Many a moon ago, when I was many moons younger, I told you I’d be doing more fiction. Then I forgot all about it and posted zero fiction, apart from the occasional “totally true story.” That’s because I’m an unreliable, untrustworthy asshole who will never amount to anything and also smells funny. My mom was right!
Jokes aside, I’ve been slow on the fiction front, so I’m trying once again to rectify this. To that end, allow me to introduce to you—Nano.
What’s a Nano?
Nano is one billionth part of something, and…wait, wrong notes. Nano is potentially a novel. At this stage, there’s only a single chapter. Consider it a sort of “pilot episode” for a TV series. If people like it, it may continue. If everyone hates it, I’ll cry like a baby and call everyone “poo-poo heads” and other evil names. I’m not above that.
Nano‘s first (and, so far, only) chapter came about as a result of a random writing session—a fully “pantser” happening. I had it written up in the middle of last year, then didn’t do anything more with it. Now I am. I have no overarching plot in place and no clear idea of where it’s heading. It’s just a something that may turn into a something bigger. There.
On the plus side, it has a sort of eBook cover, so you know it’s legit:
Why the chapter-by-chapter approach?
Because writing a whole novel is like, really hard, you guys. Seriously, I have the attention span of a rabid rabbit. I can’t possibly focus on one book long enough to push out a complete work. I’m no Carrie Rubin, with her fancy concepts like “outlines” and “writing tools” and “actually knowing what the hell the novel is about.”
So instead I’m pushing out a single chapter, to see how that goes. Maybe I’ll get some ideas from the readers. Maybe I’ll be able to gauge the response and get motivated to write further. Maybe the chapter will sink into the bottomless void of self-published strings of words, never to be seen again. The sky’s the limit.
Earlier this year I submitted the chapter to JukePop Serials, and I’m happy to say they’ve accepted and published it.
What’s JukePop Serials?
JukePop Serials is a website that publishes curated serials from different writers. It’s free to sign up and read the stories. Try it.
JukePop Serials is one of the few places on the Internet that is attempting to rekindle people’s interest for serial fiction. Readers get to follow their favourite stories as they develop. Authors get exposure and compete for cash prizes by collecting votes. Personally, I’m in it for the chance to construct a novel with reader involvement and feedback.
What can I do?
You can go read the first chapter of Nano, for starters.
If you don’t like it, no harm done. Walk away from it silently and pretend we’ve never spoken before. I have your IP address and know where you live, but don’t let that worry you.
If you like it, awesome. I’d be happy if you gave the chapter a “+” vote, because that’ll help me get visibility and encourage me to write more chapters. If you have constructive criticism, bring it on. I’m thick-skinned, so don’t be afraid to hurt my feelings—I’m a soulless monster and have none. Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHAHA!
If you love it, you’re my new best friend. I’ll call you Besty McFriendster, because I’m mentally five years old. You’re always welcome to leave a comment, or even a mini-review, directly on the JukePop Serials site. This could be super valuable for when I develop things further.
In conclusion: Please join me on this wondrous journey as I stumble forward in a blind attempt to slap together a semblance of a novel. Read the first chapter here.
Nest Expressed 
Awesome!! Looking forward to reading! Great job!
LikeLike
Thanks!
LikeLike
Daniel, I just read your chapter, and I definitely think you’re off to a great start. Your characters have depth and substance. They are also believable, without trying too hard. Great job weaving three genres together – sci-fi, mystery AND romance – impressive.
LikeLike
Thanks Karen, I appreciate the feedback!
I’m already working on the rest of the skeleton, so I expect to continue the story in the coming weeks/months.
LikeLike
Cool. I look forward to seeing how it develops over time.
LikeLike
You’re writing a book? With a cover and everything? Seriously, you rock. Writing a book is hard. Haaaard.
LikeLike
“Writing” is the key word here. Not “have written,” not even a “have an outline for.” But, yup…I’ll see if I can take this further! And thanks!
LikeLike
good luck to you on this venture. warning: it can totally overtake your life if you get into it. but so much fun and aggravation, but stick with the fun. i’m going to over and give it a look. 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks. I must say I’m already getting overwhelmed by thinking of having to live up to the promise and move forward. At the same time: Yes, I expect it to be a lot of fun!
LikeLike
i’ve just finished it. i think there’s a lot of potential there. you’ve got a interesting start and good grasp of pacing and dialogue which is so important. if you do move forward, i hope you enjoy the journey. it’s all consuming. good luck!!
