Chronicles, lore. and creative insights from the desk of Thornton Sumner.
A Sixteen-Year Retrospective
Welcome to the raw chronicle of a world's creation. While the formal pages of this journal began in September of 2011, its true genesis traces back to June of 2009. The opening entry acts as a vital bridge—revisiting and documenting in chronological order every linguistic breakthrough of the Kanar language and every world-building milestone discovered during those first two foundational years at the desk.
These archival entries are being released one day at a time, exactly as they were captured, offering an unvarnished look into the deep evolution of the Batu saga. Whether you wish to trace the journey from its very first 2009 spark or dive directly into the most recent revelations, select your path below.
33: Managing the Mess
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
10/8/2012
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time can slip away for me. It’s been four months since I made an entry here. And though I finished Chapter Five: The Kulu, four months ago, I’m only halfway through Chapter Six: Lost in the Darkness. But though I’ve been creatively lazy, it hasn’t been as bad as it appears.
For example, I completely rewrote all of Chapter Five: The Kulu, rewrote and extended Chapter One: Alena, rewrote and added clarifying material to the prologue: The Yara, and have been illustrating the title pages of each of these chapters. I just finished drawing a ceremonial drum for the title page of Chapter Two: Kumbella. I also edited and added crucial material to that chapter and am currently transcribing it into a legible format.
All this rewriting is part of my desire to have a fully realized and designed Author’s Edition, done by hand but as nicely packaged and complete as possible. I spent a bit of time drawing up a cover for this, which was when I also finalized my decision to title my first book The Song of Mugasha.
And then I had some personal drama that involved my having to pack everything up and move. I mailed my Batu scene outlines to family and asked them to mail them back to me while in the midst of moving so I could use this downtime to continue working on the narrative.
So, I started Chapter Six: Lost in Darkness in the middle of my drama and was also in the middle of the fifth scene – just prior to Pardos killing Mosai, when I finally arrived at my new home, which was four days ago. Since then, I’ve rewritten Chapter One: Alena, edited Chapter Two: Kumbella, and illustrated Chapter Four: The Fever as quickly as possible so I can return to finish Chapter Six: Lost in the Darkness. Then Everything will be caught up so I’ll have my Author’s Edition in good order up to Chapter Seven: The Wounded. And hopefully get Chapter Eight: Dissolutions done too by New Years. That would make me halfway done with the first book in three months. I would be very happy with that.
So far, I am quite pleased with this polished Author’s Edition and can’t (at this time) find any fault with it. I have no doubt, however, that time will expose its faults. Time always does.
Present-Day Reflection
6/27/2026
As I reread this entry I can feel the chaos of life back then within my unfocused ramblings, leaving me with a sense of gratitude to have it all behind me. Life will always be messy, just hopefully not to that degree anymore as I move forward. I like to think I’ve got a better handle on this thing called life, and so it appears from the comfort of my writing desk these days. I’m much more stable financially, emotionally, and with far less external turmoil coming from the others I share my life with. So, for the moment, I’m able to confine most of my drama to the pages of fiction.
There’s also a lot I could unpack from this entry in terms of how the structure of my Batu saga differs now from where it stood back then, but I don’t think I’ll bother. There’s still so much upheaval and restructuring yet to come in future entries, and it’s already beginning to feel like an exercise in futility trying to keep up with its unravelling. Suffice it to say, what I was calling “halfway done with the first book” in this entry was really halfway done with book two.
Life is messy. So, it’s only natural that the process of making art should be as well.
32: Lost In the Darkness
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
6/3/2012
Finished “The Kulu” tonight. Eight scenes in all – 45 pages, and 14,901 words. I just reread it and its quality is inconsistent. The third scene, which I assumed would be the worst, wasn’t so bad. The fourth, which I thought would be much better, was the worst in the whole chapter. I gave too much Dougga’s background away too quickly in my eagerness to sell him to the reader. And the flora-fauna descriptions were gratuitous and irrelevant. The whole scene was too long and felt unnecessary. Needs a lot of editing.
Joyul’s characterization turned out to be surprisingly fun. She breathed some much-needed life into the dead wood of scenes five and six.
That seventh scene, where Diallo confronts Mosai about the lost Kulu, was one I was dreading, knowing how emotionally laden it would be and the importance of getting it right. But other than perhaps the pacing being a bit too fast, it turned out well.
The eighth and last scene was a last-minute decision, feeling I needed the chapter to end with a clear picture that Diallo was running away so that this chapter will connect well with the next. And I think this scene turned out nice, though not as nice as it felt while writing it. The diction felt good, but it seems that the most fun and interesting scenes to read are the ones with good dialogue.
This does not bode well for the next chapter, “Lost In the darkness”, where Diallo is alone with no one to talk to. And when he’s rescued, he’s no longer speaking. But it can’t be helped. This is the story I’m telling, and I just have to do the best I can. So far, on the whole, I’m very happy with all my writing. As a first draft.
