Feeling a bit better

First of all, let me apologize for my despondent tone yesterday. I was merely venting a frustration, and as it turns out, an unfounded one. At least on the part about my grade. After speaking briefly with my professor about how much that .2% bothered me, he informed me that the grade book is only a reflection of the official tally, and that he has the option to round up if he wants. Which he will be doing for me. So, I got an A- after all! Oddly, I am very relieved about this, and I don't really know why. But, I'll take it happily and move on to the Byzantine Empire in a week and a half.

Today I find, as I often do, that I have some free time on my hands while awaiting responses to various inquiries. And I want to use it to write. But, unfortunately, as often happens, nothing is grabbing my interest. Not any of my game projects, fiction projects, or even new ideas. Ah well. Something will spark eventually, I think.

I'm taking some time to read for pleasure lately. I have not been doing this at all for the last few months, despite the absolute plethora of available material at my fingertips. I start to read and I either get distracted, or get restless. So, I picked up something lite and easy. Right now I am reading Kothar of the Magic Sword by Gardner F. Fox. It's one of those slender (156 pages) "Clonan" books that were popular in the 70's. I have to say, it's not high literature by any stretch, but it's fun.

Kothar is very much a Conan knock-off, but that knowledge makes the book and character more enjoyable, I think. I don't have to figure him out. I just accept him for who he is, and enjoy the action and intrigue. The other thing about reading this book is that it is making me think about a WIP I have about my own "Clonan" of sorts. Unfortunately, that story is on my flash drive at home (remember, my work now actively bans their use here), so I will have to wait until I get home to put it on MyDrive.

But, I think tomorrow could be a good fiction-writing day.

Moved!

Well, the move is done. We are officially out of the old and into the new. This apartment has a bigger floor plan, a better layout, and generally just feels more comfortable. The only downside is that, unlike the previous place, this one doesn't have a large storage room for us to use. Subsequently, our living room is jammed full of boxes and bins that we have been able to forget about for a couple of years now. However, we are turning that into a positive, and plan to purge our collection of old, useless junk over the next couple of weeks.

As part of that, I have set aside my three main "Geek Boxes" for review. Inside two plastic bins and one printer paper box are several items of Geek Lore. There is a large amount of D&D books from 1st and 2nd edition, as well as books and supplements for a host of other RPG's, much of which will probably end up on EBay. There is a large stack of Savage Sword of Conan issues (which will not be purged). There are numerous old computer games that will be reviewed for possible uploading (I already have a request by Isaac to upload WarCraft III when the computer is up and running). And really, Lord knows what else is in there. This should be fun!

In other, more exciting news, I received an email from Keith West this morning. Keith has had a blog up for a long time where he reviews fiction of all sorts, and he has reviewed many of my short stories there. Recently, he started reviewing for Amazing Stories (totally awesome gig, IMHO), and this morning he let me know that he had reviewed my recent collection, With a Silken Fist, over there. Some very kind words, and high praise. Once more I am indebted to him. But, more than that, it's cool to know that my efforts were successful. I'm always trying to make my writing better, so it was nice to hear that not only were my stories entertaining, but the embellishments and additions I had added to two of the stories improved their quality.

So, I am back to work getting caught up after taking three days off last week. In between that I am getting caught up on my blogs and blog-reading, some Facebooking on my iPhone, and generally other life stuff. I was fortunate not to have any homework last week in my class, but I know I will this week. And finally, I will be trying to get some writing done as I can.

And finally, on Saturday, my daughter turned 18! Very proud of her. She has grown into a pretty responsible young woman, and with just a little more guidance, she is going to be off to a great start. And we have a party planned for this coming weekend, including a bounce house. Cuz, that's how my family rolls.

All in all a very busy and productive weekend. But man, am I tired!

Pre-Writing

It just hit me today that I have been letting this blog languish (and now I'm wondering if anyone noticed).  I have been posting at my gaming blog a lot, though.  In fact, most of my leisure thoughts keep turning to role-playing games lately.  I should probably step back from that a bit.  Not that I will.  But I probably should.

