The Shape of My Story

I have not yet talked about my story. Now that I am starting to wind things up, I guess it’s time to talk about it. I have four characters in two story lines. One story focuses on an old warrior dedicated to destroying the Locust Folk and the current Queen of one of the hives. She is wrapped in the routine of running the hive and I have laid in some political unrest as well. The warrior – the Genji – is a solitary figure trooping through the desert landscape trying to reach the hive. He has tried to track the insects back to their home for years for years. This time he is giving it his all. He is old and tired of a lifetime of fighting and wants to end this struggle one way or another.

Interwoven with this story is a story about a young homesteader and young potential insect queen. Xilva is supposed to go out and mate with as many humans as possible. Instead she “falls for” Julian and helps him set up his farm. It’s a doomed cross-species romance. She will eventually leave him to return to her people. I am really happy with how this part of the novel is going. I feel like I have nailed both their internal monologues and set up them each realizing this is one of those starcrossed things.

I am pleased with the way the two stories relate and interrelate. The novel contrasts interaction through war and interaction through love. These are two paths the humans and insects could take. I am still not 100% certain how everything will wrap up. I have one of two endings planned, but both seem a little anti-climatic. How I feel in about six days when I write the last chapter will affect things, I am certain. Stay tuned!

The benchmark word count for today is: 33340

My total word count so far is: 34596