My fiction is hardforking...

Art is a funny thing. It truly has a life of it's own. It comes to us from somewhere when we are ready, whether we are seeking it or not. Often times when we don't stay tuned in, the download is incomplete. Sometimes files download instantly and other times there are buffering problems. The files may be corrupted if we hurry. I tend to download too many files at once, slowing the whole process down.

Recently my inspiration is starting to look a lot like the blockchain. It's forking.

For anyone new to crypto, a hardfork is (according to my limited understanding) when a blockchain branches into two separate chains with different rules or parameters.

My art is doing something very similar.

Originally I envisioned my project, Confessions of the Damaged, as a single collection of short stories, all of which would loosely tie together based on similar themes and overlapping characters.

I imagined it would reach about 150 pages, which is roughly what I have now, and because I wanted to promote the idea of pay-what-you-want, I saw no reason to hold back releasing the stories until the whole collection was finished.

In the process, it became way bigger than I imagined. The stories began to clump together and form more complex worlds with more complex characters. At first I imagined two main characters but then a 3rd appeared. Their back stories started to become important. This would be fine if there was a single narrative with a tangible overarching theme or two, but the themes started to multiply as well.

At this point I no longer want to group these stories together as a single collection. They will need to become 3 different different novels. Each novel will be made of pieces which can function as individuated short stories, or as chapters in a longer, flowing narrative.

Confessions of the Damaged

These stories follow a man who becomes a street dweller of his own free will. As he wanders the street we discover his reasons for choosing to opt out of society and follow him as he becomes the master of his own reality.

The Reflection of a Village (tentative title) - Metaphysics and politics set the backdrop of a this story about the push and pull between community and gentrification. The village is the sum of the emotions which boil inside of it.

I will continue to release stories from both of these collections (free to access) at I+Everything. Please tell me what you think!

dreaming