August has been a chaotic month–but in the best way. It started with KillerCon, followed by a brief respite, and then Worldcon. Still, I found time to work on the rewrite of my shared world collection Fall of the Infinite City.

With this project, there have been ups and downs, exhilaration and exhaustion, even moments where I considered putting the collection aside. But ultimately, it’s something I’m passionate about it, and I plan to follow through.

Update: Fall of the Infinite City

I completed the first major step in the rewrite: going through the manuscript and deciding what needs to be done. It’s been three years since I wrote these stories, and I assumed most of the collection would need to be rewritten from scratch. To my great relief, that was not the case. I did, however, remove two short stories that didn’t contribute to the overall narrative.

I can accomplish most of the changes involved with red ink. I surprised myself with how much I liked these stories all these years later. The majority were written without outlines yet managed to have developed characters and interesting plots. Still, there’s a lot of work to be done.

The collection is currently made up of:

• 1 novella
• 1 novelette
• 10 short stories
• 3 flash pieces

Even though each story focuses on a different aspect of the Infinite City, I’m connecting them with a common thread, a main narrative. Arranging these stories in the right order is one of my next tasks.

I’ve also decided to write a second novella that will serve as the reader’s introduction to this world, setting in motion events that will conclude in the novella at the end. All in all, I expect the entire collection to be around 70,000 words.

Longtime readers may have noticed the change in title. I thought Stories from the Infinite City wasn’t interesting enough, and more than that, it didn’t have the right ring to it. Thus, I’ve changed it to Fall of the Infinite City. As for genre, these days I’m calling it “dark science fantasy,” though it’s hard to label it.

Looking at all the work ahead of me, I’m a little daunted. It would be easier to rewrite a 70k word novel than a 70k word collection, but I’m determined to finish this. I’m sticking with my goal of having a completed, published product by August 2026.

Worldcon

Recently, I attended the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Seattle. Five days of panels, book buying, and general geekery. This convention takes place all over the world (it was in Glasgow last year), and I made it my goal to get as much out of it as I could while it was in my hometown.

I wandered the halls of the convention center, each floor promising new sights and experiences. I limited myself to 8 books despite the gargantuan Dealer’s Room filled with wonderful titles across the SFF spectrum. (A broken cash register saved me from buying way more.)

I attended over a dozen panels on writing, but I was too nervous to sign up for any classes/workshops with famous authors. I did, however, manage to find a seat at a panel featuring Robin Hobb, Fonda Lee, Terry Brooks, Stephen R. Donaldson, and Larry Niven!

I also ran into one of my favorite Booktubers, Jonathan from the channel Words in Time. It was an odd experience talking to someone whose voice and mannerisms I was familiar with yet had never met in person.

I stayed late Saturday night for the Hugo Awards. Since I didn’t want to wait hours for a good seat, I ended up in the very back of the massive ballroom. The song sung between award categories is still stuck in my head.

Going into it, I considered this to be a once in a lifetime experience, but I soon learned that Worldcon will take place in the US again next year, in Anaheim, and I might attend.

Whatever the case, it was a magical five days that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I’m still cursing myself that I didn’t take any photos while I was there. I guess I was too caught up in the experience.

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Currently Reading: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. I’m not much of a fantasy reader these days, but Sanderson’s 800-page novel is holding me captive. More than that, I’m reading it as an educational experience. Last year, I watched his lecture series on writing SFF, and I’m studying his work to see how he accomplishes what he preaches.

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Hopefully, next month, I’ll have more accomplishments to share about the Infinite City. Like I said in my last post, I hope to chart my progress if for no other reason than to motivate myself.

Until then,

Zé