A while ago I mentioned that I was working on a new series called the Investigative Privateers. Book one, The Horned Scarab, was suppose to come out late October (hah--hah). Obviously that hasn’t happened, and for the moment it has been postponed until early 2016.
Read MorePlaying Witcher 1 /
I’ve finally got the chance to play some PC games, and one of the first things on my list was the Witcher series. It’s one of the boats I missed out on, and now I’m finally getting a chance to try ‘em out. But man, the first Witcher game is rough.
Some minor spoilers below.
Read MoreNaNoWriMo, Outlines, and a Sweaty Wad of Life /
This year's NaNoWriMo, unsurprisingly, went pretty horribly. I’m some 40k words short of the goal, and unless some divine intervention happens, I’m not going to hit the 50k mark. The month started off great, I was hitting the daily goals and trucking along feeling good, and then a sweaty wad of life decided to fling itself into my face.
Read MoreOutlining /
*vomits physical rage*
*smears magma filled rage chunks on computer screen*
Outlining. The evil ye-shall-not-say-its-name plot backbone that we all like to ignore. I’ve always been one of those people who ignore outlining. I’m a pantser by nature, waiting until I’m staring at the blank document to start putting down the story as it comes. An outline always feels like a big restriction, like chains holding you to the bottom of a word pool you didn’t want to commit to. But really, that’s not what an outline is. It’s a guideline to help direct the way.
Read MoreWorldbuilding Part 2 /
A lot of worldbuilding happens on the backstage of the story. The amount that is actually shown to the audience is usually pretty minimal. Maybe that’s the most effective way of communicating aspects of the world. To let there be some mystery, some questions that the reader has to answer themselves.
That means what they imagine compared to what you imagine won’t always be the same, but that’s okay. It’s for the better.
Read MoreFlash Fiction Challenge (Choose Your Title Edition): Showdown at Evermore /
This week Chuck Wendig's Flash Fiction Challenge was to choose someone else's title and run with it. Last week folks came up with about 400 titles. Sleuthing through all the golden nuggets I came across one that spoke to me. JQ Davis's Showdown at Evermore. This story ended up short, being just under 400 words. Last challenge I felt like The Coralhound Queens had too much story packed into it, now I wonder if Showdown at Evermore doesn't have enough? I'm still trying to figure out the magic flash fiction formula. One day, I'll get it.
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Showdown at Evermore
Rognos crawled over the bodies of his companions. I have to find her. The Dreggs swung serrated swords and hurled obsidian spears. Their stony countenance and glowing sapphire eyes showed no emotion as they cut down human after human.
Rognos couldn’t feel his legs. He couldn’t feel his fingertips digging into the blood soiled earth.
Read MoreThe Benefit of Small Steps /
One foot in front of the other, inch by inch, slowly getting closer to that goal post you’ve set. But does it matter how fast you get there, or just that you eventually get there? I don’t know, I guess it’s different for everyone. For me, I think there’s a lot of benefit to valuing the small steps, because each of those small steps push you forward, and if you’re moving forward then you’ll eventually get to that goal.
Read MoreFlash Fiction Challenge (Space Opera Edition): The Coralhound Queens /
This story was written for Chuck Wendig's flash fiction challenge over on his terribleminds blog. The only stipulation that it be 1000 words of space opera. I couldn't resist trying to squeeze a space epic out of my brain place. I may have tried to pack in too much story. Still, I like the characters and the world. A bit more time in the editing grinder might have done it some good, but I'm still pretty happy with it. Here's my attempt at (a little over) 1000 words of space opera.
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