I'm 130 pages into Gypsy's Return and having one hell of a time. For one thing I'm out of my depth. I am not a sci-fi writer and yet I'm tackling a time-travel tale that encompasses all sorts of social and political themes. For instance, how do events in the past effect the future? Does anyone know the answer to this? The possibilities are endless. I was at first trying to follow a logical trajectory but have since decided that the law of unintended consequences is a better way to go. That way I don't have to explain why effecting a change for the better in genetic engineering policies led to a repressive and intolerant future. (what?)
And every day I find more fodder for my book. This is the first time I can look at what's going on in the world without being overly upset. The themes of global warming, poverty, frakking, mining disasters, over-population, depletion of natural resources, including water, are all perfect for my book. My heroine is attempting to make things better for future generations but what she doesn't realize is that serendipity can skew things wildly one way or the other. There is no straight line to anything.
The other paradox of all this is that the people in the future either have or don't have a memory of the world that was destroyed by past events...As the writer, I ask myself, what gives some the ability to recall a past that no longer exists? And what is it that keeps some from remembering? Or maybe, if I was writing logically, no one should remember. But if no one remembers how do I have interaction between my heroine and those she once knew in the future? aargh...
If anyone has a comment/answer to any of these questions I would be thrilled to hear it! And thanks for reading...
