Here’s a little account of the creation of my first published short story, “Pilgrimage to Earth”. Please be aware that there are SPOILERS in this article.
The Opportunity
The folks at Aussie Speculative Fiction (ASF) are a great bunch. I love how they cultivate interest and creativity in the speculative fiction field in Australia and New Zealand. I had already signed the contract for Fire Over Troubled Water with them, so when they advertised for their upcoming Journeys anthology, I thought I’d have a go.
The Journeys anthology was to be a successor to ASF’s previously published Beginnings anthology. They required short stories of between 2,500 and 5,000 words in any speculative genre on the broad theme of “Journeys”. Being a science fiction author, I knew I would write something in that genre.
An Idea
As with any themed submission call, I started researching unique spins on what I could write. It wasn’t long before I settled on something I was already familiar with: water. You see, I was in the middle of drafting Fire Over Troubled Water, and I wanted to explore the themes of a global flood a bit more. I wanted something set much further into the future, but still on Earth. I think even before the nuts and bolts of the story came together, I already had the title, “Pilgrimage to Earth”, set in stone. Basically, I wanted to tell a story about a human who comes to Earth and sees its flooded state for the first time. Remember the theme: “Journeys”. I’ll write more about this soon.
Research
I needed something deeper than just a flooded Earth. For me, it wasn’t enough for a protagonist to come to Earth, see cities covered by the ocean, and then go home. I wanted more than just a physical journey. The journey had to be internal, as well.
Over the course of my research, I happened across a 2018 article by Brian Kahn on gizmodo.com.au entitled “An Underwater Sculpture in the Maldives Is the Perfect Monument to Climate Change”. This article reported on a sculpture created by artist Jason deCaires Taylor. This sculpture, called the Sculpture Coralarium, was built off the Maldivian coast—underwater—and was designed to highlight the current and future effects of climate change on low-lying inhabited areas. Sadly, the Maldivian government pulled down the sculpture in September 2018 due to local religious sensibilities.
With this beautiful expression of interest in Earth’s climate in mind, I decided to write “Pilgrimage to Earth” to build on the message Jason deCaires Taylor was trying to portray in his sculpture. Thus, my own sculpture, Elegy for Gaia, was born.
I wanted to put Elegy for Gaia in the Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The sculpture needed to show not only the end result of humankind’s mistakes, but be a marker for the progressive failures of environmental accountability. I would also use the Great Barrier Reef as an object lesson for my protagonist. In seeing this statue and learning the (future) history of the Reef, the protagonist would change her mind on the importance of this issue and her own role as an environmentally-conscious adult back home on Mars.
January 2020 Update
Months after writing “Pilgrimage to Earth”, I discovered that Taylor was building a sculpture of his own in the same place where my story is set. Though the design and purpose of his creation is different compared to mine, some of the other details are quite uncanny. I was particularly interested to learn that his statue changes colour to reflect the changing sea temperature—so much more high-tech than mine! If I had known about this project, I might not have written my story. Nevertheless, now there are two similar creative projects set in the same location, but highlighting two different environmental concerns.
Writing
Writing “Pilgrimage to Earth” was different to most other short stories I’ve written. The subject matter and construction of the story was the deepest I had ever attempted. You see, my main desire in storytelling is exactly that—storytelling, plain and simple. If I can spin a good yarn, I’m happy. If others enjoy my yarns, I’m even happier. So when I write about deeper topics and use more complex techniques—stuff with morals, warnings, and purpose-made analogies and metaphors—it’s actually quite unnatural for me. I enjoyed the experience, though, and it impressed upon me a hidden ability to write in that style and somehow make it publishable. It was a learning experience, and one that I hope to apply again in future stories.
Despite “Pilgrimage to Earth” being a challenge to write, I managed to do it in two days. This was due to a mix of necessity and the flow of the writing process. I was running very late in the submission period, so I had to get something done fast. I was lucky(?) to have the flu, which meant I had plenty of time to write. To this day, churning out a 3,200-word short story and editing it multiple times in two days is something I’m still proud of.
Accepted
I take it with a grain of salt whenever I get a rejection letter. But when ASF accepted “Pilgrimage to Earth”, I was elated! My first short story sale! And in an anthology, no less.
The usual post-sale business took place—a contract, further editing, a cover reveal, and so on. The anthology debuted at Supanova Adelaide on November 1, 2019 and was released to the world on December 7, 2019.