“What on Earth are you looking for Twiggy?” “Friday. “Friday is already here. Today is Friday.” “You’re kidding. I thought it was Monday.”
It is Friday again on the calendar, and yet I am so confused as to what day it is really. Yesterday felt like a Sunday because of the mid-week holiday. I had what would typically be a Sunday meal yesterday, so my body still thinks today is Monday. Yes, today feels like Monday but then if it were, tomorrow would be Tuesday and four days before the weekend, and that feels all wrong. So let’s just go with the calendar. TGIF.
My WIP tentatively titled Eternal Road – The Final Stop is now ready for a beta read. This is a different story than the one I usually tell. Here is the blurb.
James and Sam are on a quest to find James an eternal home. You…
Next Thursday, I will put up the first section of Immortal Wars: The Summoning and continue until it is all up on the blog. This is replacing ‘Bedlam’ and I will have the sequel coming too. Today, I’m going to give a little background.
When I was 15, I was really into comic books and fantasy. I read Fred Saberhagen’s ‘Book of Lost Swords’ and loved the world-building so much that I wanted to become an author. I was always dreaming up stories and this seemed like the next step. Also, it would make my daydreaming and quiet time more worthwhile since I could consider it working when I was an adult. I ran ideas by a friend who was into the same things and came up with:
IMMORTAL WARS
It was a series from the beginning and really tried to do far too much. There were magical weapons, space stations, aliens, resurrections, A.I., teenagers in love, villains in love, predictable swerves, and an untrained kid in the captain’s chair. I’m surprised I passed any of my creative writing assignments whenever I used an excerpt. Still, this is the beginning and it is where I first flushed out a big series with a variety of tactics that I still use. Character bios and chapter-by-chapter breakdowns are how I prepare even if the methods have changed. So, I can’t call this a total waste of time and I figure every author has this something like this in their history. We all have to start somewhere.
For me it was with these four teenagers who discover they are immortals with powers and have to protect the solar system. Each one is connected to a different planet and I can’t be sure if there was a significance to the choices. I mean, Hydrana (codename . . . Sadly, she got the best of the bunch.) had water powers and was connected to Neptune. I’m also just realizing that her name is close to hydrant. Whatever, I don’t think I’m going to use her again . . . Except that I believe she got moved to a Sin story along with the others, so I’m going to have to make that joke. I’m totally off topic and have to jump to another paragraph now.
Okay, the untrained and confused teenagers are to be taught by Solix, the sole survivor of the originals. His friends were killed and their magic weapons stolen by a group of 9 evil immortals who they mistook for friends. In this world, immortals can kill each other because their auras cancel each other out. The overall plot is about the heroes regaining the stolen weapons, which go back and forth, and destroying the villains. Other enemies turn up throughout the series including a cosmic vampire. Seriously, what was I thinking here now that I look at these notes? It really is a simplistic plot with characters that pale in comparison to what I do now. Going to be an interesting year as these two stories go up, especially since I have NO IDEA what the sequel was about.
In terms of writing style, I was all over the place. No concept of smooth dialogue and my exposition was rough. My attachment to tenses was so horrible that I’d switch from past to present in mid-sentence. That was pointed out and I was told to pick one, so I chose present, which is what made me a present tense author. You may see flickers of what I’m like now in here, but you’re also going to see a lot of ‘yikes’. Not to mention clear indications of what movies, shows, and books I was into at the time. Really makes me wonder why I’m doing this to myself. Not like I need to be humbled this badly. Let’s say I’m doing this for a laugh and because I have these books sitting around.
Well, the rambling explanation is done and now we wait for next week. Some sections will be huge and others tiny. I hope people take this journey with me and don’t be too harsh in the comments. I’ll be hiding under the bed anyway.
