Coe Lansdell

She/her, 30s, introvert, Enneagram 5w6. Ravenclaw.

[cblansdell]

2nd Draft of Debut Sci-fi Novel Complete

From my blog: https://cblansdell.wordpress.com/blog/

With frozen fingers, I am typing this on a sunny but chilly winter’s day. Earlier this month, I completed my 2nd Draft of A Moon Apart (working title). I also celebrated my birthday and booked a proofreader/ line editor to follow on from my copy editor. Writing is a solitary exercise, but you need a team of capable people to help you bring out the best in your work.

Over the next few months, I will do a final pass over my novel before handing it over to my editor in November. I am an outliner, so I had a chapter-by-chapter plan at the beginning, but I admit it has changed significantly over time. I need to check for continuity errors and places where I say the same thing in different ways. A Moon Apart is the first half of a duology so there is also much being set up in the background.

In August I plan to add a gallery here so I can share my concept art with you. I work as an illustrator so I find the visual aspect of worldbuilding exciting to explore.

[cblansdell]

Cities are so exciting to look at but quite tricky to create from scratch. This image is about conveying the feeling of an improbable place – a city in a gorge. On a world with long days and nights, it is most comfortable to live in the deep shade of a sheltered gap in the ground. This part near the surface is known as the Traditional Quarter because it is the oldest section of my (as yet unnamed) alien city. Even the newer buildings here are constructed using ancient methods. This place, or one like it, will appear in my first novel, set to be published next year. More details to follow in the months to come.

[cblansdell]

A side character design for my sci-fi story. Ailyn is one of the esteemed guests at an inventors' conference. Humanoid aliens are overdone but I find it easier to write expressions in beings that resemble us to some extent. One of the best things about science fiction, is that you can get away with giving characters the most elaborate headdresses and gowns.

[cblansdell]

More world building. Secrets of the metaphysical are closely guarded by the Guild – here the bounds of nature are tested.

[cblansdell]

Coastal Mountain Sketch

Lighting adds such a mood to any scene. You can't always capture the subtleties of it in writing.

[cblansdell]

A young student flees her coastal city after mistakenly being linked with a rebel faction. Merfolk or water people have always fascinated me. I also enjoy cyberpunk aesthetics so I'd like to combine the two in a series. Maybe that sounds like the Aquaman movie (which I actually quite liked) but I am going for a less colourful approach, with more grounded technology. The story also wouldn't place these creatures alongside humans – or in this world. I want this account to have a specific focus. I plan to publish a novella of stories set in the same continuity. On the way to reaching that goal, I will share character designs and a bit of world building here.