I’ve long wondered if I could be as bold as my favorite science fiction captains, heading out into unexplored space with nothing but a starship full of smart people and an optimistic perspective on the universe. I don’t think I truly want to know the future, but recently I’ve begun to think it would be nice to get a hint every now and then of what is just around the corner; as an explorer, I’m sure that would make seeking out the unknown far less sexy, but for me — as someone likely marooned behind a desk on planet Earth for the foreseeable future — knowing what is to come would make planning for it a bit easier.
I think.
Maybe.
All right, probably not; knowing myself as well as I do, I’d likely just obsess over what was to come versus worrying about what might happen. Interestingly, I’ve never considered how my characters might view their future; would they have this same subtle semantic difference in mind if they had the choice to divine what I had in store for them? Or would they be content with how I spool out their lives, advancing what we know about them with each book? It’s an odd question to frame considering I do have a general sense of their overall arcs, though I don’t always know the connective stories that will get me to the next waypoint. Those tend to develop situationally, often when an interesting moment in the plot provides an opportunity to take that next step.
There are still surprises, of course. I never intended for Vasily to leave Windeport until he, well, left; Alejandro started off as a random guy on the pool deck in an early draft of Ditched with the sole purpose of pulling Vas out of a hot tub before he drowned. Driving Vas back to the police station (and, essentially, asking him on a date in the process) had never been part of the plan — but now I’m glad he did, for those two have developed an amazing relationship that just wasn’t there with any of the other guys I put into Vasily’s path early on.
Suzanne was always a doctor reeling from a bad divorce, seeking a new start in Windeport. Yes, I intentionally planted Sean in front of her with the idea she would become his main squeeze, but hadn’t counted on the ghosts of her past creating surprising hurdles to getting there; she’s also a far more complicated woman than I realized, one with deep compassion and a big — but bruised — heart. Part of me thinks she would have fled Windeport if she’d known what I had in store for her; willingly dealing with pain derived from failed love is not a choice most people make easily. I certainly never gave her an option, did I?
(I never considered until just now how I seem to fill the role of the three sisters of fate from Ancient Greek myths, the Moirai. My words on the page certainly could be the equivalent of the life threads they spun, measured and ultimately cut; the idea that one’s existence was as finite as a length of string was a horrible concept that has stuck with me since first learning of it back in grade school. May there be many, many more books in both of these series…)
The recent events that had me so introspective also had me seeking some reminder that I actually am — or have the potential to be — just as brave as those fictional starship captains I revere. One of the best examples of that is my favorite Star Trek movie, where the crew of the Enterprise literally sail into the face of an unknown that threatens to destroy humanity — and do it with nary a trace of panic over leaving behind the comfortable structure of the lives they had. Admittedly, these are fictional characters, idealizations of the best of the best that might exist in some future version of humanity, but the notion that we could aspire to such selfless acts — and still maintain that optimistic spirit of exploration, no matter how scary it might seem — is one that resonates with me. It refreshes my spirit and shores up my resolve to face my own unknowns with the same level of panache.
Would it help to have a state-of-the-art starship behind me? Of course. Seeing as though I am stuck here in the 21st century, I’ll just have to settle for more coffee and a library full of Blu-rays to remind me of what (could) be coming…