May 2023 Progress Report

Hello Readers,

It’s been a good month for Mobius! Turns out a three chapter goal was the right call, as I managed to finish drafting the third just before this post went up. This puts me at 13 chapters out of 40—well, 12 out of 39, because I combined two of them. Act II is in swing. Salle has gone to Tarran, and Jaco has arrived at the third planet, where things are about to get existential.

Because multiple characters went to new planets, progress slowed because I had to spend more time on worldbuilding and making sure the direction the story is going lines up well with the themes and character arcs. To help me show the difference between the viewpoint characters, I’ve adopted a mindset which I call the psychological multiverse. As someone whose worldview has changed dramatically over the last few years, it’s become clear to me that each of our perceptions of the world are different enough from each other that they might as well be parallel realities, and I strive to show these parallel realities through the different characters’ perspectives.

Jaco had a spiritual upbringing. He does not believe in coincidence. He always looks for the meaning and purpose behind everything that happens, and believes the universe will align in order to let him do what he is meant to do. Thus, despite taking place in a sci-fi universe that makes materialistic sense, Jaco’s story feels like fantasy.

Taea, being a laborer in an authoritarian economy, interprets everything in terms of obedience and fruitlessly striving to be good enough. She sees life as a set of unattainable standards which seem to contradict one another, but only because of her innately limited understanding. Her story feels like horror, as we readers see the toxicity of her environment and root for her to get out, but she believes it to be good and proper, and does her best to reinforce the circumstances that oppress her.

Salle is the director of a large space transport corporation, and her story involves investigating the political conspiracy behind the inciting incident. She sees the world as in game theory, full of rational actors striving for their self-interest.

To me, a novel is not like a movie. I don’t show you what’s happening as an outside observer, but through the lens of the viewpoint character. We all perceive the world a little differently, and those differences are what sets the limited perspective apart from the omniscient.

This coming month, I’ll aim to write another three chapters. I had a mood swing these past couple weeks which made it difficult to write, but I stuck it out, and I think I’ve gotten over it. I’m counting on my long-term trend of increasing productivity to continue, and I am confident I will finish the draft by the end of the year.

I’ll be back with another update in June!