Norah Woodsey: On Writing THE STATES
I
n the spring of 2020, the first draft of my second novel The Control Problem was coming together. A hard science fiction story, it blends a woman’s experiences of young adulthood and the creation of a super-intelligent artificial intelligence. I had spent years on research, reading weighty tomes considered the bedrock of AI thinking, women’s experiences in medical experimentation, and odd nonfiction pieces on the tech transhumanism movement. The book is funny at times, but generally a dark commentary on the power withheld from us by modern society. But as the severity of the Covid-19 epidemic came into focus, my productivity wavered. It was difficult to write a story of doom when doom was all around. My mom, an RN, had delayed her retirement to do her part even as her colleagues ended up as patients. Ambulance sirens echoed over every call with my siblings back home in New York City. I was safe, but not untouched by what was happening.
When I am overwhelmed, I watch Jane Austen adaptations or house hunting shows in Europe or anything that pulls me from the present. For November 2020’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), I wanted to create a similar escape for a reader, full of what I was yearning for, what I know, and what a reader will enjoy. If I am a professional writer, I told myself, I should be able to expand into other genres and write about love, friendships, and moving past regret. I paused development on The Control Problem and wrote a 60,000 word manuscript that would one day become The States.
The transition was a challenge at first. I’m comfortable reading journal articles and hardware schematics, and jotting down all the variations that come to mind. But I get more from reading and writing science fiction than describing devices. Science fiction at its best explores how people adjust their lives to a path our world may take, one with theoretical technology and familiar human behaviors. Similarly, a romance story is all about human frailty and motivation. Why we chase what we do, abandon what we shouldn’t, and learn what it takes to be happy.
I didn’t fully abandon science fiction for this novel. Realistic but fictional technology appears in all of my stories, and The States is no exception. I think of this book as my attempt to blend my favorite genres, a bit like John Carpenter’s Starman (1984), a romance film that still has the director’s characteristic edge. I made it easier for myself by setting the story in cities I know well; New York City, the city of my birth, and Galway, Ireland, where I have visited many times. I reused personal stories from my own visits, like men on a stag party cat calling me by singing Galway Girl. It was still difficult, as any new challenge should be, but I kept my goal in mind. I wanted to give readers an escape from their current problems in a beautiful setting that may be unfamiliar to them. In the end, science fiction and romance are departures from reality, but with different destinations.
—
NORAH WOODSEY is the author of The States, The Control Problem, Lifeless and the novella When the Wave Collapses. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, she currently lives in California with her husband, children, and their dog Saoirse. You can learn more about her at her website, norahwoodsey.com
THE STATES
From the acclaimed author of The Control Problem and Lifeless, Norah Woodsey offers a fresh twist on the beloved classic. Four years in the making, this novel was first drafted during NaNoWriMo 2020. Focusing on her love for Jane Austen and inspired by Galway, Ireland. Woodsey reinterprets Anne as a young contemporary woman faced with the harsh realities of her family’s situation and the desire to escape into a dream world.
Tildy Sullivan is the middle child in an elite yet fading Manhattan family. Her quiet practicality hides her deep, profound longing for childhood summers in western Ireland. She also carries a secret regret. After her mother’s death, she’s persuaded to abandon Ireland and the love of the local boy, Aiden.
When Tildy volunteers for a lucid dreaming experiment, it gives her all she wants – a life lived for her family during the day and a secret, perfect Ireland of her own at night. Will she face reality, or succumb to the ease of her dreams?
THE STATES is a modern reimagining of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, a story of love, obligation, and second chances.
BUY HERE
Category: On Writing
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
