Next novel Ghost Boyd thoughts

Song: Peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America (The OG Peaches song before The Super Mario Brothers Movie)

If you have visited my website kurtless.com (please check it out), there is a tab entitled “projects in progress”. The first project you’ll see after my awesome progress bar that I love dearly, is my Ghost Boyd YA Novel. I named the project this because the main character’s name is Boyd, and throughout the novel he can travel from the mortal world to the spirit world in an instant. This is the project I am currently focusing on. Even after writing 25% of the first draft, I am constantly thinking about what the novel is about, how I can make it even more interesting and readable. And of course I’m thinking these things, I can hear you say, it's only 25% done! And on the first draft no less! You are right, I think. 

The idea for writing this novel came as I was working on pixel art for my indie videogame, with the exact same title. Basically I’m making this video game, and thought, why not get the story down first, and make it great, by writing a novel version of it! That way I’ll know what art assets I need to do because the story will already be written. I guess one doesn’t need to write a whole novel for their script that is meant to be a videogame, but in this case, I think it would. 

My thoughts surrounding this project are currently on the themes. One I was thinking would fit is “belief isn’t weakness”. And while that theme is good for what this novel will be, I understand it might change, blah blah blah. But one thing I know I want to be part of this book is the sense of childhood. I mean the familiar places in your neighborhood, the way a child looks at the world, the stories that you and your friends told each other that turned out to be false, etc. The whole book will take place close to the main character’s home. Their school, a church, an abandoned mill, a nearby frog pond, streams, everywhere a 4th grader could go. Or rather, the places that were important when one explored during summer, or after school. I’ve heard this type of video game is called “a slice of life”, and yeah I can see that. But it's also a combination of some of my favorite action RPGs, so it won’t just be a slice of life. 

Incorporating these childhood wonders into a coherent, interesting, and well thought story is the task at hand, and I feel a little stuck on how to accomplish this. I’m trying to also make sure it reads like a novel, and less a video game. But I hope to incorporate all the places, characters, and themes back into its intended videogame form after the novel is done. I want the novel, and the videogame to be amazing. Stay tuned as I try to cobble all these words and characters into something coherent. 

Sincerely,

Kurt Jensen

Photo  that isn't pixel art by sunrisepohtam on Pixabay