Know The Novel - Introducing Project Broken Destiny

Guess who's back. 

Know the Novel's back! Oh, and me, but that's a lot less interesting. Yes, the iconic novel linkup has returned and, as always, I'm here and ready to rant on about my latest projects to anyone who'll listen. 

This year, I'm planning to join in on FallFicFrenzy - run once again by the amazing Christine Smith - with the end goal of writing hopefully 40-50k words? I will, however, not necessarily be writing all of that on the one project. I'm hoping to work on two different projects - as well as any for-fun works I feel like at the time haha. I'm being pretty loose this year, because I'm supposed to be moving at...some point. The whole thing's kind of stalled, so I can't say when it'll be. Could be next week, could be November, who knows. With that, I just don't want to add too much pressure on to myself, so I've got soft goals more than anything else.

As for my intended projects themselves, there are two major ones. These are, in no particular order:

First, Project Wales edits, which are going...interestingly. I've come to the conclusion that, while the character himself is still a major character, I need to cut Jules's POV. I think it gives away too much about the story's mysteries, his world and story might come across better through slowly being revealed, and its presence bloats the whole novel beyond what I want for this first book. So! I'll hopefully be working on restructuring and second-drafting the whole project with that in mind. If you don't remember Project Wales or haven't seen it, here's my original Know The Novel post on it. While it has morphed significantly in edits, I would still consider most of that information to be correct. Maybe once I finish edits for this first book, I'll do a reintroduction haha.

And, secondly, first-drafting the project that I'll be introducing to you all today: Project Broken Destiny.

 

 

What first sparked the idea for this novel?

This particular project started with one specific concept that was sparked by my recently getting back into my old beloved Star Trek - and specifically my flawed fave Star Trek AOS (for the uninitiated, this is the JJ Abrams film trilogy that started in 2009). Look, I know it has flaws, but there's so much I love about it. And one of the things I love most about it is the framing device used for the films - that this reboot trilogy came about as a result of time-travel interference from the original timeline (in which the TV series all take place). I love this - I love the idea of parallel timelines, of discovering that your life was altered irreparably by forces beyond your control and now all you can do is live with the consequences. When you find out that you quite literally aren't what you were supposed to be, what do you do with that?

And so the idea for this project was born. And, yes, you can play a game of spot-the-Star-Trek/Star-Wars-inspiration with this one. (Because I'm one of those weirdos who loves both of them.)

Basically, the central concept here is just these:

 

Share a blurb (or just an overall summary)!

Cannot tell you how long it took me to write this thing, but here you go. This one's a definitive space opera.

For years—since the assassinations of the planetary Governor and her husband—the planet Galadria has lived under the increasingly oppressive thumb of the Raxi Maw who took power in a technically legal coup spearheaded by native Galadrian Aspen Hollow. Since then, local thief and part-time bartender, Ivory Finch—also known as the only child of said murdered Governor—has cared only about surviving another day on the streets of New Holden—one of Galadria’s twin capital cities—and keeping her head down, avoiding the attention of the Raxi. Until, that is, she is accosted by a mysterious old woman named Sage, claiming that she’s from an alternate future where Ivory was a great hero and prevented the Raxi Maw’s rise to power, but that this future has been irreversibly twisted out of shape by something—or someone.

Initially, Ivory doesn’t believe Sage, but when they’re attacked by the Maw Guards, it becomes clear that some part of Sage’s story must be true—why else would they be after her? Now irreversibly connected to Sage, Ivory agrees to help Sage destroy whatever allowed the Raxi to interfere with time and prevent any further damage—as long as, once this is done, Sage leaves her alone. Sage agrees and—together—they break into the New Holden High Shipyard in search of a ship. But a Galadrian ship can’t be easily flown by just anyone—to truly get anywhere, they’ll need a psi-sensitive pilot.

And a psi-sensitive pilot they find, except, much to Ivory’s horror, the pilot in question is her childhood rival, Daisy Hollow—the daughter of aforementioned traitor and present Governor of Galadria, Aspen Hollow—who is determined to escape both her father’s grasp and the grasp of the Raxi Consul who has displayed a dangerous interest in her and her psychic gifts since she was a child. With no other options, the two grudgingly agree to work together to solve their respective problems and steal a ship, setting off in search of whatever ruined their timeline to begin with. But the Raxi won’t let them get away so easily and Sage has far more secrets than she’s telling—and both Ivory and Daisy will have to learn to trust each other or else risk everything either of them care about.