I think I use Frodo up there a lot more than I realize. Anyway, it’s the end of 2019 and . . . Okay, I’m writing this on October 20th, 2019 because I want to end the year writing War of Nytefall: Ravenous instead of blog posts. That and I don’t think my opinion can change much at this point. With any luck, I’ve got my TA Level III certification, but I only put in for it at the beginning of the month. Now, what else can I say about this year that I haven’t said on a bunch of Saturdays?
Seriously, I’ve been an emotional wreck and I think people have steered clear of me because of it. I’m not the type to take positive statements when I’m in a bad mood and prefer to vent it out of my system. I sure have had a lot to vent about too:
Only published one book.
Sales plunged into the toilet.
Very little writing time.
Pnuemonia
Stress of keeping things off the blog.
There were some major events even though none of them involved writing. One was the summer job, which I’m going to get out of the way. I did have a lot of fun working at a camp and it meant I got to take my son to his first professional baseball game. Sure, it was the Mets, but most kids start with that around here. The only thing that went wrong here was that I had no break between school and summer job. I entered it tired and got very worn down, which wasn’t good because I was trying to handle a lot of emotional stuff at the time. If I hadn’t been going through so much then I would have had a lot more fun and been less stressed.
On the other end of the spectrum was the Teaching Assistant job, which I’m loving every minute of. I’m trying really hard to not be my naturally negative self, but I do slip at times since I’ve been downtrodden for so long. Still, I like hanging out with my new friends and the days go quickly. I never roll out of bed wanting to not go into work. I will roll out of bed wanting to crawl back into the warmth since it got cold, but that’s something else entirely.
Guess it’s time to get the big thing out of the way. It really cast a shadow over the entire year even though it started in 2018. Mostly because I finally felt like I could mention it on here. Months of calling it the ‘life event’ caused problems because people were trying to give me advice or comfort when they didn’t know what it was. I didn’t take that well since I was practically a wounded animal who couldn’t tell if he was healing or simply waiting for death to take him. I mean, I spent half my life with her and then it was gone in the blink of an eye. Still gives me pangs of chest pain. Probably going to have to deal with that for a while because I’m a creature of memories. I enjoy telling stories about my past and thinking back to those times, but she’s there so often. The ranting still comes pretty fast as you can see.
I think I’ll always look at 2019 as the Year of Divorce. Unfortunately, that was the highlight of the year. Kind of sad now that I look at it.
Women in the driver’s seat
Bathed in the spotlight
For more than romance
Or to be a victim
And nothing more than that
*
They fight like a hero
Make mistakes like humans
And get up when they fall
Because that is what they do
When they have the lead
*
I am asked
Upon many days
My thoughts on women
Taking up the reins
And throwing down with the men
*
I ponder for a deep answer
And come up blank
It is not a stretch
For they are still human
And carry the same pieces
____________________________________________
So, I was asked to write a post on ‘Female Protagonists’, which has to be one of the most common requests that I get here. I’ve tackled it many times and even have an entry slated for that fantasy tip book that will be done in a hundred years. The truth is that I’ve tried so hard to be deep and unique in every responses that I don’t think I have it in me to be flashy any more. What do I think of female protagonists? They’re not that different from male protagonists. The clothing, pronouns, and physical descriptions can differ, but the meat of a hero is the personality and actions. I focus more on that and I’ve always tried to make my characters flawed, which isn’t exclusive to one group. A male and female can both be impulsive, temperamental, courageous, smart, good, evil, and the list keeps going. That’s where I stand and it makes tackling the question for the length of a post rather difficult these days. So, I tried a poem . . . Not sure it worked.
So, I wasn’t really sure what to do here. Most people are enjoying the last weekend of 2019 and I’m probably doing the same. I don’t know. Working on this on Monday because I plan on writing the whole week and don’t want the distraction. Decided to post a few songs that I feel demonstrate how the year went. Honestly, it began with the first one and then I went hunting for a few more because I felt like I needed them. Enjoy and have a happy new year.
Not the happiest ones out there, but it was a rough year. Couldn’t find any about teaching or the summer job that captured the feelings. Stuff on teaching seem to be either anti-school or hot for teacher. The summer stuff was all about having fun and relaxing, but I was working. Well, I got the mindset right.