Anyways, a while back I posted a status on Facebook about how dumb I feel when I can't remember how to spell a character's name from a previous story.  Apparently I'm not the only one who does this.  However, all of my friends who commented have characters with complex and oddly-spelled names.  Which made me feel kinda dumb, since my character has a pretty simple name.  In my case, it's a matter of replacing an "a" with an "e" every time.  Need to work on that.

One thing that came up was that most writers keep some kind of reference document, or "cheat sheet" handy when writing, just for this kind of thing.  I have rarely done that, and when I have, I always seem to forget about it, or not need it.  But, I think for my next project, I am going to do it, and do it right.

The project is basically "orcs in space."  The idea is one that has been rolling around for ages (it originated with a Dragon*Star campaign I ran in San Diego).  One day a few weeks ago, I lamented that I was feeling creatively dried up, and a friend, who knows well my love of orcs, as well as my love of Stallone movies, suggested "The Expendables with orcs."  Holy cow!  That's awesome!

So, here I am dreaming up some ideas for Sgt. Gorm and the Reavers (though the team name might change, as I use Reavers in my fantasy stories).  Interestingly, I posed the question of what kinds of missions would you expect a mercenary group to go on, looking for things like rescue, destruction, assassination, etc.  What I got were pieces of advice on how to make the stories interesting.  Not what I was looking for, but I appreciated the input.

Something else I am doing is writing up a background for orcs as they exist in the Star Frontiers universe.  This serves the dual purpose of keeping the race consistent, and providing some background for that game.  I'm having fun with that too.

Too bad I have homework to do.  And we're moving soon.  And life keeps handing us lemons and stuff.

Whimsical Reading

Does anyone else have this problem? When I get a chance to just sit down and read a book, I often struggle to settle on a title, because my eclectic tastes in literature cause me a great amount of turmoil sometimes. Subsequently, I find that I can only really concentrate on a book, and stick it out to the end, if I am “in the mood” for it.

Due to this, I often start a book, and for whatever reason, have to set it aside for a good while. Then, when I come back to it, I find that, despite the fact that it’s well-written and in a genre I enjoy, if I am not feeling that particular mindset, I can’t dig in. Consequently, I always seem to have at least three books at any given time just sitting on the shelf with bookmarks in them.

I think I am going to resolve to complete those before I start in on a new one. I am currently reading Gauntlegrym by RA Salvatore. But, I really only read it at work, during breaks and such. So, I think that will stay here. At home, I am going to start working on the ones that I really want to finish. I think first up will be The Lion of Cairo by Scott Oden. I’m about half way through it, so I should be able to dig in. His writing and characters are very memorable, so I doubt I will have any trouble settling in if I put my mind to it.

That’s my one saving grace; I seem to have a knack for picking up a book that I started but put down months ago, and getting right back into it without having to move backwards to “refresh.” I just did that with a Mack Bolan book. I had gotten about ¾ of the way through it a couple of months back, but had to set it aside due to many factors. But, when I picked it back up the other day, I got right back in and finished it up within a couple of days.

On the writing front, the next Orc story is progressing nicely. I posted a tease about it on Facebook yesterday, and got some interesting responses. I think this one will surprise some people, even though the plot will probably be predictable and maybe just a pinch cliché. But, it’s more about the characters for me.

Moving forward

Tomorrow we will be signing the lease on our new apartment. We were supposed to do it yesterday, but there was a breakdown in communications between the people working at the new complex. We have not actually gotten to see the apartment we will be moving into (just a similar unit with a reversed floor plan). And the complex has a policy that new tenants can't sign a lease until they have physically viewed the actual unit. So, we set up an appointment to go see it tomorrow, and then sign the lease. We will be moving in on the 31st.

