I’ve begun development of plans to write the next set of books. I wrote a long mega novel 10 years ago. I was experimenting with epistolary writing. It wound up being one of the most enjoyable stories I’d ever written. My writing skills were still growing rather significantly at that time, so when I looked back, I didn’t like what I saw. However, the story, more than the words, stuck with me.

I had long thought about the possibility of linking this story’s universe with the Forgotten Princess universe. Perhaps they were different galaxies running parallel to one another. But I reconsidered. Perhaps it would be fun to create a legacy story, one several generations after Forgotten Princess.

I looked chiefly at the magic system in the book. (I’ve modeled a lot of my system on Sanderson’s three laws. As stated in many of my blogs, I believe firmly in learning what I can from other authors and putting it to use.) Now when I use Magic System, I don’t refer to magic as simply a fantasy element. But sci-fi itself is based on elements that cannot be explained. “The Force”, “The Matrix”,  “Spidey Sense”, “Green Lanterns”, etc, etc. And controlling the range of these inexplicable elements creates a sort of framework. Why, for example, are the heroes and villains of a story not so powerful as to destroy each other in a moment? These boundaries need to be set and built upon, to complete a story.

The chief system behind Forgotten Princess has to deal with mutation experiments. One such experiment was to create gemstones inside of a specific fish (the way one might find pearls in oysters) which were capable of incredible power. This power could further be wielded or drawn upon via expansive means. Rings were created which could hold these gemstones, while the bands themselves could strengthen the power or direct how the gemstones were used.

This was fun to imagine. But then I thought about how to improve upon this tech in a future sense. And since mutation experiments were tied directly to manipulation of DNA, I thought about perhaps creating an internal source. What if a person’s own DNA could be manipulated, making him capable of the same powers without a ring? Might a person be capable of, for example, fire manipulation like an ignis ring, turning invisible as if wielding an aero ring, casting illusions like an illius ring, perhaps even becoming an illusion himself? And if this manipulation was kept secret, even from the person himself, could he perhaps find latent powers within himself? Could such powers even be more harmful to the person, untrained in how to use them?

In this case, I discovered that the story I originally crafted could be revised, details could be changed, and I could retell an old story within a new framework. This project will likely be several months in the making. But it’s a start in the right direction. I love a story worth telling, and story worth telling is worth telling better, so eagerly with anticipation I return to my keyboard.

To be continued…