Ciao, SEers. I’m currently wrapping up edits on a full five-book series. It’s hard to revise all day, every day—especially when it’s your own work instead of a client’s—so sometimes, creative breaks are necessary. They actually serve two purposes.
And, let’s face it. If you’re a writer, you’re probably not a one-and-done artist. You’ve got a lot of stories to tell. There are no shortcuts. If you want to write multiple books, you have to write multiple books. So, while you’re doing the post-work on your soon-to-be-released masterpiece, you might as well also be thinking about your next one.
I’ve got a pretty cool concept for my next series. It’s combining two genres I love plus lore that I adore. (Sorry…
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Cruella Devil
Stress is brutal. In small doses, it can drive us ahead, but how often do we get the proper amount? The longer I live, the more I meet people who are either unstressed to the point of being unmotivated and those who are on the verge of a collapse. It’s like we aren’t able to truly relax any more because we’re either bombarded by negativity on social media or made to feel like resting is a sin by those around us. Many times, I’ve wondered if my high stress levels are the only thing keeping me alive because I begin to freak out when I calm down and become highly aware of my pulse rate. Not healthy at all and it only happens when I’m exhausted . . . So Thursdays.
Stress eventually becomes a way of life for people and that’s when mental issues stir. It can plunge people into depression or lock them in a spiral of anxiety. Outlets are searched for to relieve the pressure, but this can turn dark fast. I use puzzles to help me relax, but I could have gone for alcohol or cigarettes or any number of harmful activities. You just want a sense of peace while not knowing exactly how it feels. Numbness can mimic it for a time, but the stress always comes back. There’s not stopping it from returning if you aren’t in a comfortable life. Bills, work, sleeping, exercising, diet, making time for family, politics, religion, family, pets, hobbies, dreams, unexpected expenses, setting the alarm, taxes, state of the world, and the list of stressors keeps going. It’s different for everyone, but most have at least one thing that needles at them.
So, why am I talking bluntly and darkly about stress this week? Because it’s really been my world for a long time. This year started off bad with my writing goals getting crippled right out of the gate, trying to find a Masters program, and wondering what to do about the upcoming summer. Turning 40 wasn’t a picnic since my birthday was the second night of Passover. As you can see, if it’s not one thing going wrong then it’s another. The stress continues to build and no amount of positive messages can really clear it. You end up hitting a point where you feel like this is what your life is because every step forward is met by a violent shove back. You’re not even treading water, but gradually drowning and seeing no hint of land being around. It’s frustrating and demoralizing.
Outsiders always look at a person being stressed and assume they know exactly how to cure them. It rarely works. Most only get a general idea of the situation and then become a cheerleader with no sense of the depth. This can actually increase the stress of a person because now they feel like they aren’t being listened to. Not entirely. We live in such a brutal world that it’s easier to increase a person’s stress than reduce it. Most people have only a small circle of those that can defuse them, which is not always those they spend the most time with. This whole thing is why I think mental health days are important, but god forbid we take one and then get sick. That or you fear that your boss will find out or you need a doctor’s note in the first place. Let’s be honest. Our society doesn’t really give a shit about the mental stability and health of its citizens. Stress is a big problem and nothing is ever done to make life easier across the board.
Anyway, what do you think about stress?
After relaunching A Heaven for Toasters, complete with new cover, I promised to publish it here in installments. Here’s the next chapter.
Note: You can find a link to all published chapters at the end of this post or read more parts on Wattpad.
What if your perfect man was a robot?
Detective Mika Pensive has a new partner. He’s hot. Smart. Funny. And an android.
Set in the near future, A Heaven for Toasters is more than a sci-fi crime adventure with plenty of romance and wit. It’s the book that will make you look at your toaster in a whole new way.
Monday, 2:24 p.m.