The first person to read my work from prologue through Chapter Five: The Kulu, is a friend of mine, Steve Clark. He prides himself as an avid reader and I trust his opinion. More or less. So, when he agreed to try my work, I was curious how he’d respond.
He really seemed to like it and keeps asking me for the next installment. He’s not one to patronize people, so I believe he’s sincere when he says it’s really good work. He doesn’t want to critique its details for me like an editor though. He’s just giving me food for thought about things that were unclear for him – “Why is Ephrathah up in the trees?” I need to provide a clear reason.
But overall, I’m encouraged by the fact that he wants to know what happens next. And he also says he “loves Dialo.” That’s good. We’ll see if it stays that way.
Present-Day Reflection
6/25/2026
Everything I’m referring to in this entry is from my work with the second book, Tears of Stone. It feels weird to me to reread about things that – from my point of view right now – still lies ahead for me and my writing. All of Tears of Stone is still under revision, with several chapters yet to be written until I can call it done.
I miss my long walks with Steve. I miss our arguments, as well as his encouragement for my Batu writing. He was a rare sort of friend, and I wish I had a way to track him down to send him a copy of what turned out to be my first book, Wings of Providence. It’s proven to be exceedingly rare to find people who care enough about what I’m working on to actually read it.
Though, to be fair, I’ve only ever handed over my work to friends and family so far. And, aside from my uncle Paul, none of them are avid readers of anything. I haven’t reached out and contacted any of my future readers yet. Right now, I’m still shouting in the dark as I continue building the foundations for my platform.
I’m almost ready to start reaching out, but for now I’m just missing my friend.
31: The First Reader
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
5/18/2012
When I start a new scene, I look for an unorthodox angle as a hook, upon which I can enter in an interesting way. I’ve compiled all the ingredients for the fourth scene of “The Kulu”, worked out what happens, and with whom. Listed the things about Dougga’s background I want to reveal since it’s his POV. But I need an angle of attack – an approach that is creative and mood-setting. Like what I did with Wanyana’s introduction in “Kumbella”.
Present-Day Reflection
6/25/2026
It’s vital for me as the first reader of my work to be just as enthralled as I’d like my future audience to be. It’s easier said than done though when I know in advance the basics of what’s about to happen. It’s a weird form of schizophrenia as I try and come up with ways to circumvent my own expectations – trying not to let my left hand know what my right hand is about to do.
It involves a lot of pivots, constantly changing my mind about how to do things. Then following my characters and where they want to go, as well as any unforeseen opportunities in the direction of the story. The devil is in the details, and so many surprises arise at every turn due to the chemistry of countless details.
This is the big difference between daydreaming and creating solely in my head. Putting pen to paper solidifies details. Dreams shift and change very easily, and with very little internal logic or consistency. Whereas every drop of ink on paper creates the canon I have to adhere to – or go back and rewrite it all in order to make sense out of it.
It’s fascinating for me, balancing being both creator and audience simultaneously.
30: A Fool’s Hope
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
5/14/2012
I finally finished the third scene of “The Kulu”. What a pain in the ass it was. Dribbled out a paragraph here and there, dragging it out. Didn’t enjoy it at all. But I think I got the basic ingredients I need in there and will hopefully be able to breathe life into it on a rewrite later.
I’m hoping the fourth scene will be more fun, I already got the seed for an idea, coming at it from Dougga’s POV. I’m thinking of having him and Diallo in a one-on-one talking about Alena before seeing Kanunga and getting back to the Kulu story. Diallo’s still carrying the doll, setting it down with the Kulu, then being distracted with Dougga while Kanunga finds and picks up the Kulu.
Anyway, this is what I have to work with as I search for a way to make the scene sing – making up for that last mediocre scene.
Present-Day Reflection
6/24/2026
Sometimes all I have to arm myself with as I move forward is hope. I bolster myself with as much research as I can to provide a sense of security, trying to avoid the feeling I’m just building on air. I’ve also been known to occasionally wait for inspiration, or a fresh point of view that excites me, before putting pen to paper. I had the luxury of time in those days to do that. However, whenever the moment of truth finally arrives, all I really have to carry me through is hope.
I’ve never had much use for the notion of faith, which to my mind is a dangerous alchemy of believing and wishing. I’ve always leaned more toward Heinlein’s quip that “learning ends where belief begins.” Deep down, I don’t really believe I’m going to pull off what I’m attempting, because when have things ever gone as planned? They usually turn out better or worse. Or simply different.
So, when pushing forward into the dark with no real beliefs to light my way, shining only with a desire to get lucky and maybe discover something beautiful and interesting – what am I to call that?
29: Great Expectations
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
5/8/2012
I finally got back to the main narrative writing tonight… briefly. I only got a page done, taking three hours. It was the third scene of “The Kulu” where I left off four months ago. Left off right where Bakar says he’s invoking the Trial of Truth against Diallo. “Let’s find out the truth,” said Bakar – then I dropped it for four months.
