I’m excited to share with you all that I stayed up late on October 31 or perhaps it was very early on November 1 of this year, all in the spirit of kicking off NaNoWriMo month. For this year’s NaNoWriMo, I’ve ventured into a new genre that’s completely uncharted territory for me: a dystopian urban fiction. The novel I’m crafting is titled “The Unregistered Male,” and I’m embracing the pen name “Nathaniel Theos” for this creative journey.
Now, for those who might be new to the concept, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It’s a global event that takes place every November, where writers challenge themselves to complete a 50,000-word novel in just 30 days. It’s a time of frenzied creativity, late-night writing sessions, and a strong sense of community among writers worldwide.
My new novel, “The Unregistered Male,” transports us to a distant humanoid planet called Solis. This planet has a tumultuous past, marred by violence and corruption, with three world wars shaping its history. Out of the ashes of the Solis Global War, a matriarchy emerged as the new ruling power, with a mission to save the planet from its violent and corrupt tendencies.
Over the course of 3,000 years, this matriarchy has nurtured and preserved a state of peace, characterized by ethical living for over 1,500 years. One of their pivotal actions was to mandate that boys register their DNA at the tender age of 8 and, by the time they reach 16, they are required to wear a tracking collar. Failure to comply with these rules brands them as “Unregistered Males,” instantly rendering them ineligible for work and breeding, effectively making them outcasts.
These unfortunate individuals are then cast to the barren, uninhabitable wastelands at the edge of civilized lands, left to survive or perish at the mercy of the harsh elements. To the leadership of Solis, this growing issue of unregistered males poses a significant threat to their peaceful way of life.
On Solis, the role of men is limited to two purposes: traditional domestic work and breeding. The rich, powerful, and political elites can afford the best breeding stock to ensure healthy, female offspring, while less fortunate women who desire to bear children must take a chance with older breeding stock or resort to purchasing fatherhood in a frozen vile.
Intimacy with a male has become a privilege reserved for the rich, powerful, and connected, creating a stark divide in society. Yet, deep within the traditional male training campuses, a rebellion is quietly gaining momentum, challenging the established order.
As I embark on this NaNoWriMo journey, I’m eager to delve deeper into this dystopian world and explore the characters, their struggles, and the evolution of this rebellion. I invite you to join me on this creative adventure, as I pour my heart into “The Unregistered Male” and endeavor to bring this thought-provoking tale to life. Let’s celebrate the power of storytelling and the boundless imagination of NaNoWriMo together!