With the release of my debut novel, Reality Check, a week ago, I felt now was a good time to go into a bit more detail about why I decided to write it – and what I hoped to achieve with it.
While it’s my first published novel, it’s not the first one I wrote. That, from NaNoWriMo in 2010, is still in development. It will probably be the first in my next series after the Weight in the World is done. You can get a taste of that world, as well as the world of Reality Check, with my short story collection, Introductions: Volume One. Get your free ebook copy by signing up to my newsletter at the bottom of this post.
I’m a big fan of both science-fiction and fantasy stories, as well as other genres. That makes it no surprise that I’ve chosen to write in these areas, too. What made me choose to start with sci-fi over fantasy, then, given I had stories for both?
Diving into science-fiction
While I love both genres, my first love was sci-fi. There was something about it that gripped me; a vision of the future, of where technology could take us, the part humanity had to play in that – and, of course, how it was portrayed in TV, movies and even video games.
They were slick (or were at the time of creation and release), captivating and often looked at issues faced by society and the world when the stories were written. These could be central to the plot or subplots that supported the narrative.
Some work better than others, of course, as with any story, but is something I wanted to really home in on in Reality Check.
The obvious main plot of my story is an alien invasion, but there’s a very strong focus on morality, mortality and consequences throughout. This shaped Ryan and his portrayal, as he had to have a very insular view of the world to really make these lessons hard to learn and overcome. It comes at the risk of making him less likeable, but his growth is better than anyone’s as a result.
Paired with Captain Ryder, who has a very different journey on dealing with loss, expectation and trauma, there’s a lot to unpack here – and that’s only two characters. These themes run throughout the series, and won’t be wrapped up in one book. New elements will appear, too, to add more complexity.
In the end, strong characters make any story, but science-fiction needs them almost more than most genres to make sure technology and future visions have real weight behind them. By showing this through the effects on the characters, it becomes more relatable.
Breaking away from certain tropes
I’m going to start by saying tropes aren’t inherently bad, and I’ve included some in my book. Some have been used to death over the years, and I wanted to get away from them. Without them, I got creative over moving the plot forward.
A singular hero saving the day, for example, is one thing that appears in almost every story with world-ending stakes. It might not be who you expect, but there’s always one person. One. That, to me, diminishes other characters when they don’t need to be. Especially when there’s a wider group, that’s a disservice to them.
I think that we, as writers, sometimes rely on tropes too much. They’re easy to fall into as well-established ways of moving the story forward. Yes, they can work really well, but do we use them because they’re the best options or because it’s habit or expectation?
I asked myself this a lot. I put a focus on the dynamic between Ryan and Flare Squadron in Reality Check, as well as his relationship with Sara, Zack and General Matthews. To make sure the squad members remained valuable, even if their role in the story was small, they’d have to have impact. The tropes the appeared in the planning and early drafts diminished this and forced me to be more inventive, which I really enjoyed.
Creating a story – and world – with depth and scope to grow
While I’d originally planned for Reality Check to be a standalone story, by the time I got to the end of the book, it felt unfinished.
Sure, you can read it as a standalone, but the ending should make you eager to know what’s next. I played on this once I decided to go further, but it was true of the original ending, too.
This world has more than a fair few similarities to our own, but enough differences to set it apart. I’d also dropped hints about things going on beyond the scope of the story and I really wanted to dive deeper into those parts. I can’t cover everything, but a world you can immerse yourself in is one of the great things about any book. I want as many of my stories as possible to illicit that same feeling.
I’m definitely coy about certain details in Reality Check, and I hope this serves to make the reader ask questions and want to know more. Balancing that with making the story flow and not bogged down with details the derail the plot is a challenge, though. If I didn’t quite nail it this time, I’ll keep working to do it better.
After all, this is a journey. I’m still aiming to be a better writer with every story, with every draft, I create. In a way, I hope I don’t stop. I’m not sure what that’ll do for my love of the craft.
Pushing myself to improve
For now, I’ll keep on writing and improving. The sequel to Reality Check is well under way, and book three is also in development – so there’s plenty more to come!
If this has got you curious, Reality Check is available to buy in both paperback and ebook. I’d love to hear what you think of it!