 

 

 

Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects of the setting?

Broken Destiny takes place in the enormous Maelstrom galaxy, largely governed by the Coalition (which is a big interplanetary alliance). It's been so much fun to brainstorm and worldbuild for. I get to make and play with so many different planets and species, it's great. I had to cut like a whole paragraph of worldbuilding introduction from the blurb that gave more context to the story but, like, also made it kinda confusing for someone coming in blind haha. It's just so big and complex, it's so much fun to write and create! 

I still have a lot of worldbuilding to do, but I'm trying to hold back and develop it more while I write. I have basic worldbuilding done on the necessary parts, but I love to create as I write and it also helps me to know what actually needs more detail as opposed to creating a bunch of information that will never be relevant to the main story. Some settings/planets I've made that I'm super excited for include:

• Galadria - the planet both my main characters are from! This one's the first of the major Human origin planets, a small hot place that's only suitable for life near the two poles - hence Galadria developed into two major factions: North Galadria and South Galadria. These two factions united under one banner when joining the Coalition as Galadria - but with the Raxi coup and occupation, South Galadria has been at war with the North for over a decade. Also, yes, the name comes from Galadriel from LOTR, leave me alone, names are hard.
  
• Raxcuc - A cool, temperate planet that the aforementioned Raxi are from. The Raxi can be divided into two sub-species: the Raxo and the Raxum, with the Raxo being feline in nature and the Raxum being canine. Eighteen years prior to the story's start, the Raxi Maw - a cruel and tyrannical dictatorship - took power on Raxcuc, beginning their quest for galactic expansion, delayed by their attempts to keep their expansion technically legal in the eyes of the Coalition. 
• Elena - The second major Human origin planet, a wealthy and comfortable planet similar in climate to Earth, ruled by a planetary monarchy. On Elena, beauty is prized extremely highly: be that decoration, landscape, architecture, or physical - as is privacy. Thick makeup and masks are a normal part of Elei attire, as are huge and ostentatious outfits. Another major character comes from here!
• Acku II - A large artificial planet built in the place of and named for the once-vibrant organic planet that was destroyed during the last Great Stellar War. Acku II is home to the few remaining Ackites as well as beings from all over Maelstrom, having become a hub for galactic travel. Part of the story takes place here, and a major character also comes from here. 
• Zumasha - Which my sister helped me come up with! This planet's small and extremely volcanic, inhabited only by scientists in specially-designed stations and the Zumite Core - which is basically sentient primordial ooze, considered a Hivemind by the Coalition. Since Zumasha's discovery, technological advancements have allowed sections of the Zumite Core to be given physical suits to act as bodies, allowing for them to to explore the galaxy and take part in the Coalition. A major character is a Zumite who's been cut off from the rest of the Core for so long that he has accidentally developed individuality and self-identity - he also has no proper body and is, in fact, a jar of sentient ooze. He is also Ivory's best friend - she named him Phat Fat because his oozey form looks like the fat from a phat (a kind of bird on Galadria).

There are some more fantastical elements too, such as: psychic abilities (refered to as psi-sensitivity in Maelstrom), space eldritch beings, generally just that fun pirate/ocean lore but Space Version, and - of course - the time-travelling. There's a lot going on with that. 

 

 

Tell us about your protagonist(s).

This particular project is dual-POV, so I have two main characters - former childhood rivals, turned enemies by virtue of the whole my-dad-helped-overthrow-the-government thing, turned grudging allies: Ivory and Daisy!

 I am very excited to talk about them, my girls. As always, I've made edits for each of them.

