Robert E. Howard

On this day, the 109^th anniversary of his birth, I feel compelled to post my own thoughts on good ole’ Bob Howard.

Like many of my generation, I discovered Howard’s work through the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film.  And while it can be argued that the character was nothing like Howard wrote (which I agree with, but I still love him anyways), just seeing the film, and the possibilities it represented was enough to hook me.

I had been playing D&D by that time for about 2 years.  Having just moved to Okinawa where my mom was stationed in the Air Force, I had a lot of time on my hands because I wouldn't start school for a few more weeks. 

My mom let me watch a lot of movies while she was at work, and made some suggestions based on my love of D&D.  Conan was among them.  I probably watched it over a dozen times during those first few weeks.  And throughout the rest of high school it was often playing on my own TV, even if just in the background.

Then I took a Sci-Fi/Fantasy class, and I had to pick a book to read.  I found the first Lancer/Ace book, and mistook it for the book based on the movie.  I read it, and was immediately hooked even deeper.  Within a few months I had all twelve volumes, and had read them all, some more than once.

About 10 years ago, I started exploring the other works of Howard.  I have my favorites, among them is Steve Costigan and Cormac Fitzgeoffrey.  I haven’t read all of his work yet, but there’s time.  I own almost all of the Del Rey editions, and several of the various paperbacks that have been published over the decades.

Interestingly, his high-octane short-form writing has defined my reading tastes.  I can’t read GRRM or his ilk, simply because those books feel so plodding and slow by comparison.  Howard only produced a single novel-length work, The Hour of the Dragon (there is some debate about whether he completely wrote his other credited novel, Almuric).  I have read HotD probably five times, and consider it among the greatest fantasy novels ever written.

Others have worded this better than I can (Howard Andrew Jones and Keith West), but there is something about Robert E. Howard’s writing that just grabs the reader and drags them along for the ride.  His knack for action, dialogue, dialects, unique characters, and fantastic settings, all blend to create a reading experience that many have tried to recapture (including myself), but few can match.

It’s probably a safe bet that if you are reading my blog, you have read some of Howard’s works. But, if by chance you haven’t, get thee to the book store, and find some Howard to read!  I promise, you will be entertained at the very least.

 

Here's to you, Bob!  Your legacy lives on!

I'm stumblin'

So, my goal of writing every day is already faltering.  Due to work stuff, school stuff, kid stuff, and just plain being tried and unfocused, I am finding more days with 0's than not.  So, I think I am going to not worry so much about it for now.

As I've stated, school is a big distraction right now.  I have a Critical Review and a 12-page research paper coming up, on top of weekly postings.  The Critical Review is basically a book review with a specific focus in what I am looking at.  Initially I was going to do one of the books I am using a source for my research paper.  But, it's a 400+ page tome.  And while interesting (it's a comparison of Rommel, Patton, and Montgomery), there's no way I will be able to read it all and critique it in time.  So, last night I found a much shorter book that still qualifies, and is even on a pretty interesting aspect of WWII.  So, that should alleviate some of my tension.

My health is starting to effect me more too.  I'm carrying around about 30 extra pounds (and it all seems concentrated in my gut), plus a couple of my important "numbers" are off.  Basically, I just need to eat healthier and exercise more.  So, I am also going to be trying to focus some of my efforts on that.

All of this kind of leaves writing fiction and games out in the cold for a bit.  I'm still going to try to write often.  But I'm just not going to focus on my word tally at this time.

Being a Patron

 

For centuries, the main way artists of all kinds made a living was to have a Patron.  Someone who would sponsor the artist, and basically pay them to make art.  Whether it be painting, sculpture, poetry, or prose, artists were prized members of ancient societies for their expertise and creativity.  But, somewhere along the way, the idea of “Patronage” fell out of vogue.

In recent years the internet has sort of reintroduced the idea to us.  Through crowd-funding, and other means of direct payment, those who enjoy the work of artists can give them a little (or even a lot) for their efforts.  Personally, I have backed a couple of Kickstarters, and donated to a couple of pages.  And today I’m here to talk about another such opportunity.

Those of you who have followed my blog for a long time may recall that I like to gush a bit about Scott Oden.  He’s a personal friend and an inspiration.  We share a common love of all things orcs and Robert E. Howard (to varying degrees, and we do have our good-natured disagreements even on those subjects).  Scott is a very talented storyteller, and I was fortunate enough to be on the beta-reader list for his latest work.  An historical fantasy entitled A Gathering of Ravens.

I will start by saying that it is an amazing story, well-written, filled with action, danger, intrigue, and some pretty thought-provoking ideas.  I could go on and on, but I think I should let him talk about his book himself (once he settles on a blog for it, I will share that).  Suffice it to say, I am as eager for you to read it as I am to read the final product.

Anyways, back to the whole Patron thing, Scott has opened a GoFundMe site, Keep the Words Flowing.  Honestly, I think he should set his goal higher, but he’s pretty humble.  So, I urge you, as would-be patrons of the arts, to visit his page, and donate what you can.

First steps

In an effort to start 2015 off right, I have embarked on a project inspired by Mark Finn. Last year he strove to write 1 million words. He didn’t quite make it for reasons he details in his own blog, but he did accomplish a lot. Now, I’m not going to be so bold as to make the same promise. But I am going to make an effort to get as far as I can.

Virtually all writers agree that the most important part of writing is writing. And that you should do it EVERY day. Whether it’s a sentence, a paragraph, a page, or even a whole chapter, every word you commit to paper/file/etc. is a word closer to The End. I’ve tried in the past to hold myself to this standard, and a bit more. I’ve often set myself a daily word count minimum. Sometimes it’s been 1100 words a day (which is what you need to do to get a 50k word novel in a month, according to NaNoWriMo). Sometimes I’ve pared that down to 500 a day, or even less.

Well, I’ve decided to chuck the number minimums out the window. I created a simple spreadsheet with columns for Date, Word Count, and Project. Ideally, the Date column will have an entry for each day of the year, starting with today. And more importantly, the Word Count column will have a number greater than “0” next to each date (and on days when I fail to write anything, I plan to put a big, fat “0” in there). The Project column will be so I can see where my efforts are most often going. At the top of the sheet will be a running tally that will automatically update every time I enter word count.

And that’s it. Not going to hold myself to a standard that, frankly, I’m not prepared for. Instead, I’ll just be happy if I very few zero’s in that Word Count column. And I want those to stand out. To glare at me in admonishment. I think I’m off to a good start. Did 1018 words today, and I may be able to get a few more in by the time I hit the sack tonight.

It should also be noted that these word counts will be fiction only. Blog posts, social media rants, and homework assignments won’t count.