Moonsland: Making of

  When I wrote Moonsland, I never actually thought I’d finish the book. Truth be told, I started without really knowing what I was doing. This article is precisely for that: to share the behind-the-scenes of a process that taught me so much, to show some curiosities, and reveal a few of the inspirations behind the pages. Fair warning – if you haven’t read the book yet, this article contains spoilers.

The First Idea

  The first “idea” was barely an idea at all. I remember simply starting to write, without any clear direction. I had a few loose scenes in mind and imagined my own school as the main setting. In practice, none of that survived over time. It was only as the days went by – and with the help of my creativity, which finally kicked in – that the pieces started to come together.
  When I properly started writing the book, I wanted to begin with something strong. So I wrote what I was feeling that day. That gave rise to the introspective tone of the first page. The result? James, the main character, ended up inheriting some of my traits – not all, but enough to be almost a reflection of what I was going through.
  The city where everything takes place was also born out of a practical limitation: my laziness to research real distances between cities. I thought, “If I invent a city, I won’t have to worry about the logistics.” And that’s how Moonsland and Mandsvield came to be – two towns separated by a forest, surrounded by mountains that, in the map I imagined, form the shape of a moon. The two cities already carried the seed of a future idea – the one that’s now my third book, still in progress. And the moon... the moon was something very present in the relationship I had at the time.
  In fact, it was that very same person, an avid reader, who kept encouraging me not to give up on this project. Even though I finished the book after our relationship ended (for the second and final time), I felt it was only fair to include her in the acknowledgements. She would read what I wrote and offer suggestions. I, in turn, kept going, scene by scene, writing what the characters themselves demanded.
  If there needed to be an argument? I wrote it. A quiet moment? I wrote that too. The process was, in a way, organic – almost as if I were merely transcribing what they wanted to live.

Character Creation

  As I’ve mentioned, James has bits of me in him. His past and certain traits were inspired by personal experiences, but I didn’t create him as a copy of myself. I prefer to leave a piece of me in each book, so that those who know me might discover my story through the stories I tell.
Emily was created from idealized traits, while the other characters came to life as the plot demanded.
  The biggest challenge in creating the characters? The names. It’s probably the part I hate the most. I always feel the need to find names that match each character’s personality, which ends up costing me a lot of time. It’s also hard to build complex characters, with traits that make sense together and don’t come across as forced.

Plot Development

  I think the biggest turning points in the story were two: James’s car accident and the revelation of his past. The revelation was a way of showing how untreated trauma can shape the present. The accident served to shake the reader just when everything seemed to be heading toward a predictable ending.
  The father’s death, the mother’s death – whose morality was ambiguous – and James’s near-death experience were all ways of showing that not everything goes according to plan.
  The final scene in the bandstand was an idea I had from the beginning. I’ve always loved bandstands and, since I’ve never had a romantic moment in one, I figured I could live it through writing.
  And the open ending? Yes, that was intentional. Questions like “Did James end up with Wilson’s Industries?” remain unanswered. That’s something I want to repeat in all my books – leaving the reader to reflect on the endless possibilities of what might happen. And, of course, it also gives me space to reuse certain characters, if I ever feel like it.

Quotes That Stayed With Me

Two quotes in particular mean a lot to me:

·       “With you by my side, I’d accept immortality.”
(Easter egg: this was his reply to a conversation the couple had on the mountain about how awful it would be to live forever.)

·       “Being around you is falling in love with you every single day as if it were the first time.”

  Both were things I said to my girlfriend at the time, on a night when we were exhausted but still decided to express how much we loved each other. Saving them in the book was the most beautiful way I found to immortalize that moment.

The Process and What I Learned

  Throughout the writing, I stopped several times. I wanted to quit so many more. I cried in some parts because they felt too real – it was my soul doing the writing.
  With Moonsland, I learned how to write better. I learned that not everything needs to be described in minute detail – sometimes, you just need to show through action. I learned that I’m capable of starting and finishing a project of this scale. And above all, I learned that I’m good at creating stories from scratch.

Conclusion

  Moonsland was more than just a book: it was an important part of my personal growth. If you’ve already read it, I invite you to leave a comment on this article with your favourite parts – I’d really love to know what stayed with you after you closed the last page.

And stay tuned, because the next article will be:
“Moonsland 2: Book Presentation”. Yes, there are more stories to be told.