“Seeds of Life”: Word Count Reaches 60,000

The draft for my first dystopian novel, Seeds of Life, has reached 60,000 words. 60,480 to be exact. Approximately two thirds of the story has been written.

All the characters who play a major role in the story have been introduced and have all met. At the moment, their personal conflicts attempt to tear the small group apart. They don’t realise they’ll have to band together to fight an even bigger threat to their well-being.

The year is 2050. After a major set-back, society is struggling to provide the basic things, such as food and shelter, and they’re working to recreate major technology that had provided basic conveniences, such as electricity.

Sounds strange, but it’s not really. Everyone can flick a switch to turn on a light, but many don’t know how to create electricity, built components needed, deliver the electricity or construct a lightbulb. It’s like a car: many people can drive one, but not everyone can tear apart the engine and rebuild it. These days, some don’t even know how to change the oil.

Finding a survivor who knows how to create electricity and then finding the components is a challenge when everything is lost and everyone is focussed on finding food for them and their family.

Civility has prevailed, and the barbaric actions of desperate people have faded into history.

The major parts of the story take place at Ravencroft, County Regal, where society exists under the monarch system of government. This felt like a natural progression, given the small population and small area governed by the individual. The whole of North America is governed this way, with hundreds of rulers spread across the continent – or at least this is what the residents of County Regal believe. At this point, only 28 years after the Devastation, there’s not much contact with far-off locations.

The Devastation was world-wide, so all societies are dealing with establishing a stable population with the basic needs of life. No one has any time for war… Or do they?

The first raw, unedited draft for Chapter 1, Scene 1 is found on the book’s page.