My World of Words

In my freshman year at the University of California, San Diego, I took the third course in the Culture, Art, and Technology writing sequence, CAT 3: Worldmaking. The main focus of this class was to create a comic detailing a story that explored the structures and roles and hierarchies that make up a world. And it was this class coinciding with my reading of The Hunger Games series that I was inspired and motivated to write a novel. 

 

I had a semblance of the world I wanted to create in my mind; one that was influenced by the Petranaki Arena from Star Wars, the gladiators of Ancient Rome, and the dystopian trend in the books I had been reading. With the setting of the Kingdom of Pyre in place, it was then time to delve deeper and establish the tone and atmosphere, the essence of life within Pyre. In my Worldmaking class, we were encouraged to think about types of racism and oppression and social inequality. I established a hierarchy, beginning with the common workers of the Lower Dominion to the rich citizens of the Upper District to the manic, absolute king. Each level was given a broad role in the overall story and from there I could tailor the personalities and actions of specific characters to fit those roles.

 

In the making of the comic, we were given the task of considering an antihero, a protagonist with nonconventional characteristics and/or role. The character I already had in mind was Syren Evetrill, an Executioner genetically engineered from the genes of wolves and nightingales, essentially a murderer, who would have to change and discover what is so wrong with the life she knows. But the key to what makes Syren, Syren, is that she doesn’t change completely; even with the glimmer of a conscience, she is still animalistic and feral and doesn’t tend to relate with others. As an Executioner, she is loved by the people of the Upper District but is also an outcast because she is owned by the King and the Executions; untouchable.

 

Originally, the main male character wasn’t Syssic Varen. It was Keay, a regular human that had fallen in love with Syren, and the story revolved around Syren realizing that her mutual love for Keay would not allow her to accept her role as an Executioner. However, when the comic was complete, I realized I wanted to tell her story, focus on her life as an Executioner and how it came to be that her stone heart began to crack.

 

And so Syssic Varen was born, a fellow Executioner engineered from a panther. In the beginning, he is remarkably similar to Syren, as all Executioners are in their indifference to combat and expertise in weaponry; originally he was more carefree and had a “roguish” quality about him, but I decided that although he was made to be the main catalyst behind Syren’s evolution, he should first and foremost be like the other Executioners in order to make the change all the more drastic.

 

Writing this novel once-through took seven months from the time I started planning it. The interesting part was that I already had the ending planned; I knew what was coming, almost down to the exact words I was going to use to write the scene. But for me, the most difficult part is always the beginning, especially with novels that are the first of a series or trilogy. There was nothing established yet, a clean slate in front of me that I was going to fill with words. All I needed was to start, and once I did, it took off. Using a first-person point of view sort of allowed me to become Syren during the times I was writing and gradually I was able to develop the voice of my character and further delve into her motivations and intentions and desires.

If the beginning was difficult, the middle was a rollercoaster, alternating between scenes that easily flowed together and awkward transitions and puzzles of how to get from point A to point B. This was where writer’s block tended to rear its ugly head, and once the draft was finished, the middle part was the one that underwent the most revision and took the longest to rewrite. But I found motivation in finishing it because then I knew I could reach the end.

 

I don’t believe in giving spoilers, so all I will say about the end is that it was intended from the very beginning to lead into a sequel, which I am currently in the process of finishing. Having the scene in my head for so long, it was easy to embellish and give it the overall tone that I wanted; the climax of the story was my favorite part to write and is also my favorite part to go back and reread. I am very excited to finish the sequel and hopefully make this series into a trilogy.