Well, even though I only got a single page done tonight, and it wasn’t exceptional in any way, I’m glad I got the ball rolling again. Maybe.
I started #22 of the Kanar breakdowns but put it aside when I got inspired to get back to the real story.
Present-Day Reflection
6/23/2026
Nothing happens the way I want it to. Expectations. The greater the expectations, the greater the frustration and disappointment. And yet, I don’t see any alternative on this side of living that I want to be a part of. I’m familiar with the alternatives. The surface teachings of many eastern spiritual precepts on how to reduce suffering. I’ve tried them. Looking deeper, however, I’m forced to accept that I need my frustrations and disappointments in order to fully actualize the person I need to be. I don’t enjoy it most of the time, but it’s what I’ve got to work with.
When I first began my Batu project it wasn’t a story or a book, it was an act of desperation due to a frustration and disappointment with my own life in general. I wanted a utopia, even if only in my own mind. And it didn’t take a lot of dabbling with that to quickly find it wanting.
The Batu novels, the characters and their personal stories – it all began to emerge out of a need for frustration and disappointment. Not because I’m a masochist who enjoys suffering. I don’t. I hate it. But I allow it because, for me, enjoyment is not what living is about. It’s not what art is about. Having fun and being comfortable, having the world be exactly as I’d like it to be, is not what my life is about. It’s about finding beauty and awe despite wading through the sewage. It’s about engagement with reality, in all its ugly and miserable details. The beauty of it all isn’t just in its occasional gems, it’s in the struggle and our ability to find them now and then despite everything. There would be no point to it, if not for the frustrations and disappointments.
Anyway, that’s how I see it.
28: The Kanar Exegesis
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
5/3/2012
I’ve been working more this past week on the Kanar breakdowns. Done with 20 of them, 20 left to go. They’re each about a page long, but I can only manage finishing two a day at most. There are so many elements to each glyph – the translation, the principle it represents, the totemic image associated with it, the mythology behind it, philosophy, its use in divination and shamanism, and its use as a talisman. And making sure it all ties in consistently with the other 39 glyph’s mythology, etc.
It’s a slow process of sifting through my notes and integrating the most appropriate information for each one. The work is a bit monotonous, but I’m happy with the end result, so that keeps me going. It’s a lot to juggle though while putting it together, and I hope to be done with the first draft of all 40 this month.
I believe I will be where I am for at least another year. It’s my intention to finish the first book in that time, as well as the Vodun sketched, Kanar breakdowns, and The Song of Mugasha fable. If I can achieve those main objectives I will consider this year a success. So far, I’ve been wasting a lot of time though. We’ll see.
Present-Day Reflection
6/22/2026
14 years later and I still haven’t got done what I hoped to get done back in 2012. The final edits are not yet completed on the first book, Wings of Providence. The Song of Mugasha from The Napatawalata is only ¼ of the way done. And I was up until 2AM last night working on getting the Kanar breakdowns transcribed from my handwritten copies to a digital format so I can upload them to this website.
I no longer call them “breakdowns”, however. Now they’re called the Kanar Exegesis. A more fitting term for what they really are. Though there’s only 40 handwritten pages to the Exegesis, transcribing the phonetics using hex code with Word is a painstaking process. And finding a way to showcase each glyph and their iconography in an appropriate way is proving to be a challenge as well.
That being said, it will all be done in a couple of days. Or at least, that’s the plan.
27: The Illusion of Security
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
3/20/2012
Finished the 2nd title page mask illustration a couple days ago – the ugly one that will probably go with the third book. I see it as representing The Others that invade and displace the Batu from their home.
I’m sending it, along with my other finished artwork, to Uncle Paul to hold onto for me. He said he’d send back photocopies of those few I might need copies of for conceptual references or templates for future artwork.
I sent him The Shadow of Damu and The Song of Alodia a couple of weeks ago and just got the photocopies he made in yesterday’s mail. I feel a lot better knowing my originals are safely in Paul’s care with working copies here for me. I’ll be sending him everything I write or draw for archiving. Insurance against losing all my work should things go sideways.
Present-Day Reflection
6/21/2026
I realize security is an illusion, but it’s an important one for me when it comes to my Batu work. My life is much more stable these days, and I now keep all my archives here close to home. I have about half of it digitized on multiple thumb drives and hard drives as backup. Nothing on the cloud. Call me an old man, but I don’t trust that and I prefer to keep what’s valuable to me close to home with no dependence on outside technology working. Hence, the redundancy of even my paper archives. Backups for my backups. Allows me to sleep better at night.
26: First Drafts
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
3/1/2012
It’s been almost three months since I’ve written any Batu related material. And what’s really odd is that I not only stopped in the middle of scene three of “The Kulu”, but was mid-dialogue as well, which would be easy to pick up on.
So, I’m not sure what happened to keep me from getting back on track. Christmas, reading, other writing projects. I started another story: You and Me, about an alternate version of my life starting at age 16 and wrote 99 pages of it so far. Not sure if I’ll continue it or not. And I also wrote a 150-page letter last month to Gale – the longest letter I’ve yet written. Also read a few books. So, it’s not as if I’ve done nothing, just nothing Batu related.