I didn’t get much sleep that night, despite my exhaustion. My body was still high on adrenaline from both the warehouse chase and my encounter with Sergeant, but there was more. I had the…
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Quick recap of this idea: Keys of Eden is going to be almost a child series with a few volumes of short stories. I’m thinking 5 volumes with 3 having 10 and 2 having 11. The reason for the cut is that the story is about a prince and his female partner setting off to gather the 100 magic beasts (name to be made later) that one needs to save the throne from a creature that ousted the previous rulers. Before anyone gets annoyed, I’m doing a recap and details will be later. I think some people were agitated at the prince having a female partner even though they’re going to be on equal footing. Anyway, I decided to make this easier by having the beasts come in pairs, which is also what had me come up with the duo protagonists instead of a single main one with supporting. The probably I had was figuring out how to do the divide. All I got was that I wanted to do it with a female/male pairing. So, here’s what I came up with:
The Protagonists
The prince is going to be a young boy, so his family will have been run out of the capital for about a decade. Might up it to a later teenager since there might be romantic elements between the main characters. The female lead is going to be born from a warrior family, so she’s the tactical and muscle. The prince is going to be a little spoiled, but more book smart. Haven’t fully decided on if they’re going to start as friends, be former friends, or not like each other, but they will have a past. She’s going to get pulled into this by a magical ritual that chooses his companion. Weapon-wise, I was going to give her a mace and shield, but I don’t know if combat will happen a lot in this. Maybe just a shield for defense.
The Magic Beasts
This is the real meat of the post. The previous stuff just came to me as I was thinking about this. I’m still going with the beasts coming in pairs, but I don’t think I’m going to assign a gender to most of them. Part of the idea I have now is that these creatures symbolize the balance of the kingdom. With the attack, everything was thrown out of balance, so they’re needed to fix that. This is why they come in pairs and have almost opposing, yet matching abilities. For example: a pairing might connect to water with one having the ability to unleash a flood while the other creates a gentle stream or mist. It’s a work in progress since I got a few aggressive questions about why these things had to be male/female pairings. Seriously, that really seemed to be a sticking point.
The other issue was a theme for each of the 50 pairings and that’s where the balance of the kingdom comes into play. These beasts are supposed to be connected to the health and stability of the land. So, I’m going to figure out 50 pieces of nature. This is harder than it sounds because being too general can close off other paths. I can’t have an earth pairing and then another that is dirt because those are the same. I can do desert, mountains, stones, and farmland for 8 creatures. There can be some dark ones too like disease and love/hate. It’s tough because 50 sounds like a lot, but then there are days when it doesn’t seem like enough. This is going to take more flushing out and research. I could even do a parent pairing based on major elements (Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Life) and then connected ones. This might be too restrictive though. Best to keep relatively simple and open to mental wandering.
Anyway, that’s what I’ve been pondering with this idea. We’ll see what happens down the road. Not sure which idea I’ll present next. I know I said a long time ago, I’d do more with my superheroes on Sundays, but that idea is giving me trouble ago. People are probably tired of hearing about that until I’m ready to move on. We’ll see what happens in a week’s time.
The lockdown, quarantine, stay-at-home orders, or whatever you want to call it is hard enough without crappy weather. At least for me, I’d rather it be nice outside, so I can open a window or feel warm. Take a step into the backyard for a bit to clear my head. Just be nice to air out the room a bit since I’m spending so much time in it. Not possible when it keeps raining, some hail, and being just cold enough to make things uncomfortable. I mean, it’s simply miserable outside, which adds to my mood. Can someone go stir crazy and get cabin fever at the same time?
This week was basically a return to a full school schedule since the previous week was spring break. Not that we had off, but it was a smaller workload. Definitely felt like we got hit pretty hard in some avenues. We got the work done with time to play games and have fun around 2 or 2:30. The downside is that it left me tired earlier in the night, so I was nearly useless. The occasional comedy of errors didn’t help matters:
So, my week began with chaos and ended the same way. Thursday was a little messy with a situation that is for the best, but a little awkward. Got to do a little writing on that day, which was helpful. If I maintain this schedule then I should be averaging 2 chapters per weekend. War of Nytefall: Savagery is coming along pretty well. It’s running differently than the others because this adventure has some quest elements while those not on the journeys are struggling to stay alive. Many of the characters who have been highlighted are benched, so I’m giving the spotlight to a few relatively untouched. Clyde and Lost are the only two big names that are really in the action. That isn’t really a spoiler. Anyway, it’s a tough project because I’m jumping between three tales that are connected. So, I’m switching off with the Main (Clyde), 1st side, Main, 2nd side, Main, etc. I merge the side ones at few times since one is stationary for a while. Does this make any sense?
In other projects, I worked out another Act set up for The Ether Thief: Song of the Conqurer. That would be #2, so I have 2 more to go. Then, I can tackle the finale and spinoffs to complete the notebook. Been putting some chapter titles in the notebook that has Do I Need to Use a Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips). Since the book title is a question, I decided to do the same with the chapters. Once I’m done, I’ll make a Sunday post listing them to see what people think. For some reason, I think I got the subtitle wrong on this one. Need to look back at that.