For the next two and a half weeks we will be furiously sorting, packing, and trashing our current domicile. The goal is to minimize clutter in the new place by throwing out what we don't need (which will NOT include any of my books), put some things into our storage unit (which will probably include some more of my books than is already out there), and only moving what is necessary at this time. I am dreading the actual move itself, but I am excited about being moved. We’ve lived in this apartment for three and a half years, and it has been steadily shrinking. It’ll be nice to stretch out.

In the mean time, life moves forward. Still working on school. My current class is a huge disappointment. It’s History and Popular Culture. That sounds like it would be fun, right? Talking about pop culture today, and maybe comparing it to what qualified as pop culture in past eras (and even other cultures). But no, the focus is exploring “Popular Culture” through the lens of a modern city. So far we have talked about Streets (actual, physical streets), Hospitals, and Hotels…zZZz…

Trying to keep myself mentally active is tough these days. With all of the stress of the impending move, the failed attempt to buy a house, my daughter’s graduation and subsequent relocation to our house, and the normal day-to-day stuff, I have been somewhat creatively dry. This week I had plenty of time to write. My boss is out, and I found that I had a ton of free time on my hands. But, that blank Word Doc just keeps mocking me.

I have done a bit of game-related writing, including a good spat of writing that ended with a low-level adventure. We’re also playing some D&D Next. But I’ll leave that to my other blog, and spare my non-gamer friends.

Last night I did have a sudden inspiration, though. I have been rolling around some ideas for my orc stories, continuing the adventures of Gortek, Pekra, and the Reavers. Right now I have a short story in process focusing on Pekra and Bofdek (the dwarf from The Orc Way). But, I am determined to move past short stories, and start writing longer works. And last night I got an idea for a novel (or maybe a novella, we’ll see) about these characters. It involves invaders and a war.

I’m hammering out some interesting ideas for this. One of them is a character who is a dwarf/human hybrid. This has been done before in fantasy fiction, and it’s interesting to see the various points of view on this idea (mainly from D&D gamers, who are very familiar with interspecies breeding in fantasy settings). I’ll just have to come up with some kind of unique twist on the idea.

Gaming Fiction

I have a question for the fantasy readers out there: How do you view gaming fiction? What I mean is, where on the heirarchy of literature do novels based on role-playing games (like D&D) fall? This question comes to mind for a couple of reasons. First of all, a few weeks ago I was on Goodreads looking at some of my favorite books, giving them ratings, and a few reviews. And while reading some of the reviews for the Dragonlance Chronicles, I was disheartened to see so many disparraging comments regarding this trilogy, and gaming fiction in general.

Most of the commentary seemed to be pretty dismissive (even if backhanded), and the books are viewed as nothing more than geeks talking about their roleplaying sessions and their favorite characters. As anyone who has actually read these books should know, this couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, there are certain conventions that refer back to the game rules. But really, how is that different than any other fantasy (or genre) fiction? When an author writes a genre story, he sets out specific rules and parameters for how things like magic and religion work within the world of his writing. Just because, in the case of gaming fiction, those rules are actually written in detail, and in the context of a game, doesn't change the fact that they are still rules, and that the characters are still characters.

That being said, I will concede that some gaming fiction seems to step over the line, and come across as a description of a gaming session. However, the higher quality works do not do this. They are fully realized works of fiction that stand alone, and I would wager that the better stuff is on par with more "literary" genre fiction.

The other reason this comes up is that I am starting work on an epic fantasy trilogy. The premise and many of the ideas are closely related to my gaming experience. Now, my trilogy is going to be set in an original world, and will have no actual connection to D&D per se. However, I can foresee some people looking at it and making the connection anyways. And therefore, it could be just dismissed as "gaming fiction" and forgotten by non-gamers. I'd like to avoid that, if possible (assuming I can motivate my lazy ass into writing the damn thing).

I'm not really sure what I'm asking as far as my own writing is concerned. But, I thought it might be good to get some others' perspectives on game-related fiction as a whole to begin with.

Gaming and Stuff

So, I posted this over at my gaming blog, Wishful Gaming, but thought I would re-blog it here too.  Cuz I'm excited!

