A look into the world of the FORGED series

Forged Series: World-Building, One Microdose at a Time

To learn more about the FORGED series, visit the Table of Contents.

A look into the world of the FORGED series

One microdose at a time

What started out as a way to engage with fellow Substackers has turned into a helpful tool during my editing process. I watched the daily prompts from

Miguel S.

of

THE FICTION DEALER

(being the lurker that I am) for a couple of weeks.

I loved how each writer created a unique take on the suggested word, so on July 8th, I hopped on the bandwagon. Random date to start, I know. Mondays are good days to start building a new habit, right?

One thing … I needed inspiration for what direction to take with the daily prompt.

Since I was chin-deep in the process of incorporating the line edits from my publisher, Provender Press, and knowing that I struggle to read more than one story at a time, I decided to try my hand at using the prompts within the world of Tessa, the main character of the FORGED series.

I hope these microdoses of Tessa’s world will act like Megestrol or Cannabis on your appetite. Make you want to learn more—magnify your desire to read Shattered, the first book in the FORGED series, which will be released this fall.

Come back next week for an analysis of what I learned. (Writers, steal my process! And let me know how it works for you.)

Enjoy!

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7/08/24: WHEEL / 50 words

Tessa closed her eyes and sighed, weighted by the impossible decision. Completing the mission would give the Underground exactly what they seek—evidence to overthrow the Ryker administration. But was the Underground any better than those already in power? Perhaps a spin of the wheel would offer the correct answer.

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7/09/24: MAP / 50 words

Depression was like having her feet stuck in mud. Even the experimental treatment Dr. Weaver used to speak with Tessa’s subconscious wasn’t helping her along the path. Perhaps what Tessa needed was a map to find her way.

No. What she needed was for the accident to not have happened.

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7/12/24: ROUTINE / 100 words

Tessa turned the mid-flight corner, and there he stood–casually leaning against the wall, oblivious to students streaming past him. Isaiah was watching for one person only, and his face broke into a lopsided grin as his eyes locked with Tessa’s.

Warmth spread through Tessa’s chest. Dare she hope this was more than a coincidence? That this pattern–this waiting for her, eating lunch together–was a new routine for Isaiah because he chose to befriend a “stick” from the Wilds, an outsider who felt awkward in the technofiend urban center. Tessa found the blossoming friendship a surprising perk of her new life.

7/13/24: REFLECTION / 50 words

Pressing her forehead to the cool surface, Tessa blinked her eyes open. Beyond her ghost-like reflection, a blur of desert scrublands zipped past the speeding train. A monochromatic dusk sky stretched from the horizon. Barren, untamed, exotic. An alien landscape so different from the dense, forest-covered hills of her childhood.