Tempted to talk about family here, but that wouldn’t be right. Many have made it clear to keep family business off my blog. So, we’re holding up. That’s really all I can say about it without incurring wrath.
Not much else to say. Finished watching all of the ‘Blue Exorcist’ anime, so I moved on to a live-action show called ‘The Magicians’. I’m in season 2 and it’s not too bad. Feels like it’s getting a little too angst-filled for me. Everyone is angry, upset, or in some type of foul mood at this point, so I’m holding out in the hopes of it getting a little more on the brighter side of things. It’s 4 seasons and will be nice to get a long-saved series off my Netflix list. I’ll go back to anime after this.
Now, I’m just babbling. Goals of the week?
Dragonball Z
On-going series will have multiple villains in order to keep things fresh. You need different enemies with a variety of ambitions to make sure it’s not the same adventure over and over again. Yet, you run into a problem down the road with the earlier villains that might fall into one of the following categories:
You can junk the villain or turn them into the minion of another, but many will give them the redemption arc. Dragonball is famous for this considering Piccolo, Yamcha, Tien, Vegeta, Buu, Android 16, and others have gone from villain to hero. Some have done the jump faster than others, but they all end up on the heroic side. This opens them up to a new evolution and extends their lifespan. They make friends and get chances to win fights, which improves their reputation in the world. Some go on to get married and have kids who carry on the adventure. It establishes a legacy for them, which wouldn’t have happened if they stayed as a villain.
In Legends of Windemere: Path of the Traitors, I did this with a few villains. The big one was Queen Trinity who went from villain to bitter rival to ally over the course of the story. Her evolution was more obvious than others since it was clear early on that she had heroic tendencies. This is something to consider when deciding on making a bad guy a hero or killing them off. Have them demonstrated the potential to do good? It can be forced with technology or magic, but that can be a role that doesn’t stick since it doesn’t feel natural. So, you need to take the villain’s personality into account here. One who loves nothing more than murdering is a difficult change while one who wants to rule the world can go hero if the other villains are out to destroy things. You can have villains grow out of their ambitions after being a hero for a bit because they can find something more worthwhile, but you need to be gentle about it. Blunt changes will ruin the character and those around them.
Some people might be yelling CLICHE at this point. You’re right because this is a plot device used many times over the centuries. One could go far back to the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ and say that Enkidu is a villain/counter force of the hero who became an ally to him. All of this works of the redemption concept, which is a staple of writing and human nature. We all want to see that people who do bad things are either punished or given a way to redeem themselves. Those who cannot turn back get the first and those who show hints of heroism get the second. It’s really hard to call this a cliche because it happens so much in real life. Most people don’t stay on the same straight path. They have turns and twists and dips, which vary in size. A hero who begins as a villain may be more crooked than an average person, but it’s still a realistic path.
So, what do you think about villains who become heroes? Overdone? Difficult or easy? Part of human nature?
(Previously on Immortal Wars.)
(It’s gigantic again. What was wrong with me?)
Disclaimer: Immortal Wars was the book I came up with and wrote in high school. I hadn’t even hit college by the time I wrote the first two books. That means I hadn’t developed my style yet, wasn’t good at self-editing, and the story was fairly basic. So, you’ve been warned that this is the ultimate author throwback segment for my blog and will show my author origins. FYI- I put the first book (The Summoning) through a Print-on-Demand publisher and the second one (Light, Blood, & Tears) never saw the light of day. Enjoy!
On the warship of the evil immortals, Adriana wakes up from a long overdue nap. She spent the last two days thinking up the perfect plan to lure the new guardians into a deathtrap before she finally dozed off. The beautiful villain goes to look at herself in her full-length mirror in order to brush her long, blond hair while a robotic maid arrives to give her an important message. Another disc-shaped robot floats a few inches above Adriana and uses two slender arms to put her lipstick on and paint her nails with light blue polish.
“Excuse me, master. Mindtrigger has finished the two projects you had asked him to complete before tonight’s meeting. He is requesting your immediate attention,” says the robot as it braids its master’s hair.
“Perfect. As usual, he finished the job a lot faster than I had anticipated. Tell Kilanus to meet me in Mindtrigger’s lab within twenty minutes. Don’t forget to give her specific directions this time. I don’t want her to get lost again,” orders Adriana. She quickly gets to her feet and picks up her shiny tiara from a hook on the wall. The door to her room opens when she tells it to and she swiftly enters the corridor. The hallway is extremely dark and gloomy while Adriana makes her way toward an out-of-place white door that has several bright yellow caution signs on it.