(Maybe I used this video before recently, but I really like the song. Began rewatching the series during lunch this week.)
Well, here we are. Staring at the end of the 20 teens and about to step foot into the 2o twenties. Is anybody else at a point where the change from one calendar year to another isn’t as exciting? It isn’t that I don’t have high hopes for 2020, but it isn’t like New Years Eve will end and my life will get reset. Be nice if that did happen though because I wouldn’t made the chance to leave some stressors behind without having to do more than buy a new calendar. At least I’m ending 2019 on a better note than it started. I’d have to work hard to make it worse. Eh, I’ve got all that stuff for another post I should really double check after doing this one.
Events were rearranged, so all of the room painting and moving stuff around was done last weekend. Big thanks to my dad for getting half the room painted while I was at work and then the other half while I was running errands. He only has enough brushes for one and my job was more heavy lifting. Spent Sunday carrying all of my books and dvds back up from the basement. My room is on the second floor, so you can imagine how exhausted I was by the end. Really hoped that I could get it all done by lunch, but I’d only succeeded in getting the books upstairs. Refueled with . . . I know I ate something before I finished everything else off. Reorganized too, which took me until dinner time, so that whole day was given up to getting my space back to what I wanted. I had my son for Monday too, so I didn’t want to start anything that would be paused.
My son was with his mom for the rest of the week until Friday night, so I was on my own for the most part. That meant I had plenty of time to work on War of Nytefall: Ravenous, which I feared wouldn’t be the case. For a while, it looked like I wasn’t going to be able to touch my book because of the painting, errands, and other events. By Sunday, I’d cleared a lot of that up. A few grocery and clothes shopping trips slipped in, but I fit those between writing sessions. In the end, I managed to finish 4 chapters and start another one. I might use a few nights to get that 5th one under my belt and I’m on my own for New Years Eve until the evening when I get my son. Next weekend he’s with his mom, so I might be able to bring the whole story to the beginning of the third act, which is amazing considering how crappy my year has been.
Speaking of War of Nytefall: Ravenous, one of the things that drove me forward so quickly is that a big part of what I wrote involved the villain. She’d been staying away for a while and I finally got to put her in the action. This character isn’t a fighter and she’s fairly manipulative, which was fun to write. Especially when she came across someone who she couldn’t trick and demonstrate why she’s . . . a threat? That’s the other thing. She threw me a curve and revealed a surprising origin that may alter what her ultimate goal is. I had her pushing for power, but then she began talking about only wanting to survive. This might require some alterations to her earlier chapters, but it may still work. She’s also the most sexual character I’ve ever written, so the blunt innuendo was fun to write. Not sure I can call it that either because she was very clear on what she was interested in from both male and female characters. This is why I call her a less restrained version of Chastity Sullivan.
In other news, I began watching ‘The Witcher’. I never played the games or read the books, but I heard the series is based on the latter. Definitely saw a lot of strong opinions on this show. I’m halfway through and really enjoying it. Great fight scenes, good amount of humor, excellent world-building, and fun characters. There are weak moments, but what series doesn’t have that? From what I’ve seen, two common complaints are things that I didn’t run into. One is that it ‘Is Not Like Game of Thrones!’ because it was billed as ‘the next one’ by media idiots that thing all fantasy is alike. ‘The Witcher’ and ‘GoT’ are nothing alike in terms of story. One is a dark adventure and the other is a dark historical fantasy, which means they run different narratives. People probably expected tons of main character deaths too. Another issue I saw mentioned was the confusing timeline because Geralt, Yennifer, and Ciri are each running at different periods. I assume these combine at the end and understand that this season is based off the first collection of short stories that introduced the characters. It isn’t easy to tell that kind of story, but I haven’t had any trouble figuring it out. To each their own, I guess.
