Novel Writing Notes Part 2: Secrets to Using Experience and Knowledge in Your Creative Work!
It's a rather pretentious title for someone who isn't exactly a bestselling author... my apologies.
I usually write on this platform about the daily life and challenges of being in my 60s, under the theme of 'reigniting life'.
On the other hand, I have had a dream that I have been nurturing since I was young.
That is to write a novel.
Pure literature, science fiction, ghost stories, and legendary romance.
I have continued to develop concepts for various genres.
Now, I am also working on the concept for a suspense novel set on a global stage.
However, I actually only started writing novels in earnest a year ago.
For a long time, while thinking 'I want to write someday,' I prioritized work and family, keeping that desire deep in my heart.
Currently, one of those works, the long-form legendary romance 'Kakaku Zansho' (Afterglow of a Passerby), is being published on 'TALES,' a sister service to note.
TALES is a posting service specialized for stories, and if you have a note account, you can read it as is.
Thankfully, even now, five weeks after its release, 'Kakaku Zansho' remains on the daily, weekly, and monthly rankings in the modern fantasy category.
Of course, that is encouraging.
However, what truly makes me happy is that the world I have been nurturing for forty years is starting to reach readers little by little.
Due to various circumstances, 'Kakaku Zansho' is the fifth installment in the Yasukuni Todo series.
Ideally, you would read it from the first installment.
Even so, although this is the fifth installment, I have structured it so that it can be enjoyed on its own.
If you could get to know the character Yasukuni Todo and the world I depict from here, there would be nothing that makes me happier as an author.
This time, I would like to write about the behind-the-scenes of how 'Kakaku Zansho' was born.
What I wanted to write was not the supernatural phenomena themselves.
It is a legendary romance set in the modern day.
Mythology.
History.
Folklore.
Ethnology.
Urban legends.
Things that seem unrelated at first glance connect within a single world,
"Perhaps this could actually be real."
I wanted to write a story that lets readers experience that feeling.
Therefore, the supernatural is not the goal.
It is one of the essential materials used to support the world.
There is another way of thinking that I value.
That is the science fiction perspective.
No matter how mysterious the events that occur may be,
there is always a reason for them within the work.
Because it is a myth.
Because it is a god.
Because it is a supernatural phenomenon.
I do not want to leave it at just that.
Why does that phenomenon occur?
Why that specific location?
What kind of history has accumulated to lead to that event?
I build the world as a single hypothesis, combining history, folklore, and sometimes even scientific ideas.
That is why, even though it is a modern legend, it has a certain science-fiction atmosphere.
What supports that world is the material I have been collecting for forty years.
On my days off, I visit shrines.
When I travel, the first place I head to is the local museum.
At bookstores, I search the local history shelves and pick up books on folklore and history.
I also enjoy the time spent reading old stone monuments and historical records.
I can spend hours in places that ordinary tourists would overlook.
The small fragments I gather in this way gradually connect in my mind.
"Couldn't this legend be connected to that myth?"
"What kind of story might be hidden in this gap in history?"
The time I spend thinking about such things is more enjoyable than anything else.
My creative work is
seventy percent historical fact and thirty percent fiction.
It is built on that feeling.
Shrines that actually exist.
Legends that are truly passed down.
Events left behind in history.
I use these as a foundation and layer just a little bit of imagination on top.
So, if the reader thinks,
"Could this actually be a true story?"
Then, as an author, that is a joy beyond measure.
"Kakyaku Zansho" (Lingering Shadows of a Passerby) is a work I began writing a year ago.
However, its foundation was not built just a year ago.
Forty years of walking,
Forty years of reading,
And forty years of continuous thought have become this single story.
That is why I am happy about making the rankings.
But even more than that, I am happy that the fragments I have collected over many long years have become a single world and reached the reader.
When I was young, I thought, "Someday, I want to write a novel like this."
I can finally report back to the version of myself who envisioned that.
"The fragments you started collecting back then have properly become a story."
With just that, I can feel that these past forty years were by no means a detour.
Next Time Preview
In Writing Notes Part 3,
"Is AI an author's enemy, or their greatest partner?"
I would like to write about creation with AI, as I felt it through the writing of "Kakyaku Zansho".
#60s #Senior #LifeReignition #CreativeWriting #Novel #Learning #AI #LegendaryRomance
[Another challenge started in my 60s]
As part of reigniting my life, I am also working on writing novels.
Currently, I am publishing a legendary mystery novel on TALES.
It is a slightly different world from note, but this is also an important creative activity for me.
If you are interested, please take a look.
▼ TALES Work Page
(Link)