2008 at 8:06 am

Well my writing has slowed down a bit since the end of World Building Month, although I’ve tried to write a little bit each day, even if it’s just a few lines in my Moleskine… (yeah, I know, I’m a slave to fashion, what are you gonna do?…)

At the rate I’m writing and with the general outline I have, I’ll end up with 40 000 words next spring, which is kind of underwhelming, to say the least. With november approaching I think I’ll follow Eliza Wyatt’slead and jump on the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, which is kind of a misnomer, considering the number of participants from across the globe…) bandwagon and write 50 000 words in a month. I can’t use my original story for the Return to the Old Earth, so I’m thinking spin-off. Something to flesh out the world and which could be a prequel or a sequel to the Return…

This means that I’ll have to get into writing gears on the Return, to get a large enough body of work before November starts, because once I’m in there, I’ll have to work only on that project…

In the meantime I’ll use this space as a idea mixing ground, throw some ideas around, and see what sticks… See you around!

Oh, and if you want to become one of my writing buddies on NaNoWriMo, I’m right here.