I got back into it today, however. Rewriting and putting the final touches on the first draft of The Song of Alodia. This will be my best stand-alone showcase piece of Batu material that will be completed in a readable form and am eager to get it done.
I should point out here, there are no literal “first drafts” of any of my work in my possession, because I rewrite everything so much – starting out on scratch paper that I save for that purpose – and all the early drafts gets flushed down the toilet as soon as I write a better version. And there’s no way for me to recall how many incarnations it went through before reaching the “first draft” I haven’t flushed. Plus, my main narrative is already largely worked out in the scene outline, itself having gone through a half dozen or more rough drafts.
This current draft of The Song of Alodia had two prior incarnations that I thought were finished “first drafts” when I was done with them. What “first draft” really means for me is that I’m ready to file it away and call it done until someone else reads and critiques it for me.
Present-Day Reflection
6/20/2026
I do have several first drafts preserved that really are first drafts, but I only started to occasionally set such things aside well after I wrote this entry from March of 2012. Probably more often when I was in my zone and things were coming together relatively easy for me. As if to hold onto that mental space so I might tap back into it again at a later date.
Part of it was also for future nostalgia and my legacy archives as well. I’ve always been nostalgic and sentimental. I’m still holding onto sketches and doodles I did back in grade school when I was eight years old, always daydreaming while ignoring my teacher and her assignments. So, I guess it was inevitable that I’d eventually start saving certain chapters of my Batu work as well, showcasing their evolution from half-baked dribblings on scratch paper to final drafts.
I didn’t save a lot. Maybe a half-dozen or so chapters, at the most. Just enough to see how my process has evolved over the years.
25: Succumbing to Fantasy
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
12/12/2011
My hiatus from writing has extended overlong. At first, I struggled with how to open the first scene of Chapter Five: The Kulu. Knowing full well the action to be enacted int this first scene, I was nonetheless at a loss for a hook upon which I might enter into it in an interesting way.
That took me up to around 12/6 and came up with a two-page dialogue between Diallo and Bakar on the side of Overlook Hill, which was satisfactory. But that is how it has remained for five days or so.
It seems clear that this is not writer’s block but sheer laziness. In the interim, however, I have come to a somewhat important decision to extend the fantasy elements of the story a step further by creating a spiral staircase of path, carved within the trunk of the jola tree that leads from the forest floor to the village proper.
Although there are trees in the African rainforest as wide as a house that could server for such a structure, the time and effort to carve a spiral staircase in it with stone-age tools renders the idea highly fantastical. The labor involved seems to far surpass its practicality. Not to mention that it would no doubt kill the tree, probably causing it to rot from the inside-out until within a generation or two it would collapse under its own weight. Though I’m just guessing. I haven’t been able to research it. But whether it is possible or not it will remain an idea that taxes credulity, pushing it into fantasy.
I’m doing it anyway. I love the imagery it invokes, and it solves all the logistical problems of coming and going from the village proper. I began leaving reality when I put them in the canopy in the first place, but with this I am making a radical decision declaring that imagination and romantic imagery will supersede any desire to remain faithful to what is likely, or even possible. I’ve succumbed to fantasy.
The idea came to me when I saw in a magazine how a man built a treehouse with a circular staircase of iron wrapping up around a tree only a foot in diameter. That image percolated for a week until last night it boiled over into a necessity.
At any rate, my vacation from writing has at least bore this element that I really love. And now I’m determined to finish the first scene of “The Kulu” today, which was already well begun last week.
Present-Day Reflection
6/19/2026
I had forgotten how far along I’d gotten in my narrative when I finally crossed the line into fantasy by forsaking anthropological accuracy. Indeed, The Kulu chapter is the beginning of what is now the second book. This single creative decision has probably had more influence over the tone and character of the entire saga than any other decision I’ll ever make.
I didn’t make it lightly. Even back in 2011, I knew very well how big a step it would be. Just as I knew how important it was for me to make it. It wasn’t merely another feature of my story’s milieu, it was a profound declaration that I was writing this for me, and let the critics be damned. Whatever self-inhibiting golems I had on my shoulder judging every decision I made – all the experts on the traditional lifestyles of ancient African cultures, or even the artists and writers of fiction I most admire – I was telling them all that I was writing this for me, not for them. This was what I wanted to write and read, whether anyone else would or not.
It was always about me and what I wanted, not about what the rest of the world might have wanted. So, it was important for me to make a bold symbolic gesture in order to get out from under whatever influence my internal critics might have been imposing on me. For the most part.
24: Unpredictable Rabbit Holes
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
12/02/2011
Finally finished the first draft of Part One of the first book. Blew my deadline by two days, but that last chapter was twice as long as I planned. My total word count for the first book so far is 57,742. Been averaging 1,000 words a day since mid-October.
