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A year ago today, I had ideas for characters and scenes that just wouldn’t leave my head until I wrote them down. So, I gave in. I opened a document titled “Star Wars story” and just jotted down individual scenes. I didn’t want to commit to a story. I didn’t want to give the characters names or faces. While putting the ideas down in writing did get the ideas out of my head, they were only replaced with more ideas. I eventually caved and Masina, Arro, Jax, Kyra, and Nix were “born”. I found myself writing as a form of escapism whenever I had a free moment, completely unaware of how the world was about to change.
When COVID and quarantine hit, the document titled “Star Wars story” became an even more important outlet. I actually ended up fully finishing the story at a grand total of 80k words, but the ideas still kept coming. Kept growing. I had revisions, a different way of telling the story I wanted to tell. So I started a new document and scrapped everything except for the first nine chapters. At last count, I’ve written a total of 107k words and I’m a little over halfway through telling the story I set out to tell.
While I started writing on January 13, 2020, it took another four months to be convinced to actually make the leap and post this online. My husband kept insisting it was good and I should share it, but I was convinced it was best left tucked away on my personal computer. When he did finally convince me to post it and helped me come up with both a title and summary, I thought maybe one person would hate it, read it, and move on. Then my hits kept going up, my kudos kept going up. All the stats we’re told to ignore as authors, but of course, this world was new to me so I couldn’t help but look. Then one day I got my first comment. The fact that even one person has read this still blows my mind and I’m very humbled. People connecting with characters and themes is more than I ever could have hoped for.
This journey also led me down the path of making some amazing internet friends who have become a part of daily life now. As the story continued to grow, I sought out Star Wars experts to try to make the story stronger. I’m so grateful for my first internet friend, Har’Tracyn, both for your friendship and advisement you’ve provided and continue to provide. That friendship also spawned my creation of the Star Wars Fanfic Discord server, bringing over even more friends I made along the way to help build the community. Listing in the order I met each of you - Koumine, Nix, Lithvirax, Retribution, Uncanny Valley Girl, Fenris, Seren, and Luuke. I’m so thankful for the strange little family we’ve built. All the members of the SWFF Discord, you help so many create and daydream. The community as a whole is so welcoming, encouraging, and kind - even as we continue to grow. I’m biased, but it’s truly a bright corner on the internet. Last but certainly not least, for my amazing beta Alex. The amount of dedication you’ve given to both my story and my personal life means more than you’ll know. Please know I’m trying hard to build my buffer back up so we can resume our usual routine!
Most of all, thank you to the readers. I try to not pay too much attention to stats now that I know better, but comments always make my day. It’s mind-blowing to me that I’m writing something I enjoy, I’m telling a story I want to tell, and people care enough to comment. You are all wonderful, amazing people, and give me that additional fuel on days when self-doubt takes hold.
Thanks for indulging me in this reflection. I’m very thankful that I did start that file (which is still titled “Star Wars story” on my computer) so it logged when I first created this whole thing. Thank you for being part of my escape, my creation, my journey.
Oh, and happy “birthday” to these characters! I love them all, even when they're a pain. (Top row, left to right: Nix, Arro, Garssan. Bottom row, left to right: Kyra, Masina, Jax.)
