Why I wrote The Water Carriers

The Water Carriers in paperback and Kindle format

There are so many reasons why I started writing The Water Carriers. I’ve had many book ideas before now. The real question is why did I finish writing this book?

The last few years have been bizarre. During the Covid-19 lockdown, I often thought about how to prepare for emergencies. Ultimately, I concluded that preparing for the worst was smart, but I didn’t want to wait for the worst to happen. The best future for my children, now nine and ten, wasn’t a well-stocked bugout bag but a world where we didn’t worry about droughts, fires, or civil unrest.

The Genre

So, I set out to write a near-future dystopian novel that explored the worst path for our society and presented an alternative way forward. I was perhaps one-third of the way through my book when I realized it wasn’t dystopian—at least not the societal dystopia we generally think of: totalitarian governments, surveillance states, and class stratification.

There was a strong climate fiction vibe. I had built a world where environmental catastrophes had changed society forever. It was post-apocalyptic, but not how people usually imagine such fiction. I was exploring the idea that no matter how catastrophic a situation, people always want to return to normalcy—a post-post-apocalyptic story. The genre my novel most aligned with was speculative fiction. Exploring “what if” scenarios that spring from our current reality.

The Story Kernal

In July 2022, I wrote in my notebook, “It always rains in Taiwan.” No doubt, I was thinking about the lack of rain in California. I began researching what would happen if it stopped raining. What if there was no rain for five or ten years?

In articles on the environment and climate change, I often encountered a statement that developing nations would be hit the hardest. This implies that first-world nations should recycle soda cans so that other countries don’t slip under the sea or run out of water.

It’s a nice thought, but nature is unpredictable, and that was the beginning of my story. What if first-world nations faced prolonged drought while the only nations with water were developing countries? The balance of power would shift dramatically. Everything we know about the world today would be turned upside down, especially if I concentrated all the power within two families.

I decided to write a story where the drought didn’t end, but civilization rebounded. Technology picked up where it left off, and people returned to the office and enjoyed parties with friends. Anything to make life feel normal in a world where more than half the population had died and people had only recently been fighting to survive.

It wouldn’t be an easy path for the water families either. If all the water in the world fell in only two places, the rain would never stop. The floods would be horrific, followed by disease and collapsed infrastructure. It must be tamed before my two superpowers could rise to prominence. Once they did, they would rapidly change, much like oil-rich nations or great shipping nations of the past.

The Protagonist

The protagonist, Kasemchai, is the playboy son of the Cambodian water family. Early on, I decided he was instrumental to the ending I wanted to achieve, but he presented a big challenge. It’s tough to make a wealthy playboy endearing.

This was compounded halfway through the book when I realized Liv, the secondary character, progressed through a fantastic character arc as she rose from a downtrodden subordinate to the leader of a powerful technology company. Her development made it even harder to relate to Kasemchai, who appeared more like a whiny rich kid.

That’s when I dialed up the treachery and setbacks. To truly evolve, he had to be tested on multiple levels. That revelation made him someone I cared for and helped ensure a much more triumphant ending. In a tragic world, I wanted to leave the reader with a sense of hope and accomplishment.

Is there a message?

Books are a unique form of storytelling. When we watch a movie, we passively absorb the visuals and sounds. A book triggers images in your mind. When I read, I often pause to let my mind wander along tangents. I encouraged that as much as possible through unique characters, descriptions, and conflict. I added a glossary to the end because I had invented so many words and concepts.

My goal was to give the reader food for thought. I wanted the writing to disappear and the story to move you forward. I will proudly carry the label of consumer fiction if that means the story grabs your attention and moves quickly.

So, why did I finish this novel? I was busy at work and needed a distraction. I appreciate good stories and love trying new things. Perhaps most importantly, I wanted to do something tangible to ensure my kids could see that I had left the world better than I had found it. Pass it on.