As I sit down to write this, I can hardly believe it, but just a week and 100 days from now, on November first, I’ll be embarking on an ambitious journey – my Million Word Year. The goal is to challenge myself to write one million words within a single year. Exciting, isn’t it? And unsettling. Even, one might say, worrying. I’ve never tried this before. But I think it’s doable, and I’m determined to bolster my chances by mapping things out as thoroughly as I can, as I generally do.
Part of this planning is polishing up my novel-making method. It’s designing design – pre-game gaming. Once everything is in good shape, I’ll share my process with you all.
An ongoing challenge, of course, is that I have other things going on in life. I’ve been reading Labov’s Principles of Language Change, which is fascinating and extremely relevant to how not just language, but societies — and, I believe, individuals — change. And there’s, you know, my paid work and my home life, both very important.
Aside from all this, though, my focus has been on “Return to Sagaia”. The book has been drawing me deeper in as I’ve tramped in its forests, wandered in its cities, worshiped in its temples, and met its inhabitants. I’m very pleased with it, and it’s been a particular pleasure to create illustrations for it. I’ll share some of that process below.
Sagaia on Patreon
Despite my struggles, I’m still making good progress, and you can read it all on my Patreon page. With over 25,000 words of the novel posted and half a dozen hand-drawn illustrations, including Celtic-inspired knotwork-like patterns, the creative journey has been an absolute delight. While there’s still plenty of room for improvement, I’ve managed to get lighter and freer with my line work. To give you a glimpse, I’ve included an illustration from the latest installment: two allies of Queen Sarah, the rabbits Cor and Shamá, sitting under a serene tree near their burrow.
Moving forward, I’m still committed to sharing 5,000 to 7,000 words per month. Currently my Patreon following stands at exactly one, but I’m undaunted. I welcome anyone to join me and gain immediate access to all the content I’ve posted so far. There’s even a one-week free trial period, which allows you to join, download and read the fiction, and then, if it turns out it’s not your cup of tea, cancel with no questions asked.
And I want to make sure that ‘Return to Sagaia’ is more than just a great adventure. Unlike previous books such as Harry Potter and the Hourwick of Oz, which flowed with ease, “Return to Sagaia” has been more of a struggle. At its core, it’s about how we — as individuals and as a society — heal from the toxicity of misogyny. How do we recognize it? How do we dig it out and rid ourselves of it? I have to dismantle the hierarchical structures within Narnia’s heart, including the great chain of being with males above females, humans above animals, speakers above non-speakers, and gods above nature. These chains infect all our thought. I know intellectually that all this can’t be unraveled in one work of fiction, but I believe storytelling has more power than is commonly recognized.
Million Word Year
A million words is a lot — a lot a lot! To hit my target by Nov 1 2024, I’ve adopted a planning method inspired by Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake technique. Starting with a single sentence, I progressively expand and develop it iteratively until it grows organically into a complete book.
I’ve also incorporated insights from a range of other theorists. Dan Harmon’s Story Circles offer guidance on structure, while Carl Jung’s archetypes enrich character development. Booker’s Seven Basic Plots provide a framework for engaging action, and Snyder’s Save the Cat scheme creates compelling story beats. And of course Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey adds epic depth to the hero’s transformational arc.
I’ve also picked up some software to help me out. Habitica, with its gamified task management system, keeps me on track, making the writing process feel like a rewarding adventure. I’m also experimenting with Plottr, a powerful visualization tool that allows me to outline and structure my threads of story more easily and clearly.
Maybe I won’t make it all the way to a million words. But it won’t be for lack of preparation, organization, or effort.
Developing the Sagaian Language
Finally, I’m considering changing some aspects of Sagaian, and I’d love your feedback on it.
Primus’s research on Roman characters (which I wrote about in depth in my last post) has me ruminating on how the Sagaians might have adapted those letters to suit their own language. After all, they were essentially cut off from European influence for thousands of years. While the book’s text will remain standard, I could include tables showcasing Sagaian letters and even incorporate Sagaian writing into some of the illustrations. After 500, 1000, or 2000 years, how would the Sagaians adapt the alphabet to their purposes? Something to think about.
And thinking about Tolkien’s Tengwar has reminded me how much I adore Sindarin consonant clusters like rh, lh, nd, and mb. When I was but a lad, and I first tried to read these clusters on the page, I had no idea what they would sound like, but when I found out, I was smitten. “RH” and “LH” are pronounced in the reverse order — “hr”, “hl” — and they are lovely. Meanwhile, “nd” and “mb” indicate that the consonant is held a moment before release, bringing additional sonorancy to the word. I’m contemplating whether to introduce them into the Sagaian language. For instance, words like láal (“lion”) could be lháal. An-Láan would probably remain the same, although concievably it could become An-Lháan. That could be quite nice. What do you think? Feel free to let me know in the comments.
Lastly, I’m considering a significant spelling update for Sagaian words. Until now, I’ve used a straightforward Romanization scheme, but I’m thinking about adopting a more folksy, typical English spelling. For instance, Né ói gâs né ata au (“Not all that glitters is gold”) might become Nie oi gas nie atta aue. The pronunciation would be the same, but the spelling might be more transparent. Other examples include Athú potentially becoming Athue, Cúrt Pára Bál possibly becoming Curte Paira Bail, and Alaané being written as Alanie or Alanny. What do you think of that? A couple more words and sentences for comparison:
- Shamá > Shamay
- Coiné rilt dó hos a talalsha > Coinie rilt doe hos a talalsha.
- Cáth má savaasha a d’cúrtha má i sésha. > Cathe mae savaasha a decurtha mae i siesha.
- Gas éša, núáa codhla má, bas má. > Gas isha, nueia cothla mae, bas mae.
- Sagaia > Sagaia (same!)
- Cor > Cor (same!)
I’ve recently ran a poll on Mastodon and the older Romanization scheme won out by a 2-1 margin, but I’d love to get your feedback and thoughts as well:
Axon Firings 