Genesis: From Isolation to the Building of a New World
Entry 01
9/17/2011
According to my notes, I began my writing of Batu on 6/18/2009 during a period of intense isolation. I believe, however, that the seeds were planted a month or two prior to that, but since the first rough for the first 3 ½ pages of what was then “chapter one” were done on 6/22/2009, it’s safe to assume the actual writing began on 6/18.
The Catch-Up
This first entry of my Batu Journal will primarily be a catch-up on the principal events of the Batu evolution over the past 2 ¼ years. This seems like a long time, and at first, I questioned the use of starting a book journal at this point, but if I am right, it will still be 10-14 years before I’m done with the manuscripts for all four books, so I’m still at the beginning. In fact, to date, the first draft of the first book is only as far as the prologue and half of chapter one. But this is a gross simplification that ignores not only the amount of research, but also the outlines, illustrations and the development of their mythologies, fables, language, etc.
At any rate, the journal starts here, relatively close to the beginning, and the following is a summary by memory, aided by my notes and the chronology of my bibliography.
The First Seeds
The first seed was planted in February of 2009, when I heard a co-worker singing African tribal songs. His name was Kiro, from Sudan, and the Dinka tribe. He had a thick accent, spoke 7 languages, had pitch-black skin, and told powerful stories of growing up in Africa.
Two or three months later I was reading Jack Kornfield’s A Path With Heart, and on page 334 he describes how a tribe in East Africa believes that they are not born with the physical birth, or even conception, but when the mother first has the intention of having a child. The mother sits alone under a tree and listens until she can hear the song of the child that she hopes to conceive. Then she teaches it to the father so they can sing it as they make love. Then she teaches the midwives, so it is sung while being physically born. The whole village learns the song, and it is sung for the rest of her/his life on important occasions, until the last time at his/her death.
Reading that moved me to such an extent that I began playing with the idea of building a tribal culture around that in my mind. No doubt partly fostered by a distaste for my own culture, but also because I recently had read a book by B.F. Skinner called Walden Two (1948), about a utopian society built on behavior learned by operant conditioning, social control achieved by positive reinforcement.
So, my thinking at the time about the possibilities and shortcomings of a utopian society blended simultaneously with this notion of building a tribe with African influences. It was probably a month or so of playing with these ideas before I had the courage to accept Joseph Campbell’s call to adventure by declaring for myself that this project was in fact the beginning of a book.
Story and characters began to develop around the spiritual journey of a man alienated from his utopian society. I’ll have to end the descriptions of Batu’s genesis here and leave them in my notes, because it would take many pages to walk through each step of the last 2 ¼ years of Batu development.
A Year of Foundation
Suffice it to say for now that most of the year from late 2009 to late 2010 was spent on research, illustrations, their language and alphabet, myths and fables, but very little on the actual narrative. By August of 2010 my bibliography was at 95 books, having just finished John Middleton’s Magic, Witchcraft, and Curing.
I then had a great creative spurt from September-November in 2010, where I essentially worked out completely what was at that point my first two books, scene by scene.
Now, a year from that point, my bibliography is 140 books; I just last week finished my poster illustration for The Song of Alodia, which I began 8 months ago; and am halfway through writing The Song of Alodia, which I started 9 months ago. I have drawn numerous illustrations this past year, revise Kanar(the alphabet) hopefully into its final form, and am about halfway through its detailed analysis, and have rewritten and finished the official first draft of the prologue and ½ of chapter one.
I could go on and on with this catch-up, but what I have here will have to suffice. I’m not entirely sure what the purpose of this journal is beyond a recording for posterity in the unlikelihood I manage to succeed in bringing off my intentions. But I think it is also a vehicle for me to work out ideas and vent into, rather than through my correspondence with family. But whatever the reasons, it’s begun now, and the beginning ends here.
Present-Day Reflection
5/26/2026
It amuses me to review where my head was, back in September of 2011. Back when I thought 10-14 years would be plenty of time to complete all four books. And surely it would be, even for a slow writer, if writing the main narrative of the novel was all that needed to be done. There’s just so much that goes into world building on the level I’m invested in that, even now, I find it difficult to keep from disappearing down world-building rabbit holes.
I’m just grateful to my younger self for starting this Author’s Journal, despite it being 2 ¼ years after its conception. The journal has been the most important creative problem solving vessel in my arsenal. And it’s incredibly fun to revisit.
I still continue to add entries today, though far less frequently than when I was pushing toward creation. Now, I’m in a stage of pushing toward publication, where my primary problem solving vessel is my computer.
All that being said, I do love seeing how that earlier version of myself continually felt the defensive impulse to justify not getting far with the actual narrative of the story due to the needs of world building. He and I are more alike than not in that regard. The main difference between him and me is that I no longer have any doubt whatsoever about whether or not I’ll “manage to succeed in bringing off my intentions.” On that subject, I have absolute clarity.
This is going to happen, and it’s going to be big.