As for quality, it’s hard to tell. It feels good as I write it, but the initial reread is disappointing. But I need to let it sit before I can get a fresh take on it. I’m too close to it right now. Meanwhile, I’m going to rest for a day or two before I plunge into Part Two. My current goal is to have Part Two done by my birthday in February, and at my current pace that shouldn’t be a problem. But as I’m learning, you just can’t predict what the big time-spenders will be.
Present-Day Reflection
6/18/2026
Amen to that.
I still can’t predict such things, even today. Especially now that I’m on a computer and working on building this website. I can spend a whole day slipping down technical rabbit holes I didn’t even know existed when I went to bed the night before. Website deadlines are never met for me. The upside though is that things keep getting worked out so the end results are better than I initially hoped for.
Which is the only reason why I’m not complaining… much.
23: Foreshadowing Prominence
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
11/26/2011
Been working on Chapter Four: Twa Yal-Jukun, every day without bothering to log it here in the journal. I have 9,344 words of it done, which is over a thousand words a day, and yet I haven’t even got everyone on the river yet on their way to the festival. Diallo just got his reading from Siona in scene five. Which, by my reckoning, only puts me 2/3 of the way through the chapter. Which means it’s going to be way too long. And there’s hardly any exposition to edit out to shorten it – it’s 98% dialogue and action. Easy to improve and modify, but hard to cut without losing something needed.
We’ll see. At any rate, it’s coming together well. The spontaneous addition of Banyoro Badru was divinely inspired and helps a lot. Her free spirit helps to alleviate the uptight feeling I get from the other characters. I like Badru, and she’ll find her way back into the story later somehow.
Foreshadowing Broka, Topol, and Dugal through Bakar, Tamal, and Dougga worked fairly well. A couple of nice vignettes with them.
Deciding to turn the tables on all my preconceptions for Siona’s scene, I gave the POV to Alena, and she did a good job with it. There’s a lot of things to tweak and improve, but I believe I was right to give the scene to her rather than Diallo or Siona. It gives it a fresh twist so I’m not just taking dictation on the preconceptions and thoughts I’ve had about the scene these last couple years. If I’m bored, the writing will be boring. Going with Alena made it more complicated and more difficult, but also more interesting.
The rule of thumb may be to give the POV to whoever is most affected in a scene, but that would mean Diallo would get almost every POV. That would bore the hell out of me.
Anyway, my goal is to finish “Twa Yal-Jukun” (and Part One) by the end of the month. Difficult, but possible. I’m feeling good about this.
Present-Day Reflection
6/17/2026
It’s interesting to reread this entry where I write so casually about the introduction of characters who are now the heart and soul of the entire series. Bakar, Tamal, Dougga, and Badru may have been peripheral and relatively unimportant back then – merely “foreshadowing” their eventual status – but as the first book stands now, they are right at the center of things from the very beginning, each getting their own introductory chapters. Badru is still a secondary character, but she’s also the most colorful for me to write for. The three boys, however, get just as much fleshing out as Diallo does – despite not getting quite as much “screen time”. They’re also often more sympathetic and fun to follow than Diallo. Which probably isn’t a good thing for a protagonist.
22: A Lot Yet to Do
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
11/17/2011
Finished Chapter Three: The Fever. Took two weeks and 11,322 words. That makes it the longest so far. I think it will require less rewrites than the others so far though. The last scene got a good glimpse at the strained relationship between Diallo and Mosai. Nothing else though that wasn’t planned for.
Present-Day Reflection
6/16/2026
When this “chapter” was written, there was still a lot that was undeveloped. The Fever would become Part Four eventually, where every scene would become its own chapter. In addition, nine more chapters and two fables would be included. Just as I would eventually expand the other three Parts, which back then I called chapters.
The “strained” relationship between Diallo and Mosai got well established in these fleshing out chapters. So, by the time we get to the end of The Fever – which is also the end of Book One: Wings of Providence – the chapter with Diallo and Mosai becomes rather poignant.
21: Craft & Heart
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
11/16/2011
Finished scene six of The Fever – 1,970 words and six pages, Diallo’s prophetic dream. Not many prophecies though at this point. I’ll have to fill those in more once I have specific details and quotes that would be pertinent from future chapters way down the road. But for now, I’m satisfied. The bones of it are straight from my earlier draft on 9/29/2009. But it’s enhanced and more fleshed out now. Especially the living moth within the amulet of golden light. It’s a nice tie-in with Wings of Providence and that theme. When things just naturally weave together and mesh like that, I gain some hope that this may actually work.
Well, only one more scene for The Fever, and it’s a small one. Done tomorrow, easy.
Present-Day Reflection
6/15/2026
Things tend to “naturally weave together and mesh” more often when I don’t cling to expectations and my preconceived scene outlines. When it feels more like taking dictation than controlling the narrative and all the details I think I need or want to include. When I allow myself to feel my way into a scene rather than just thinking my way into it.
