Greetings, fellow Steemians!

Some of you may have noticed that I took a break from writing for a few months.

During my months-long hiatus, I spent most of my time helping a friend at the non-profit he works for.

By day, I was assisting school groups, cleaning bathrooms, and fulfilling work orders for staff. By night, I was quietly brainstorming and outlining the framework for my next creative writing project.

A (New) Project Is Born

(Credit: Ali Yahya)

Codenamed Inception, the concept is centered around a location from a science fiction serial I published to an older blog years ago. (FYI: That blog, The Wildfire, has since been shut down.)

However, though Inception is based on elements from an existing work, those who have read the original will find that some of the characters, plot and dramatic events have changed to suit the new story.

For instance, in the original serial—which I am in the process of rebuilding/rewriting by the way—the aforementioned location is crucial to the antagonist' aims, in addition to having very deep ties to both the current governing authority and its predecessor.

For the most part, this will continue to hold true in Inception, albeit with significant differences in the antagonistic forces themselves, their motivations, and the importance of this installation as a whole.

Another change I'm making involves embellishing the installation's backstory/history. I want to elaborate more on WHY this location is so important to the antagonists. Deepening the lore and adding to the overall mystery of the larger story that Inception is a part of. (More on that in another post.)

Lastly, and most notably, are the changes I'm making in terms of narrative style.

With Inception, I'm going for something that leans toward the unconventional.

The idea is to tell a story that blends traditional narrative prose—leveraging varying character points of view—and blending it with a form of hybrid storytelling in the form of emails, interviews, and various other documents.

In addition, I'm also considering incorporating some form of blog fiction where the story is structured in diary format. Think David Sedaris' Theft By Finding, but written by a character of the Inception story.

This may come across as weird, maybe even crazy, in terms of storytelling and narrative, but these are not new concepts.

In fact, there are a number of published works that leverage an unconventional or hybrid form of storytelling.

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There's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier by Alan Moore, Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin, World War Z by Max Brooks, Ship of Theseus (or S.) by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst, The People's History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal, The Passage by Justin Cronin, and Illuminae (The Illuminae Files) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, to name a few.

All employ some mechanism or style of atypical storytelling. Some of which have gone on to be quite successful. Which means hybrid storytelling CAN work. Which is good, because it validates my idea for Inception.

Still, just because an idea is validated, doesn't guarantee it will be successful.

The Trouble With Non-Traditional Stories

(Credit: I Am Se7en)

Though I am excited about Inception as a hybrid story, I worry about its reception among readers. Because while I'm sure hybrid stories might attract some number of curious readers, I also believe these kinds of stories are a huge creative risk due to their unconventional nature.

You see, most literary works are written in a linear fashion. Meaning they are told in a logical manner in which the events are told in the order they occur, and have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Which makes it easy for readers to follow and understand the plot. (And why so many stories are written this way.)

But when you have a non-linear story like Inception, in which the events jump back and forth across an ambiguous and disrupted timeline, the reader's sense of the events is not as straightforward, which can make it difficult for people to find their bearings and comprehend what exactly is going on in the story.

And when people can't make sense of a story, they ultimately lose interest, effectively killing the story. And I don't want that. No writer does.

Consequently, I acknowledge and accept that attempting such a story is going to be a huge creative risk. Nonetheless, it's one I'm willing to take. Because not only would it be an amazing journey to piece the story together and see it from start to finish, it's also the perfect opportunity to challenge myself as a storyteller.

It's going to be tough to pull off, but I'm more than willing and committed to putting in the thought, energy, and effort necessary to make Inception a success. And by success, I mean that it becomes a great---no, phenomenal---reading experience.

The Journey From Novice To Master

(Credit: Steven Houston)

As I've mentioned before, I have a dream/goal/vision of becoming a master storyteller. I want to find ways of telling stories—great stories—outside of traditional narrative prose.

I want to be the kind of storyteller that crafts memorable, intriguing, entertaining and emotive storytelling experiences for his audience.

Experiences that are deeply immersive and engaging. The kinds of experiences that consume the reader's attention as they gradually piece together the puzzle and connect the dots. Experiences that have them chomping at the bit to know more with each thread of mystery they unravel from an intricately woven plot.

I want to be the kind of storyteller that gets readers excited and involved. To create experiences that spawn whole communities of readers that contemplate and discuss where the story could be headed next. To debate, speculate and interpret the different symbols, dialogue, and character motivations.

Ultimately, I want to be able to create truly epic storytelling experiences. The kinds that are intriguing, entertaining and emotive at every turn.

I have a long ways to go before I'll ever be capable of telling stories to that magnitude. And at the moment, I haven't the faintest idea of how I will accomplish any of that. But what I do know is, that the more I experiment with various modes/forms of storytelling, the closer I will come to achieving this goal. To manifesting that dream of becoming a master storyteller.

It's going to take a considerable amount of time before I'll ever be able to craft stories of such an amazing level. But every journey starts with but a single step, and I believe Inception is the first of MANY steps in that direction.

Inception will likely not become one of those epic storytelling experiences I envision. But it will be an amazing learning experience. So even if it fails, the experience alone will be worth something.

The Road Ahead

(Credit: Joshua Earle)

Right now, Inception is still well within the early development stages, meaning I have very little of anything specific to share about the project itself, or the story at its core, other than what's stated above. So I apologize if this introduction to the project comes across as vague and nondescript.

That said, in the coming weeks, I promise to shed more light on this project, including how it connects to the rebuild of the work that inspired it. (And yes, I will tell you all about the rebuild project in the next few days. Promise!)

I will also be posting consistent updates about my progress with Inception right here on Steemit. This will include a table of contents where all of the updates in the series can be found in neat, chronological order to make it quick and easy for new and existing readers to link to every post in the series.

I will also share a few excerpts and snippets as the project draws nearer to completion to give you an idea of what to expect from not only the Inception story, but the stories that will link to and spawn from it.

I'm also considering creating a newsletter for those interested in receiving updates about my future projects as well. But I'm not sure that I'll follow through on this or not.

Seeing as how I already have one newsletter that's a part of my main blog, and I'm not so sure I want to juggle more than one email list. But we'll see. I won't make any promises either way at this point.

Committing To The Dream

(Credit: Ian Schneider)

While I'm eager to get started and share this next leg of my creative journey with you, I'm worried about the risks involved with doing so.

This undertaking is one big a creative risk, that if not executed properly, could likely bring the project to an abrupt end. Not only that, it could make my attempts to grow my readership that much more difficult.

There are a number of other risks associated with this project, or any creative endeavor for that matter. Nevertheless, I'm charging ahead. I won't completely ignore the risks involved, but I won't dwell on them either.

Besides, anything worth doing involves some level of risk, difficulty and/or discomfort. There's a price to be paid for every pursuit. The only question is whether or not we're willing to pay it.

And when it comes to Project Inception, I can tell you that without a doubt, I am more than willing to pay that price in full.

Talk with you soon!