The Star Wars of my Youth

So, there I was in Half Priced Books again. Perusing the usual haunts: Science Fiction, Fantasy, RPGs, Action Adventure. Invariably I made my way to the bargain section, where everything is $1-$3. A few paperbacks catch my eye, but nothing screams "Buy me!" Until I look down at the bottom shelf. There, in a row about a foot wide, is a small collection of RPGs and splat books. Mostly old White Wolf stuff and some Shadowrun supplements. But right there in the middle of it is a copy of the West End Games' Star Wars RPG., 2nd Edition. I used to own the original one (there's a copy of that one there too), and I had always wanted to check out the improvements in second edition. And for the bargain price of $3, even the few nicks and bruises on the book aren't enough to keep it out of my basket.

As I said, I used to own the first edition. I remember getting it at Disneyland in 1988 after riding the Star Tours ride for the first of at least a dozen times. I never actually got to play it, but I rolled characters, made up stories, designed ships, aliens, droids and my own templates. This was a great game, and I eagerly carried my new book in anticipation of reliving some simple pleasures.

Flipping through my latest geek acquisition, I am transported back to a time when the Star Wars universe was still unfathomably huge and mysterious. A time before the prequels, when Darth Vader's origins were still shrouded in mystery. When Jedi were legends, and the Jedi Council not much more than a myth. The Clone Wars are long over, and relegated to history, much like our own World War II. The Old Republic has burned, and from its ashes has risen the enigmatic figure of Palpatine and his Galactic Empire. And the underdog Rebel Alliance fights to bring freedom back to the galaxy.

This is the Star Wars I fell in love with. Not the padawan-infested miasma of visually stunning, yet contextually hollow stories. This is the gritty space opera where nothing can replace "a good blaster at your side." Where smugglers and rogues fly tramp freighters, and brave Imperial blockades, gangsters, bounty hunters and all sorts of unknown perils for a chance at a few extra credits to carry them over until they strike it big. A galaxy where a farm boy can dare to dream of something more, and have that dream fulfilled in ways he never imagined. Where princesses needed rescuing, where evil warlords destroyed planets out of spite, and where even the most self-centered scoundrel can show true heroism in the face of certain death.

I miss that Star Wars. But, today, I feel like I got a small part of it back again.

Scary stuff

Just a quick note: the recent story I posted to my FictionPress account has been taken down. I decided to go ahead and submit it for publication, so I sent it off to the first EZine this morning. And it seemed kind of wrong to try to publish it for pay, while keeping a free viewable version out there. If I get a few rejections, and it seems no one is interested in publishing it, I will probably put it back up. Anyways, I'm a bit nervous. It's been a long time since I have submitted anything for publication.

Anyways, this morning was fun. First, I put salt in my wife's coffee (I swear, I thought it was sugar). Then, when she got to work, they were cleaning with Pine-Sol. She is highly allergic to anything pine, so she ended up having a huge reaction. So much so that I had to rush to her work with an Epi Pen, and give her an injection. She's doing fine now, and sleeping off the Benadryl she had taken. It was scary, and I told her if she did that again, I would kick her ass for not having the pen in her purse, as well as the asses of her bosses for letting them use that stuff.

I want to work on some fiction writing today, but I really need to get cracking on my research papers. A 10-page paper on literacy and a 10-page paper on the Viking Age. I sometimes forget that writing something you HAVE to write is much harder than writing something you WANT to write. I will be so glad to be done with school. well, that is until I decide what direction to go if I decide to go to grad school.

One down, a million to go...

So, the other day I managed to finish a full-blown short story. Ok, so it's not actually the first one I have done. But I am particularly proud of this one. It is actually the sequel to my previous one, and continues the tale of the northern barbarian, Ryvor, and the spirit-possessed gauntlet that he is unable to be rid of. Ryvor himself is an unapologetic nod to Robert E. Howard, and I think he is the type of character old Bob might have created. I tried to give a complete experience with this story, though it is part of a larger narrative. How much larger is up in the air. My original intent was to write about ten stories about this character, each being a stand-alone tale, but when read in order and together, they tell a complete over-arcing story. The story has been posted on my FictionPress page for now (see my link to the right), and I'm inviting any and all to read and critique it. Eventually, it will be taken down when I am ready to submit it for publication.

There you go. My first, serious attempt at a publishable piece of fiction. And I have to say, finishing it has given me a new sense of purpose and a bit more motivation. I am eager to begin writing more stories, and am currently reviewing my plethora of false starts for something to finish and polish up. No genre seems safe from me, as my two current front runners are a military sci-fi story and a western.

Not sure how quickly either will get done, though, as my writing muscles are currently being worked out with homework for my last history class before earning my BA in History, and a psychology class that I needed to take so I could manipulate the financial aide system. Both have 10-page research papers due in a couple of weeks. The history one (actually, Historiography, the study of studying history) is about the Vikings. So, it should be pretty interesting, once I narrow my focus down enough.