I don’t mean to sound like Yoda though, because I know very well I need to weave both heart and mind into my work with some semblance of balance. I’ve known too many artists who rely solely on their feelings and intuition, looking upon art as a purely mystical experience where they can achieve great work if they could only tap into the core of their souls. Or some spiritual creative essence, like Yoda’s Force.
The closest I can come to agreeing with this notion is how John Fowles described it. He alluded to the idea that for artists to create great art they need only make themselves great, then paint naturally. Though this reflects ideas found in Taoism, I don’t see it as being at all mystical. It requires discipline, self-development, and training before you can just let yourself go and let your subconscious perform naturally.
All heart with no craft is noise. All craft with no heart is a well-ordered vacuum. An artist might get lucky with their happy accidents on either extreme, but there’s no consistency in it. And writing novels are marathons, not sprints. Consistency is absolutely necessary.
20: Time Was On My Side
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
11/14/2011
Just finished scene five of “The Fever.” Took a couple days off to collate the material I would need for it, and then to think about how to make it interesting. It’s essentially an exposition scene between Wanyana and Bulala, and those can be deadly. Very hard to keep the pacing up to speed and maintain interest. Very little action, and almost all dialogue between the two women.
I think I pulled it off okay. The diction and syntax can always be improved but given the constraints of the scene I think it’s as good as I could have hoped for. We’ll see in a couple months when I reread it with fresh eyes.
This scene was 2,170 words – longer than I planned on, but that’s okay. This whole chapter will be about 11,000 words by the time I’m done. Two more scenes, one long and one short. My total word count for the whole book so far is 37,489 (not including The Song of Alodia), with a total of 123 pages. If I finish “The Fever” by 11/17 it will have taken two weeks, just like Chapter Two: Kumbella did. It’s coming along.
Present-Day Reflection
6/14/2026
I wish I had the time these days to just take a couple weeks to “collate the material” I need for any given project. I knew even back then that time was on my side, and that one day I’d look back on that period with envy. So, I never took having lots of time for granted, which proved enough to keep me on task. Usually.
Now, just having a single day without distraction is a true luxury I can rarely afford. I’m not complaining though, because on the whole things are an improvement for me now. I’ve just had to learn to better prioritize my “to-do” list and work more efficiently with what time I have – focusing on speed and quality simultaneously. Lots of pivoting in my tactics to avoid wasting time as I try to maximize output.
Though it works well for this publishing phase I find myself in, I’m hoping it’s just a temporary lifestyle. Because, though I’m far happier with my life now than I was 15 years ago, it’s not very conducive for the rumination and navel-gazing I need to produce my best creative work.
Or, at least, that’s what I tell myself. Truth is, I’m not sure. Art and creativity are still a mystery for me, where I can only speak in hindsight about what’s worked in the past. I can’t truly forecast the future with any accuracy.
19: Fevered Psychoanalysis
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
11/11/2011
Finished scene four in “The Fever” – 2,274 words. Longer than I planned, and over 2,000 of those words were all done just this morning. Two days were wasted on personal drama – problems with my neighbors. Once my head is infected with anger or any other strong emotion, I’m no good for writing.
Rereading “The Lord of the Rings” yet again (my third time now), since my head is no good for anything else at the moment. It’s fixated on drama, and proves that I’m not the master of my own mind. I’m both its slave and victim.
But the clouds parted this morning and I started fresh again, flying right through my work. Wrote Diallo’s first fevered dream, delving into his psychology and father issues. The next and last fevered dream will be a prophetic one. This one this morning though also touched on his issues with Guma, with allusions to Alena’s ghost frog. It came out rather nicely, I think. Good material for me to expand later.
Is Guma Diallo’s creation of what he believes Mosai would view as the perfect son?
At one point Guma replaces Diallo, and Diallo becomes the ghost. Running into Guma in the dark, Diallo mistakes him for his father. Diallo’s love-hate bond with Guma is an expression of what he’s afraid to explore in his relationship with his father. Guma is both idealized offspring and scapegoat for Diallo. Some pseudo-homosexual overtones are present as well, acting as metaphors for Diallo’s impotence. All so very Freudian. And fun.
Present-Day Reflection
6/13/2026
Without drama in my personal life outside of writing, I’d have nothing to write about. It is the fuel for my story-telling engine. However, even today while in the midst of what feels like a climax in my real life story, I’m unable to focus on the fictional one. My passions swing me too far one way or another to get any meaningful work done. The best I can do is catch up on the mindless monkey-brain work of clean-up, organizing, collating, and maintenance.
Which is what I’m doing right now as I write this.
18: Bulala’s Benchmark
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
11/8/2011
Just Finished scene three of “The Fever”, where Bulala is gathering the cinchona bark and Wanyana’s violet. It was good work for a single day. 2,000 words in one day I think is a record for me. Plus, it turned out amazingly well. The writing is adequate for a first draft, and the imagery is excellent. The action is good. The pacing is good. The scene adds well to the overall plot and fills out the characterizations. All of which is pretty good for a scene involving only one person.