LikeLike
I appreciate you taking the time to read through it. Thank you!
And thanks for the feedback. I’ll try and pull myself together to move forward with it!
LikeLike
I feel your pain. I am trying to write a novel too and am a quarter of a way through my first chapter and it is SLOW going. The idea of planning and writing a whole storyline is terrifying, It might take a while at this rate ….. 🙂
LikeLike
Well, as they say—Rome wasn’t built in a day by a bunch of hooligans in green T-shirts. Let’s see how this serial approach works out.
LikeLike
Great first chapter by the way. You got a vote from me, looking forward to the next instalment. Quite interested in this whole Juke Box site, might have to give it a go once my first chapter is complete!
LikeLike
Thanks, I appreciate it!
And yeah, I can definitely recommend checking JukePop out. At the very least you’ll get a sense of whether you’re heading in the right direction.
LikeLike
You’re a man of many talents, Daniel.
I don’t usually read scj-fi, but your first chapter is excellent – fast paced, distinctive characters and your sense of humor all make for an absorbing read. I’ve registered to read more. And congratulations on achieving publication of your first chapter on this site; I suspect it is competitive.
LikeLike
Thanks, Bryan. Great to hear you’ve enjoyed it. I’ll be working on continuing the story!
LikeLike
Great start….more, more…dont leave me hanging
LikeLike
Whoa, that was fast. Thanks!
“More,” you say? I’ll try my best.
LikeLike
Congrats on getting accepted by JukePop! Very cool. I look forward to reading your chapter when I get a chance. I’m sure it will be entertaining.
Thanks for the mention. Appreciate it! I admire your pantsing technique. My right brain doesn’t dare overshadow my left, so I’m an outliner all the way.
Have a good one! I’ll pull up your chapter tonight when I get back to my hotel room. 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks. It’s a tiny step, but hopefully it will give me enough of a push to go further.
I realise full well that I can’t avoid outlining and planning ahead, at least to some extent, if I am to actually continue shaping it.
Will be appreciative of any feedback. Good or bad. I mean it.
LikeLike
Wow, Daniel, that’s really good. Sincerely. You start out swift, right into the action, without bogging the reader down with backstory. You then elegantly weave in the necessary backstory as you go, both through credible dialogue and character introspection.That is not easy to do. It’s tempting to dump too much too soon, so worried we are that the readers won’t understand. And your ending? Perfect for leaving us wanting more.
I’m very impressed. In fact, are you sure you want to keep publishing chapters online? You’ve got the makings for a great book here!
I’ll go back and register on the site to give it a ‘plus.’ Thanks for a great read over my lunch hour!
LikeLike
Whoa, thanks for the great feedback. Glad it had you reading.
And the ending was meant as a good cliffhanger, but now the challenge will be to address/resolve it in a credible way that does it justice!
Actually, it’s precisely because I think there’s potential that I want to keep publishing it online and keep getting reader feedback.
With JukePop’s ToC, I am perfectly within my rights to repackage it as a complete book later on and publish it elsewhere. So that may end up happening if it goes somewhere.
Again, thanks for the feedback and, in advance, for the “+”!
LikeLike
Oh, good. Glad the publishing elsewhere is still an option.
LikeLike
Daniel- I am SO EXCITED! Do you see me jumping around?
Listen young man. I will go read your chapter and I will vote and I will send you feedback. Yay!!! Go you!
I’m about to head out for the day, but I will be in touch with a few words of encouragement, thoughts, etc.
I’m simply thrilled! Go Daniel!!!!
LikeLike
Of course I see you jumping around. I have hidden cameras installed in the houses of all my readers. I fear I may have said too much. Disregard that.
Awesome. Any feedback (good and bad) will be much appreciated! Thank you.
LikeLike
Just read it and WOW! You’ve started off with a bang! I really like your main character Reyd. It is going to take me a bit to get use to his name but it’s definitely memorable. He’s smart, funny, a bit rebellious. He’s a guy I want to know more about.
You’ve done a great job building this world and feeding us lots of details within the scenes.
Great job Daniel. Impressive. Truly!
LikeLike
Thanks for the encouragement, Pam. Glad you’ve enjoyed the start. And thank you for leaving a review on JukePop too.
I also quite like the world of Nano, now the tricky part is getting a solid plot in place to support it! But I’ll try.
LikeLike