Dream Waking

I've gotten unstuck! Pretty thrilled about that - only wrote about 5 new pages, but the story now has a path out of the spot I was stuck. Even if I re-write/re-think it all later, at least I'm MOVING the story forward again.    

For the first time in the novel, I'm attempting to incorporate a dream (really a nightmare) into the story.  I'm also thinking a lot about world building for the story. A large portion of the story will happen in an underground city and I need to balance futuristic technology with the realities of space, energy and resource limitations in a circumstance where above-ground is mostly not available to the people anymore.  

A small example is beds. Beds take up quite a bit of floor space in a dwelling.  I'm toying with ideas of beds that retract into walls, suspended hammock-like beds, inflatable beds that deflate when not in use, or beds built into the floors that have sliding covers so they can be walked on in daytime. 

Here's the dream and wake transition I'm working on...(very first draft, no edits yet!):

"The sand burned her feet as she walked. She should have worn her sandals, she thought. Then her feet hit the cool wet sand. She pulled her sunglasses over her eyes and watched her daughter’s blonde curls spray sea water as she jumped and chased the waves to shore with some new little friends. The sky was a deep, perfect cloudless blue and the air was filled with the sound of ocean waves, seagulls and the happy shrieks of children. Miranda stepped back to take a photo and realized she had lost some of her light. Looking up, she saw a single ominous cloud blocking the sun. As she watched, that one cloud seemed to grow in all directions, sending the beach into sudden darkness. Goose bumps sprang out on her arms and she began to shiver violently. Something was wrong - the sky was dark green - not the muddy gray of storm clouds. She couldn’t hear the waves any longer. She couldn’t see the ocean which had pulled back out of sight. Then…the blood curdling screams began. She could see her daughter’s wet hair and skin freeze into ice, while the muddy sand solidified around her ankles…"

"Miranda bolted upright in bed, dripping with sweat."

Why Write?

I am currently reading APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur by Kawasaki and Welch (really good tips by the way, I'm enjoying it).  One of the questions posed is WHY, as an aspiring author, we we want to write a book, and what we hope the book will offer when it is done.

I did not even have to think to answer that question.  I love scientific discovery, researching and pondering science questions and have a vivid imagination! I have been an avid science fiction and horror reader since I was a kid, I devour scientific magazines, blogs and articles regularly and wanted to direct all that learning in a creative way. 

My full time job (yes, this is a side gig!) is fulfilling in other ways, but provides me no reason to learn about genetic engineering, climate control, hologram computers, and other futuristic science and technology. I am not looking to replace one career with the other, just to have an enjoyable outlet for the latter.  And hopefully, along the way, I'll share some ideas and stories that others find cool and enjoy reading as much as I enjoy so many authors books today.

Some of my favorite authors of all time that inspired me to write:  

• Orson Scott Card
• Octavia Butler
• Michael Crichton
• Margaret Atwood

"Computers don't get headaches"

I imagine all the computers in my novel similar to the 

hologram ones seen in the movie Iron Man which 

Elon Musk believes are really build-able. Can't wait!

No long post today.  Just a quick snippet from the novel.  Enjoy.  As always, comments and critiques welcome.

"Verne’s dark eyes were red-rimmed with exhaustion and he felt a migraine lurking like an inevitable train wreck.  After weeks staring at three dimensional images of goo for ten hours a day, he had dealt with more than his usual share of migraines. Each day he reminded himself how lucky he was to have landed this contract gig and how it would be the shining star of his resume for years.  Still, with the throbbing behind his right eye intensifying, he decided a short break was in order." 

"In reality, his role there was more like an assembly worker than the highly trained expert he really was.  He just had to swap the physical samples after the completion of each analysis routine, ranging from two to seven minutes.  An analysis routine must never exceed seven minutes or the samples risked defrost and destabilization. The computerized microscopes record everything and are programmed to 'look' for certain anomalies. As he stood and walked away, his work station automatically locked and the screen darkened, but Verne knew it was still awake, still analyzing.  Computers don’t get headaches.  Human workers were still a necessary evil, at least for now.  Walking past a dozen rows of other engrossed lab techs, he knew they were doing the same drudge work.  The volume of comet debris collected from Antarctica was massive and NASA wanted every single droplet analyzed."

(As a side note, I'm kind enough to cure Verne's migraine with a futuristic treatment, currently studied but not yet available to the public called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist. Read about it here.)