One of the only upsides to losing the first chapter of the novel I’m working on is that I’m pretty sure that I’m writing it better. I have a better idea of how I want the chapter to go, at least.
The “problem” is now wanting to put all-the-things in that first chapter. Like an alien race… I almost never write aliens because I don’t have a mind that works well on the concept of “not human.” Like, most aliens you think of are usually just humans with some slight cosmetic changes. David Brin does some incredible things with properly-alien aliens in the Uplift series, but I have no illusions of being able to replicate that. Sometimes my humans are somewhat weird humans, though… atypical, at the very least. So maybe I’ll do that for this novel? Future humans meeting more primitive humans? That’s basically alien (or magic, depending on who you ask).
Anyway, I don’t think I’ll be putting aliens in this novel. But maybe. Might be a nice change of pace…
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!