“This is Adriana. Open the door!”
“Adriana? Well, your voice pattern checks out on the scanner. As does the pleasant, sex-crazed tone of your voice check out with my ears. Come in,” says a tired voice from the other side of the door.
When the door opens, the bright light from inside temporarily blinds the voluptuous immortal. On the earthy brown walls are tubes filled with weird smelling chemicals and, in some cases, bodies of aliens that are being prepared to be either dissected or tested on. In the middle of the circular room is a crude, metal chair that has hundreds of wires and levers all over it. Small robots with extendable arms and motorized treads are seen working the many terminals and laboratory equipment.
“I’ve done exactly what you asked. Though, I desperately wish you had told me to do something harder than these menial assignments. It gets very boring in here after awhile. There are only so many experiments you can perform on these preserved aliens before one gets bored with it. And I’ve unfortunately done them all. Some of them I’ve done twice just to waste time,” explains a frail looking man in brown leather armor. He is Mindtrigger, the evil immortals’ resident genius. He is one of the oldest immortals on the warship and he has suffered much for that. His lovely wife and two children died of old age while he never aged past the age of forty-seven. The mental anguish was too much for him to bear so he became twisted and insane.
“If you will follow me, I will gladly show you the ripe fruits of my labor,” says Mindtrigger as he gets his black, messy hair out of his blue eyes. He picks up a nearby headband, which contains several built in sensors, many of which don’t work.
“This had better be what I asked for, Mindtrigger,” Adriana yawns as she follows him to one of the computer terminals.
“I believe you will find the information that I have discovered quite interesting. As you can see, I have made some simple diagrams of the genetic structures of the four new guardians that we will encounter. Even Hellax can figure out what these diagrams mean. Well, they’re probably not that simple because that shocking idiot can’t read.”
“I don’t see anything except a blank screen. Please don’t start playing mind games with me. I’m not in the mood.”
“What? Hey!” exclaims the evil genius when he notices the screen is blank and the information disk is missing.
“Damn robots! Who took the data disk and turned off this monitor? Answer me now or I’ll scrap all of you! At least twice.” One of the lab robots hands him the missing disk and starts to roll away on its four tires. It doesn’t get very far because a glowing orange spear cuts the robot in half. Mindtrigger picks up the spear and turns it into an eerie mist, which he absorbs through his nose and ears.
“No one takes anything without my permission. Remember that and you’ll last until your next refit. Maybe.”
“You sure do enjoy showing off your birthright powers. Don’t you?” whispers Adriana as she stretches her arms over her head and puffs out her chest. The tight fabric can be heard straining against the pressure.
“Of course. I have the power to create any weapon I want just by thinking about it. I should think that I’m entitled to some showing off. Much like you enjoy showing off that perfect, sensual body of yours.”
“You always were always an excellent flatterer. So, what did you find out about our new guardians? How dangerous are these bastards going to be?”
“The second generation of guardians are currently that of Earth, Mars, Venus, and Neptune. The others might not even show up because these four could be enough to defend the universe without help. Each one has very formidable birthright powers that are far more superior to the first generation’s powers in every possible way. It was like these four were created for the purpose of destroying us.”
“Which one will prove to be the most dangerous to our plans?”
“Just like in the original guardians, the most dangerous is the Mars guardian. That is without him getting his hands on any of the guardians’ weapons. From my hacking adventure into SEAS, I have discovered that his codename is Fate and his powers deal with luck manipulation. That was all I discovered before my sensor signal was almost located by the marvelous machine. I did manage to find a strange anomaly in the Mars guardian’s DNA that I can’t seem to figure out. But I doubt it’s of any importance. Things like this happen all the time in advanced races.”
“Study the anomaly anyway. Your diagrams say that the other three are a first rate telekinetic, a solid illusionist, and a hydrokinetic. I don’t think that last one is even a real word. Anyway, these powers are much better than those of the original guardians. Their powers were mostly enhanced physical abilities or elemental powers. We will definitely have a hard time with all four of them. Is the second project done?”
“Yes. Honestly, this was a fun invention to work on. I have never been able to create such an ingenious machine. Psychological surgery was something I never thought I would have a chance to try out. This machine should either solve our little problem with Kilanus or turn her into a human vegetable. Either way it will be done in the way of science,” answers Mindtrigger as he starts walking toward the weird chair in the middle of the room.
