Transitions

It’s 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018, and I’m struggling with a spotty internet connection that has forced me to adjust my work plans for the day. I suppose it’s a good excuse to start writing my next blog, which admittedly is long overdue because of a recent and unexpected life transition. Transitions are necessary to keep any story moving forward. When executed properly, they add tension, build suspense, provide clarity—everything I’m currently experiencing after my recent decision to change companies.

The tension I’m feeling is a result of a slowing housing market, the suspense from starting over after nine years with my previous employer, and the clarity from knowing deep down this transition is leading me into a new and exciting chapter. Just like in real life, transitions in the writing world are either good or bad, smooth or abrupt. Take the following as an example of the latter.

A quick flashback: I completed the initial draft of my book in the summer of 2016 and set off on the road toward publication. I wrote query letters, began pitching my manuscript to literary agents, and hired professional editors. In the spring of 2017, I received my edits and realized my story still had a long way to go. I found myself at a crossroads, and I began to seriously contemplate whether to give up or to keep going.

I took a writing class during the summer of 2017 and, in a last ditch effort, hired a writing coach to help me figure out the best path forward. With his recommendations, I returned to the proverbial drawing board in January of this year and began to slowly reshape my story. I started by overhauling the structure of the book to a linear timeline despite knowing such a change would require me to add new chapters and rethink the plotline.

Much of my time this year has been spent staring at a computer screen, working out the mental knots in my head as I figured out the best way to transition between the old and the new. The story has expanded in size and scope, and my main character, Maven, has grown inside of my mind like never before. Re-outlining the book has been particularly challenging, but it has also provided important moments of clarity, none as important as my decision to rename the title from “Maven the Raven and the Tree of Life” to “Maven the Raven and the Search for the Last Imperial.”

I had never worked off an outline until this year because I felt it was impossible to outline a story I didn’t fully understand. Instead, I wrote on the fly and allowed things to unfold naturally. Imagine a chef creating a new dish for the first time. There is a trial and error process that goes into perfecting a final recipe. My problem was trying to cook without knowing all of the proper ingredients. With my outline nearing completion, however, it finally feels like I’m seeing the full recipe of my book for the first time. All I’m waiting for is to meet with my writing coach and discuss everything I’ve cooked up this past year.

As I transition into 2019, I can’t help but feel optimistic about where I am and the opportunities that await as long as I keep working hard and continue making progress. My New Year’s Resolutions are to spend more time writing, more time camping, and more time enhancing my photography and video editing skills. I have included some pictures of my recent trip to Palo Duro Canyon in October, and as I visit more state parks in 2019 I plan to post new video blogs of the footage I capture. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a preview of “Maven the Raven and the Search for the Last Imperial.”

A deadly flu outbreak has spread across the Imperial Forest, forcing a keystone species of woodpeckers to the brink of extinction. The sudden loss of the Imperial woodpeckers has created panic and instability throughout the surviving bird kingdoms as kings and queens take the necessary precautions to ensure their survival.

Maven is a raven and the heir of a royal family at odds with its militant owl neighbors to the north. Due to contamination, the owls have abandoned their traditional nesting sites inside the Imperial Forest and are intent on securing new nests by any means. After a surprise attack on his family’s nest, Maven narrowly escapes and begins a desperate search to find any surviving woodpeckers. He hopes that finding a woodpecker will end the conflict with the owls and reunite his family.

Maven comes into contact with a foreign macaw named Perce who is in a search of his own. Perce claims to know the location of an Imperial woodpecker and convinces Maven to see for himself. Together, the two battle vagrant vultures, roam inhospitable caves, and travel across long distances until they arrive at Turtle Island, Perce’s remote tropical home. The island is inhabited by a tribe of warrior macaws who await the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy that a savior king will rise to power and lead them into battle. It’s a prophecy that Maven ultimately realizes centers on him.

The Search for the Last Imperial is the first in a series of fantasy novels that uses various species of birds as main characters—including ravens, owls, bald eagles, and macaws. The story incorporates a plotline evolved around the natural behaviors of these majestic animals and explores universal themes of self-discovery, survival, and deception, as well as spiritual themes of identity, grace, and hope.

Follow me on Instagram at @Joshua_Maven or @HonchotheVan, on Twitter @MaventheRaven or Facebook at Facebook/TheLastImperial.