I think I’m getting better at this. Or else I just had a good day. We’ll see.
Present-Day Reflection
6/12/2026
I was right, I’d finally found my writer’s voice for the entire series that day. I haven’t always stuck with it, but that scene – which would eventually become a chapter all its own – remains a benchmark for my writing even today. There have been moments since where I’ve somehow managed to surpass that benchmark, but it still remains the standard to which I strive for.
17: Beginnings of The Fever
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
11/5/2011
Got the first scene of Chapter Three: The Fever done. Decided I needed to start the chapter with a fresh face – Alena’s. This also provided a nice way to establish the time lapse since the last chapter. Also lays the groundwork for the “Missing Pieces” chapter I have planned for the second book. I also added that Alena has two deceased brothers and a sister. The two brothers are Guma and Diallo, the sister is camouflage to keep the identity of the brothers from being too obvious. Plus, it puts the number of Siona’s children at the ubiquitous number four.
The diction is acceptable but nothing special. The power of the scene lies primarily in its plotting devices. Moving on to the other scenes, I’m a little worried that this chapter has so little action, and so little dialogue. It dwells heavily on the various internal worlds of its characters, which makes it a challenge to keep it lively.
Present-Day Reflection
6/11/2026
This entry reflects just how far I had yet to go in the development of the basic story.
I was still thinking Diallo would turn out to be Alena’s brother. I was still trying to avoid having to write the Ghost Frog quest, which was only going to be referred to in hindsight after Diallo contracted The Fever. The Missing Pieces chapter planned for Book Two was going to be where the details of things left unsaid in Book One would be revealed.
I’m not sure why I thought that was a good idea.
16: Money In the Bank
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
11/3/2011
I hadn’t realized it’s been two weeks since I last made an entry here. I’ve been busy writing Chapter Two: Kumbella. It turned out well. Much better than Chapter One: Alena. There was a lot of fixing and tightening on the rewrites of Chapter two, but it’s essentially there now. I’m happy with it. It came in at 11,157 words, which is even longer than the prologue, and has three more scenes than what I’d planned in the outline. The extra scenes are really just dividing up the one ritual scene into three parts though. My total word count for everything so far is 29,145 words. And I’m just now starting Chapter three.
This could be a long book. I’m shooting for 10,000 words per chapter, so with the prologue and epilogue, and fables, it should be under 200,000 words.
For Chapter Two: Kumbella, I finished scene one on 10/20, where Diallo runs into himself. Scene two was a long one, finished on 10/22. Long, but straight forward. Scene three was slightly longer, but much more difficult. The whole ceremony sequence (comprising scenes 3-5) and the dialogue in scene six all required two days of just collating ritual details and mapping out the sequence of events.
The dialogue of scene six was also written out before hand, which actually altered some fundamental story concepts. Like the women’s conversation really being about Alena, not Guma or Diallo. This also made me make Siona the buroho instead of Bulala. So, Scene two needs to be updated to reflect that.
Anyway, the best thing in the whole chapter is scene three, where the village is in complete darkness and the two boys are climbing up the tree and above the fog (ala Jack and the Beanstalk) to see the stars for the first time. Finished this scene on 10/29.
Scene four was Siona’s dance, my least favorite of this chapter, needing a lot more work on the rewrites. Finished on 10/31.
Scene five, the augury/haruspication of the hare was better, but still needs a lot more work, too. Reads like it was written from a recipe of notes, which it was. Finished on 11/1.
Scene six, the women’s dialogue was the easiest since the essence of it was already done. It just needed fleshing out and adding Diallo’s contribution. Finished on 11/2.
Scene seven, the last one, I finished just tonight (actually, 2AM), 11/3. It’s one of the better scenes, but also the shortest and least encumbered by outlines and information filler.
Overall, I’m pleased with the work so far, despite its need for major touch-ups down the road. I only wish the pace was quicker. Chapter Two: Kumbella, alone is 35 pages, and it took two weeks and about 70 hours to write. Two hours on average per page. It’s a bit frustrating on one hand, but on the other hand I’ve got some good writing due to taking care, which will hopefully mean fewer rewrites. I think I even wrote every day, except for one. So, at least I’m staying on task. Adding another drop into the bucket each day.
Present-Day Reflection
6/10/2026
My steps are getting bigger. What I got done in the 70 hours recorded here in that entry was the largest step forward with the main narrative so far. It will all be dramatically reworked, but the skeleton was there. It advanced my sense of the story, its structure, and their world in big ways.
I smile though now as I think of all the hours I spent doing word counts back then. I had no computer, and everything was written with pen and paper, my word count being a painstaking process with each version of a chapter I wrote. It was important for me to maintain an accurate sense of scope, not trusting page numbers alone. Part of me enjoyed the word counts, however, looking upon it as “getting my money” – as if every word was money in the bank of my authorial legacy. As if every word was bringing me closer to my goal.
