Moving On

For weeks I have been excited about the idea of writing a short story to go along with my newly completed fantasy novel, The Terror Within.  I envisioned a sort of prequel that told the story of how one of my main characters, Alyssiana, came to find her family.  It would have begun with her exile from the group that raised her and chronicled her journey south toward her homeland.  Her trip would have culminated in confrontation with a group of exiles intent upon using her abilities for their own political and spiritual gain.

Now, however, we come to the wrench in the works.  The story I have described above can only take place inside a completely different world.  The societies in my novel either fear or already possess Alyssiana’s power.  Hence, no group would even consider using her powers for political gain.  In addition, the situation I described above works better when the rules of magic are different than those I laid out in The Terror Within.  Alyssiana may not fully understand her power at the point this story would take place, but she is, at least partly, in control of it.  In my short story idea, however, I think the plot works much better when the magic is something as natural for the wielder as breathing and something which they cannot control without training.

At first, I was disappointed with this realization, and I have spent several weeks trying to force the short story plot to fit into the confines of the reality in The Terror Within.  Maybe I was nervous to leave it behind, since I have not written about anything unrelated to my novel in the last 12 years.  The story refuses to bend, however, and I find myself excited to take on the venture of creating a new world and new characters, if only in the confines of a short story.  Oddly, my enthusiasm was peaked by the odd little crustaceans in the photo on the left.  My family and I were walking along a boardwalk in Cedar Key when I saw their nervous exodus down the sand, and the opening scene just popped into my head.  I may yet write a prequel for The Terror Within, but for now I will immerse myself in a marshy coastal land where magic has nearly disappeared and salvation and glory are not what they seem.