Nothing else to really say about last week. This coming week is going to be a lot of son time since he was away for so long. We have presents to give, games to play, and movies to watch. Promised to introduce him to ‘My Hero Academia’ on New Years Eve when he tries to stay up for the ball drop. Today is potato latkes with friends and family while tomorrow is resting with toys. He’s accused me and his mom of telling Santa not to bring him any LEGO sets, so we might fudge that rule since he’s been good. (Screw you, Pandora, for playing ‘Love Walks in’ by Van Halen.) Nights will probably be for setting up some March posts or locking down whatever book chapter I got stuck in the middle of. Really hope the weather works with us and we can hit the zoo. That’s the only real trip we have planned since it’s cold out. Fingers crossed.
Goals of the week:
Fun with the munchkin.
Read more ‘Black Clover’ while he uses his new drum set.
Watch more ‘The Witcher’.
Slip in some book writing when I can.
Cooking dinner with my little assistant
Need more nice shirts for work.
March post scheduling if possible.
Sign up for Hulu to get access to ‘My Hero Academia’.
Sleep at some point.
Stay up for New Years Eve ball drop even though it’s still a little uncomfortable when I see couples kissing on the TV.
Welcome back to author Francis H Powell – please tell us your news.
My big important news in recent times, is that after a long wait, my new book Adventures of Death, Reincarnation and Annihilation, finally got published, by Beacon publishing.
I have written a lot of short stories, a lot of them revolve around “death”. While living in Paris, I saw a writing competition, which required writing about the last person on earth. I sent three stories, the last of which they really liked, but it arrived too late to be published. This sent me on the course of writing about world annihilation. It also introduced an unlikely science fiction element into my writing.
At some point I decided to group all my stories that connected with death into a book.
I decided to try to write a story that would exceed my normal page length. It is called “the Master”. The…
I was asked months ago to write about the difference between Pantsing and Plotting, which are considered the two schools of author prep. The truth is that most people are a combination of the two with more of one than the other. I’m definitely much more of a Plotter, but I leave an opening for spontaneous ideas and change plans if something comes up when writing. So, how can I give a fresh take on this topic?
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Tease both sides with exaggerations? Sure. It’s nearing the end of 2019, so let’s try to get some laughs.
You know you’re a Plotter when you have more notebooks than articles of clothing. Only one of them has been filled, but damned if you know where you put that after you cleaned your area ten years ago. One of these days, you’re going to organize the plans and figure out what you’re doing. Just as soon as you finish another outline.
You know you’re a Pantser when you put more time and effort into getting comfortable than planning your story. Thirty minutes to get coffee, spray air freshener on your comfy pants, cook a snack, go to the bathroom, and make sure the DVR is set to tape that show your friends told you about. Wait, what if the DVR doesn’t work? You can’t wait for it to be on streaming . . . The idea will still be there tomorrow.
You know you’re a Plotter when you scream and yell at your characters for ruining your outline. You can’t even find paper to tear in rage since everything has notes that might be important.
You know you’re a Pantser when your story goes off the rails and it’s the first time you notice there were rails to begin with. First reaction is to point at empty air next to you and say ‘my protagonist’ did it. This is done whether someone is there or not.
You know you’re a Plotter when you’re asked about your story and you go into extreme detail. Not only of the story, but the connected tales, your inspiration, and the type of pencil you used to write your character names. Most people will leave before you finish, but a few will make it to the end because they became too old to hear what you’re saying anyway.
You know you’re a Pantser when you’re asked about your story and you shrug. When pressed for information, you get the genre right and utter a few plot points. Only one of those is from your own story while the rest is what you remember from that show you DVR’d. Oh crap, is this the friend who suggested it? Just smile and nod until they ask how your ‘real’ job is going. Then break into tears and run away shouting that they never had faith in you.
You know what? I’m open to seeing if anyone can come up with others. Have fun with it and try not to be too mean. Enjoy.
“What on Earth are you looking for Twiggy?”
on Just Publishing Advice:
Legends of Windemere 