“For your sake, the latter better not happen. You know what happens to people that hurt or threaten my daughter. They get beaten into a bloody pulp if they’re lucky. Still I’m tired of lying to her about us and the guardians. She still doesn’t realize that I give her a new story every time she asks about our past. How does the chair work?”
“I can’t tell you all of my scientific secrets. I don’t even think you would be interested in the details. They’re way over your pretty half-empty head. No offense.”
“Oh, come on. Please tell me. I won’t tell anyone else. I promise. If I do, you can do anything you want with this perfect body of mine. How could you possibly resist this?” coos Adriana as she stares into the scientist’s eyes and pulls him as close as possible. She slowly unzips the top of her outfit just enough for only Mindtrigger to get an eyeful of her uncovered breasts.
“Okay. What this gaudy machine does, is fire a fluctuating wave pulse into the section of the brain that deals with a person’s behavior. It acts a lot like a scalpel. This pulse will allow us to make Kilanus act any way we want her to. It’s a new form of brain washing, if you will. In case you care, the energy pulse comes from one of the several types of isotopes we found on that mineral rich planet called Awolic. I’d say that we should go back there to pick up some more, but somebody decided to blow it up.”
“Don’t look at me. I wasn’t the one who ordered it. Psylon was in charge of that entire thing. So, bitch to her.”
Suddenly, the doors to the lab hiss open and Kilanus walks in with wide, blue eyes and an open mouth. She has never been in this circular room before and all of the strange, glowing lights catch her short attention. When she notices the creatures inside the tubes, Kilanus lets out a small giggle.
“You wanted to meet me here, mommy?” asks the curious, young girl as she wanders into the middle of the room. She stares at a two-headed hawk that is busy being prepared for dissection.
“Yes, child. We have found a way to repair your broken mind. You can finally become the immortal warrior you were born to be. You will become stronger and better than you are now. Do you understand what I’m talking about?” replies Mindtrigger.
“Nope. Can I play with the little robots?”
“Maybe later. Let me try to explain what Uncle Mindtrigger just said. Remember when I told you about that long nap you took. That nap lasted an incredibly long time. Well, when you woke up from your long nap, your mind was severely damaged. Your mental patterns were stuck as those of the small child you were when the coma started,” explains Adriana in a motherly tone.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“What’s wrong with that? You aren’t five years old like you think you are. That’s a really confusing sentence. Anyway, you are my nineteen-year-old daughter. Uncle Mindtrigger and I are going to turn you into the mature teenager you’re supposed to be. At least, that’s the plan. Now take a seat in the big, metal chair over there and be very quiet.”
“But, mommy,” whines Kilanus as she shakes her head like a little child. Her hair covers her entire face when she stops shaking her head.
“Don’t argue, Kilanus. Just do it and all of this will be over,” says Adriana. She smiles at her daughter and pushes Kilanus’ hair away from her face.
Without another word, Kilanus cheerfully skips over to the weird chair and slowly climbs into it. Mindtrigger carefully straps her arms and legs tight to the chair while a robot moved by a small propeller puts an odd helmet on her head. This helmet looks like an upside down bowl with a long handled magnifying glass attached to the front. When they are finished getting the young immortal ready, Mindtrigger goes to the chair’s control panel. With the push of a couple dark green buttons, the machine lights up and makes a loud humming noise.
“Get ready for the energy pulse, Kilanus! It might hurt a little bit when it pushes its way into your skull! It’s only temporary!” yells Mindtrigger over the loud noise. He pulls down a dark red lever, which causes the strange helmet to fire a pulse of orange energy deep into Kilanus’ skull. Immediately, the girl’s slender body stiffens and her blue eyes roll back into her head.
“Excellent. Now, we have one more thing to do before I turn the machine off. If you will please tell me how you want her to behave. What should we turn her into, Adriana? A psycho like Psylon? Mysterious like Startrix? Or an intelligent scientist like myself? You can never have too many of those. It’s your choice to make.”
“I don’t know. So many choices to pick from. I guess we should just make her act like a nineteen-year-old. Make her act somewhat like me, but a little tougher and not as . . . impulsive when it comes to men. God knows we get into enough trouble with me pretending to be a nymphomaniac.”
“Pretending? Need I remind you that you are a nymphomaniac? There is no pretending in your actions.”
“What’s your point, old man? Just fix her mind and turn the machine off. The noise is giving me a screaming headache.”
“Fine. I’ll see what I can do,” whispers the evil scientist as he continues pushing buttons and pulling small levers. Once he is done with the mental repairs, he pulls the red lever again and the machine abruptly stops making the loud noise. Kilanus clumsily takes off the helmet and stands up holding her head. She tries to take a step forward, but her legs give out and she falls on her face.
