Choices

Hi all, I’m faced with a number of choices related to this blog. I thought I’d turn to the readership for advice.

Fan fiction project?

My first puzzle is this. I’m thinking of embarking on a fan fiction writing project set in the Star Wars Universe, published here of course, with the aim of drawing in new readers by dabbling in fiction. My overall goal would be to portray a more morally and psychologically complex take on Star Wars- to make it more, for want of a better word, literary. I have three different options:

1. A single point of divergence story. As Yoda and Darth Sidious duel in the galactic senate, one of Yoda’s strikes, that, in the movie, missed by millimeters, lands, cleaving through the Sith Lord’s brain and killing him instantly. In that same moment though, Sidious stabs him through the heart. They die together on the senate floor.

Anakin feels his master’s death in the force and flees before Obi-Wan can find him. The galaxy faces an uncertain future, many are uncertain who betrayed the Republic- the Jedi or the dead chancellor? Anakin, brimming with palpable self-loathing and fury yet untrained in the ways of the dark side tries to create a new Sith order in his image, while Obi-Wan tries to rally the remaining Jedi, at least 80% of whom, including almost all the leadership, are dead.

Pros: Gives people a starting point they’re familiar with. A rich story of political machination and psychological conflict. Lot’s of material to work with.

Cons: There’s a lot of lore I would have to know and integrate, even if I only treated the movies as canonical.

2. A story set 13,000 years before the events of the first movie, after the creation of the Jedi, yet before the coming of the Sith. The Jedi order deal with a breakaway faction drawn use to the dark side of the force, yet this faction isn’t comically evil like the Sith. The reader grapples with genuine uncertainty as to which faction is in the right.

Pros: A tabula rasa to do with as I please, room for a more philosophically oriented story.

Cons: A tabula rasa, giving me less preexisting material to work with.

3. Don’t write any story.

What’s your preference?

Which cover for my book is best?

Here are the factors to keep in mind. I’m running Amazon ads for my books. That means I want to encourage people to click on the ad but only if they’re likely to buy it. Because I pay for click.

All other things being equal, more clicks is good yet at the same time fewer clicks where people don’t purchase is also good.

This second consideration is why some of my possible designs are pretty text heavy- people accidentally clicking on the book, say, because they thought it was a children’s books, might cost money I can’t afford.

The book is being sold by way of key words related to philosophy, psychology, politics etc. so people aren’t necessarily coming in cold.

Text can be adjusted. Tell me what your favorite is visually, and what the text should say.

As always, if you want to buy my book, you can here.