All those word counts feel meaningless now though, everything back then having been reworked – vastly expanded or deleted – so many times that the scope of things from then reflects nothing about where things stand today.
15: Ignorance Is Bliss
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
10/19/2011
Finally finished Chapter One: Alena. With a word count of 5,561 it is only half as long as the prologue. It really isn’t long enough when there’s only 16 chapters in the book. But I guess I can flesh it out later.
Two things surprised me though: 1) I haven’t worked on the chapter in five months! My last scene dated 5/12, I hadn’t realized it’s been so long. And 2) the quality of my earlier writing was terrible. What I just wrote is far from perfect, but it’s miles ahead of what I wrote back in May. I’m not sure if this is due to the books on writing fiction I’ve been studying, or the actual fiction I’ve been reading lately. Maybe I’ve just been in a more inspired mood. Whatever the reason, these last two scenes I rewrote are a lot better than their original drafts. The original versions read like a child’s homework assignment for a creative writing class.
Well, that’s what rewriting is for I suppose. Hopefully this will continue so I can push out more chapters. I’ve been wasting way too much time on other stuff. The other stuff may be important eventually, but right now I think it’s crucial that I just push out the first draft for this first book ASAP. I got to get it down as a foundation. Otherwise, the whole enterprise is just a daydream in my head, sketches and vignettes lost among my notes and letters to family. I HAVE TO WRITE THE STORY NOW!
Present-Day Reflection
6/9/2026
I know how he feels, the guy who wrote that journal entry 15 years and 4 months ago. Luckily, I’ll never be in that headspace again, but I remember it. I’ll always have new writing that needs to be done that I’m ignoring as I work on other things. But having the first book done these days places me in a vastly different position than I was in back then. Back when it was still mostly “a daydream in my head.”
The characters are real now, and the first part of their story is completely fleshed out and written in stone. There will be no more major rewrites or reimagining of the saga’s introduction. For better or worse, their foundation is established.
Chapter One: Alena, which I had just finished back then, was a big step, but it would be completely reworked down the road. Diallo and Alena were still 2-dimensional, Alena in particular still being a goody-two-shoes paragon of virtue with no human stain. Diallo and Guma’s opening chapter wasn’t even conceived yet. Nor was the introduction of the jola, which would push Alena to Chapter 3 instead of 1. None of the other three primary characters: Tamal, Dougga, or Bakar made their entrance back then until I got to the night of the Twa Yal-Jukun when Siona did Diallo’s reading.
The entire structure back then was vastly different and simplified, where the Twa Yal-Jukun was merely one chapter instead of Part II – today consisting of 18 chapters and a fable.
If I knew then what I know now, I’d probably be overwhelmed by the amount of work remaining ahead of me just to finish all four parts of the first book. Ignorance is bliss, they say. This leaves me wondering though about how lucky I may be right now, not knowing what lies ahead of me with the remaining books to be completed.
14: Finding My Premise
Author’s Journal: A 17 year creative journey, revisited one day at a time.
10/17/2011
Two days ago I decided to review my outline to make sure I had a consistent premise that all my chapters adhered to. And keeping it to one premise per book didn’t make it much easier. My outline for the first two books is 116 pages. It took time to synthesize each chapter of the first book into a two-sentence precis, then summarizing the consistent themes within each of the four parts. Only then could I look at it to determine what the book’s premise was.
I ask four questions: 1) What is continually testing Diallo? (Other people’s expectations) 2) What is he struggling to resolve that involves great risk? (Trying to create a life for himself of his own choosing that also satisfies societal expectations) 3) What is the result of the struggle? (Disaster) 4) What is the story trying to demonstrate or prove? (The needs of the individual are not always compatible with society)
So, the premise for the first book is: “A boy who is trapped by familial baggage and ancient prophecies feels he has no control over his life, and as he grows into a man and believes he’s finally managed to integrate his needs with the needs of his society, he realizes painfully that they are not mutually compatible.”
I don’t have to alter my outline at all for this premise to emerge, but now that I see it more clearly, I can emphasize it as I flesh out my chapters. It feels good to have this hook as I reenter the writing process of my main narrative. Which I should be doing here shortly.
Present-Day Reflection
6/8/2026
It took me a while for the lessons I was reading about on the craft of fiction to truly set in. Things like, let your first drafts come fast and easy without editing as you go. Things like, to write about everything is to write about nothing.
It’s not that I didn’t believe or trust the authors I was studying under when they told me these things, it just proved easier said than done. I have so many things I want to say and get out on paper it’s hard to restrict myself to writing an entire book with only one central premise.
It’s similar with painting. Galleries or publishers of art books like to see a pattern within a large body of work with a consistent theme or distinctive voice that binds it together as a unique whole. I’ve never been good at that. And with writing fiction it’s even harder, where the demand for a solitary premise is even greater. Every scene in every chapter has to be working together toward posing a single question about human nature. And though potential answers to that question may be ambiguous or conflicting – which the author would be well advised to avoid taking sides on – the central question itself should never be in doubt by the end of the book.