Hello again, dreamers. It’s that time of year: the time of year when writers across the country gather together to write a novel in a month. Of course, it will be different this year: no write-ins, no in-person meet-ups. But the goal remains, as does the work. And it may be argued that it couldn’t come at a better time: if ever there was a moment when we needed to dream and dream big, this would be it.

After my rousing success in NaNoWriMo 2018, last year I hit a sort of “sophomore slump”. I completed NaNoWriMo 2019, yes, but the result of my work was unsatisfying, to say the least. I didn’t really feel I had accomplished anything, and the resulting discouragement made it difficult to write for months after. Then, the pandemic hit, and left with nothing but time, I gradually found my voice again.

Now, I’m ready to give it another go, and thus I am pleased (albeit a tad nervous) to announce my project for NaNoWriMo 2020:

The Pioneer Era

The Pioneer Era will be my second attempt at the next installment of the Pioneer novels.

My first attempt, which I wrote during NaNoWriMo 2019, was a disaster, so much so I felt the need for a new name for the novel. Everything about it just felt wrong, and the more I tried to “improve” the story, the more wrong it felt. In the end, as with my first draft of The Pioneers, I felt I had no choice but to salvage what I could, and start over.

I’m honestly not sure if I can complete NaNoWriMo this year, partly because I still haven’t decided where, precisely, to start writing. Much of the first phase of the novel is at least salvageable, so the real trick will be finding the “break point”: the spot where the novel goes from being a cohesive narrative to a fumbling mess. Once that’s done, the real work can begin.

The Pioneer Era takes place thirty years after the events of The Pioneers. By this point, the colony on Phecda 9 has been joined by a number of others, all on un-terraformed habitable worlds within the Ursa Major Moving Group. The story again follows Randall Holmes, who returns after years exploring the inner colonies of humanity to find much has changed in the Ursa Group. After decades beyond Earth’s reach, the colonists on Phecda 9 and elsewhere have built lives for themselves on the frontier of explored space. Their shared triumph in the face of adversity has led to a sense of nationalist pride, manifesting itself in the “Pioneer” moniker, applied to the first generation of settlers.

But when Earth finally develops technology permitting rapid transit to and from the colonies, the Pioneers find their way of life threatened. The tension ultimately leads to the first conflict between humans in over a century. As for Holmes, while once viewed as a leader, he returns to find he’s become a living legend. And he is thrust into a pivotal role as the colonies declare their independence from Earth.

Expect to see more updates regarding The Pioneer Era in the coming days. And, as always, dare to dream. – MK