#wip intro: aiegwt

[twig-soup]

and if everything goes? what then? | wip intro a multimedia novel | image credit: @argodeon

Mara is twelve years old when an officer breaks the news: her parents are dead. Six months later Mara is living with her widowed aunt, Laurie, when she is taken through a portal to a mysterious island that claims to need her help. Determined to save her niece, Laurie journeys across the galaxy to find her.

genre/setting

briefly set on early 2000's-esque earth (east coast), but most of the story stakes place in various locations across the milky way and on a secluded island (not on earth). with this one we're operating under the assumption that the galaxy is populated by other humans (but earth is secluded and ignorant); there is only one known nonhuman intelligent species. expect space ships + other neat technology, a gnarly curse, "old magic"/the spirit world ("magic"/spirits as an entity not a tool or innate gift, though they've been known to work with/befriend humans. more of a myth/mystery to most people), cyborg friends, space pirates,,, oh my

themes + general vibe (+ some storyline info)

grief, healing/growth, platonic bonds, nature, self-trust, martyrdom, lgbtq+ and now some vibes: the swell of delight we feel when admiring the sky; the final tendril of smoke dissipating as an incense stick finishes burning, and the red glow that goes out; the frustration and sheer determination of learning a new instrument or hobby as a kid; that flash of panic when you realize you love someone; seeing a small green leaf on a plant you thought was done for; stepping around flowers and mushrooms instead of stepping on them; the smell of your favorite person’s sweater; when your eyes sting from chlorine but you keep swimming anyway; tightening your ponytail before The Thing; blue lips; jumping to tap the doorframe or swing from a tree branch; kissing animals; opening things with your teeth; kissing food before you eat it; the way your eyes squint and lips flatten when someone disrespects a friend

more on the vibe: the story is told in close third and alternates between mara's pov and laurie's. mara's storyline is soft, exploratory, harvest moon/stardew valley-esque, but with a darkness underneath that keeps becoming more and more apparent. laurie's storyline is more of an adventure, with much more action. mara is eased into a new world; laurie is pushed and dragged and forced to dig up her strength very early on. this really correlates with their internal arcs; both are dealing with grief, but while mara is in active crisis, struggling to see a future for herself without her parents there to help her grow up, laurie clings to her grief as a way to keep the love between her and her husband alive, living every day since he died three years ago as if he might walk through the door. laurie needs to be pushed to live her life again, mara needs to be grounded and to find stability within herself. laurie is young btw, like 33.

"multimedia" elements

sound bites (music, breath, footsteps in the snow,,), video clips (pov shots of climbing trees n whatever), artwork, perhaps poetry, fairy tales(? thinking of a monster calls and oranges are not the only fruit), maybe even a choose-your-own-adventure sequence? not 100% on all this, but i'm very excited about all of the possibilities and fully expect to go insane because fuck this is going to be a lot of work. but my vision !!! it's so worth it. i'm so concerned as a writer with giving my readers sensory experiences that make them FEEL feel feel; i'm also considering giving mara a journal/sketchbook and either creating it as a supplement to the novel and/or including pages from it.

that's all! mwuah

tag: #wip: aiegwt