Ivory Finch

26 | ESTP | 8w7 | Gryffindor | Chaotic Good

accidentally quasi-adopted by a crime boss as a kid | communicates through a powerful combination of insults and acts of service | distrustful | absurdly charismatic | can be arrogant | actually very good with people when she lets down her guard enough to try | impulsive | unbelievably stubborn | ferociously compassionate | terrible emotional regulation | hot-tempered | surprisingly gullible | wants your money very very badly | terrible at taking things seriously

 

 

Daisy Hollow

26 | ESTJ | 1w2 | Slytherin | Lawful Good

 exceptional psi-sensitive | extremely bossy | cares very deeply about doing what's Right | prizes morality very highly | actually petrified of doing something wrong or failing to live up to her Very High Moral Standards | dutiful and responsible | also pretty arrogant | self-righteous | her main emotions on any given day are guilt, fear, and anger | ambitious | absurdly loyal and devoted once she gets attached to someone | this is also why she tries not to get attached to people

 

Also, the old Macguffin herself:

 

Sage

?????  

mystery old woman | full of secrets | and spoilers

Who (or what) is the antagonist?

The Raxi Maw and - on a more personal level - the Raxi Consul who's after Daisy, as well as Governor Hollow himself. There's also Spoiler Villains that I can't talk about yet (and it isn't only because I haven't fully developed them yet).

 

What excites you the most about this novel?

So much about this novel excites me! This is probably the biggest, most complex setting I've ever come up with and I'm looking forward to getting to explore it all. I love nothing more than writing about space, especially when there's enough fantasy involved to make the science not too much of a hurdle haha.

I'm also super excited about the characters! There are significantly more than I've introduced so far - and I'm sure more characters will turn up the more I write and flesh the story out. One of the things I'm really excited about when it comes to the characters is that this particular cast is overwhelmingly female. This was mostly accidental until I realised and then decided to lean into it. There are some male characters, but the poor blokes are definitely outnumbered. 

Which means that I have so many women to explore! Old women, young women, middle-aged women, grouchy criminal women, alien women, weird women, all the women! There's a squid lady in here, folks, I'm v excited for her. And there's so much female friendship - or sometimes female frenemyship haha. All the female friendship, the friendships are - as always for me haha - the core of this work. The characters are all weird and different enough from each other that part of the fun is going to be putting them in Situations and seeing how they react and fight with each other. I'm super excited to explore them in all of their messiness and vaguely dysfunctional eccentricities. 

 

 

Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?

 At present, I'm aiming at a duology, though - as I'm sure you can tell - this story and world are...very big and very complicated, so that may well end up not quite being enough. The setting's also big and varied enough that I could see myself writing other stories set within this universe, there's just so much potential.

 

 

Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

Plantsing, as always haha. I've outlined the first act, for the most part, and I've developed most of the major characters, but when it comes to the rest, I've got a vague idea of where we're headed and I know what planets my characters need to go to on the way, so we can figure it out as we go.

 

 

Name a few unique elements in this story.

Once again, I must tell you that this story lacks any romance whatsoever, unless you count absurdly intense friendship where you'd literally rewrite time for each other. 

Also, as much as I pinched the basic concept from Star Trek, I'd say the extent to which this story centres around parallel universes and time-travel and looking at yourself, only to realise that maybe you were the worse version all along is fairly unique. I'm really leaning into what, in Star Trek, was really only used as a method of framing the new reboot, and making it the whole core of the story and themes.

I'd also say the Zumites are pretty weird. Not many sentient ooze jars out there in the fictional multiverse. And I think the extent to which this story focuses on just the weirdest contingent of women you've ever seen in your life is also quite unusual, in the world of science fiction/space operas especially. Also, elderly women mentors, my beloved.

 

 

Share some fun “extras” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).

 

Aesthetic

winding spaceship corridors | glowing tattoos | an endless sea of stars | cups of tea | slightly burnt food made by somone you love | the crushing weight of legacy | metal planets | holographic pictures | time shattering around you | solitary grief | learning to look on the bright side | smoggy claustrophobic cities | figuring out who you truly want to be | friendship | love in the guise of aggressive name-calling | freedom among the stars | loud laughter

Playlist

And over here, you can find my Pinterest board for this story! 

With that, I'm done. Thank you again, Christine, for hosting this amazing tag every year. It's always so much fun, both to answer and to read everyone else's answers. I hope everyone has a great FicFrenzy.