“I hope the clumsiness is a temporary condition. It doesn’t go along with the great immortal warrior idea. How do you feel, Kilanus?” asks Adriana as she helps her daughter get to her feet.
“How do I feel, mother? I feel much better than before. Of course, I wish the damn room wasn’t spinning,” moans Kilanus. Her voice has a new, vicious edge to it and her eyes resemble those of a cunning panther.
“I’d say the operation was a complete success,” says Mindtrigger. The chair slowly sinks into a hidden compartment in the floor along with an unsuspecting robot. Both are trapped within the ten-foot thick compartment.
“Yeah right. I don’t ever want to see that ugly piece of junk again. As fun as this experience was, I’m going back to my room,” responds Kilanus when she manages to stand up on her own. When she gets to the door, it doesn’t open when she orders it to. The blond girl punches and kicks the door a couple of times, leaving a few noticeable dents in the steel. After a few minutes of swearing, she whirls around with an angry glare on her face.
“Why won’t this stupid door open?” Kilanus asks in a somewhat calm voice.
“It would appear that your voice pattern has changed along with your personality. I’m not that surprised about that. I’ll try to take care of that problem right away. Door open!” yells Mindtrigger. The door swishes open so Kilanus can leave the lab and she disappears into the dark hallway.
“That went surprisingly well. I have one other project that I must talk to you about, Mindtrigger. We’ve decided to build a base of our own on Pluto. Startrix has told me to send you and Draveon to the planet’s surface in order to get this project underway. I don’t know why, but she recommended the two of you,” explains Adriana.
“Great. I can finally get out of this suffocating lab and onto a planet. Even though it’s a weakling of a planet, it is a planet nonetheless. The blueprints for the best kind of base can be made in thirty minutes. Give or take a few minutes for food and bathroom breaks.”
“Thirty minutes? Take your time on this project, Mindtrigger. I’ll give you the exact details at our next meeting, which is in twelve hours. I’m sure you and Draveon will not have any problems working together.”
“Problems working together? Why would there be any problems, my dear? I am Draveon’s creator. I care for him like he was my real son.”
“So you keep telling everyone. Just remember to be at the central hall in twelve hours with your ideas for the base. Don’t disappoint me, scientist. Not that you have ever done that since we met,” orders Adriana as she walks out of the lab. She swiftly walks back to her room while undoing the long braids in her hair. When she enters her room, the leggy blond goes back to looking at her flawless reflection in the mirror.
“Everything is going according to my perfect plan. I know basically what to expect from these new guardians and Kilanus is acting like the ultimate weapon of carnage she was born to be. Eternal life couldn’t be better.” A small yawn escapes from Adriana’s full lips and she starts noticing how tired she is. She sits down on the bed to take off her boots and removes her small tiara from her head.
“Wake me up in nine hours and don’t braid my hair anymore. I really hate that ancient style. I think I’ll go for the long, unrestrained look. Just brush it a lot,” mentions Adriana to the robotic maid. The immortal peels off her pink outfit and drapes it over the back of a nearby wooden chair. Adriana’s green eyes close as soon as she lies down on the soft bed. Her mind slowly fills with pleasant dreams of a future, in which she is the god and master of the entire galaxy.
You may recall how I recently followed a great workshop by Rayne Hall organized by OIRWA.
Now, Rayne is offering a special free seminar aimed at self-isolating writers who wish to take advantage of the pandemic downtime to hone their writing skills.
The pandemic crisis creates intense emotions and magnifies character traits. Use your observations, feelings, and experiences to enrich your works in progress, deepen characterization, intensify conflicts, and add realism to tense situations.
The assignments in this course will make you a better writer, and at the same time, you’ll reap the therapeutic benefits.
We will not write about the pandemic. Once this is all over, and the last thing people want to read and buy is pandemic stories. Instead, we’ll extrapolate your observations and apply them to the kind of fiction you write.
This is an intensive four-week seminar, with…
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Sinister Six
It’s time for the villains to unite against one or many heroes. Such a faction of evil can only be stopped by . . . Well, that’s a long list ranging from punches to infighting to whatever you can imagine. Maybe they never figured out how to get out of their super secret headquarters, so they only got to threaten people. Either way, your bad guys are working together and that means you’ll be tempted to something that nobody (except for everybody) has dreamed of doing. That brings us to:
Legends of Windemere 