Getting Comfortable with Chaos

Author at Play
The sound of a distant flute player floats in the cool morning air and enters my story,
Mission to Blue Grannus.

I'm currently drafting Mission to Blue Grannus. This morning I noodled around with chapter 16, "Inside the Blue Ice Caves," in which Gordy & Virginia enter and begin to explore a new micro-climate on the blue moon. I'm thinking about how the thick mass of ice shields the people from gamma radiation, and that's why the former workers from the abandoned water mine thrive in a colony inside the caves. I'm thinking about how the hot springs deep in the caves keep the water warm and the ambient air temp chilly, but survivable. And I'm thinking about how the caverns are filled with the cheerful sounds of gecko chirps. Creating the story world is one of my favorite parts of the novel writing process. 

In my first full draft, I'm approaching the midpoint of the story. This is a passage of great chaos for the character. In structure theory terms, it's when everything the main character thought was true is not and the true nature of the mission is revealed. 

Sometimes the author's experience mirrors the character's experience, and that's what's happening to me. So, I'm doing my best to get comfortable with the chaos of not knowing exactly what happens next. This is partly because I'm tuning into the main character Gordy's voice every day and he's wondering what's happening next. It's also because I keep changing elements of my outline. 

Some changes are simple and will streamline and strengthen the story--like going back to ch. 15 and eliminating the old woman in rags on top of the old hydro-power dam and replacing her with the hermit guide I had planed to introduce in 16. Moving up his first appearance gives us more time to get to know the pivotal guide character before the big reveal at the midpoint. (more about that big pivot when I get there)

Anther change that I'm contemplating is not so simple. It's threaded throughout the story. I've been thinking all along that the primary reason Gordy needs to go on his mission to find the mushroom man deep in the ice caves is to retrieve fungi that will serve for radiation poisoning remediation. However, last Friday I spoke with mycologist Dr. Michael Tansey as part of my research efforts. The topic of our conversation was the possible role of fungi for space travelers:

• radiation poisoning remediation - to absorb gamma radiation ever present in outer space
• food - the most efficient way to transport would be in nutritionally dense powder form
• medicinal - anti-viral and immunological boosts- though not all scientists agree on the medicinal value of various mushrooms, there is a long history of traditional use 
• terraforming - Did you know that in the early epochs of life on planet Earth the fungi Kingdom spread on the land long before vascular plants? Or that 80-95% of vascular plants thrive in symbiotic relationships with mycelium networks in the soil? Basically, you have to have fungi to have soil. You have to have soil to have plants, and plant life is one of those things we expect on a terraformed planet. 

After conversation, it was clear that the most essential of the possible uses of fungi for humans in space is terraforming.  So I'm rethinking the motive behind the mission and how that might affect the story in other ways. I'm wondering if the mushroom man changes the nature of the mission with his expertise, as in Gordy's mission is to trade for myco-remediation and medicinals, and the mushroom man recommends various patches of mycorrhizal fungi for terraforming.

If that's confusing for you, imagine how much my writer's brain is exploding with possibilities. I'm thrilled by, afraid of, and in my best moments, comfortable with the chaos of my creative process.

To learn more about why I write sci-fi eco-adventures, and to find out more about my work-in-progress and how writing Mission to Blue Grannus requires my research into fungi and myco-remediation, tap on KHBrower.com.