...

So, I get to really get my Geek on in November. I just registered for a 3-day, VIG (Very Important Gamer) pass for Gamehole Con here in Madison on November 1-3.

This will officially be my first gamer convention where I am strictly a patron. I went to Gen Con a few years back, but that was as a vendor, when I worked for ACD Distribution. This time I will be participating in games, sitting in for panels, and probably spending too much money on RPG-related crap that I don’t need (I need to start squirreling money away for this).

I’m kind of excited because, as a VIG pass-holder, I get access to early registration for special events. There is a good chance that I could play in a game run by either Ernie Gygax or Frank Mentzer (or, heaven forbid, BOTH!). Truth be told, this actually makes me nervous. I have this fear of being looked down on by other gamers because I “do it wrong.”

I never said I was a rational person.

Regardless, I am also looking forward to just taking it all in. I’m hoping this thing has a pretty big turnout, and that there will be lots to do. My wife is only going to go on Saturday, so two of my days there I will be on my own. I have a friend who is supposed to be getting the 3-day pass as well, so I will probably hang with him most of the time.

It has taken me many years, but I think I have finally accepted the fact that I am just a big ol’ geek. My exes tended to try to nudge me away from my hobbies, and none of them were ever interested in sharing in my adventures (well, there was one who played AD&D with me…but I’m sure it was just so she could keep tabs on me). My current wife, however, is a gamer. And though our tastes in games are sometimes a bit different (she is a huge Vampire fan), she totally gets my love for the hobby.

So, if you are coming to Madison, look for me. On one of the days, I will be the guy in the black Barbarian t-shirt from my Zazzle store. Not sure what I will wear the other two days, though…

...

In other news, I got confirmation from the editor at Weird tales that my stories are slated to be published in the near future.  The issue after the next one is a S&S issue, and he would like to publish both stories there.  I offered to edit the stories together, so I may do that, if he likes.  This is awesome news, as I had not heard anything in many months, and was about to start shopping the stories around.

There are some new developments on our housing situation, but I will wait until things are finalized to chit-chat about that.

All in all, life is pretty good.

Silver linings

Well, we made it official.  The house-buying is a no-go.  We contacted the crappy-assed broker who screwed us over with his incompetence, and asked for a letter of denial from the lending institution, so we could get our earnest money back.  But, we're still having to move next month.

Turns out that, soon after we put in our notice to vacate on the word of the shitty broker who said he was sure we would be approved, the apartment complex rented out our place.  The good news is, they have another one with the same floorplan in a different building opening up at the end of August.  The bad news is, we have to be out of our current one by the end of the July.  But the good news is they have a smaller 3 bedroom that they will let us rent for a month in the meantime.

Good lord, I need a drink.

Bottom line is, we have about 15 more months of renting.  In that time we will be focused on organizing and decluttering, both physically and metaphorically.  We will work on growing my wife's business so that, when we are able to count her income, it will be significant.  And we will continue to improve our credit scores.  All in good time.  Sometimes it's hard to watch people who seem like they don't deserve good fortune enjoy an abundance of it, while we suffer for stupid reasons.  Universe?  Yeah, I'd like to order a Break Special with a side of Good Fortune, please.

In other news, my recently graduated daughter has secured employment, and as of Monday, will be enrolled in cosmetology school.  She's pro-active and motivated, and impresses me with her drive and determination.  I'm glad she didn't get that part of my laziness.  We're also hoping that her forward momentum will inspire Isaac to follow suit.  It's time he started learning to be a man, IMHO.  But, I don't blame him for his hesitancy.  He went through some tough times, and this whole thing is forcing a lot of learning on him.

But, just so this post isn't only about me and my personal problems, let's talk writing.  With all of this stress lately, writing has been difficult at best.  However, today my head is a bit clearer, so I think I can start to refocus myself.  Yesterday I tinkered with an unfinished sci fi story I have.  Some of you may recall my attempt to do serial fiction about a character named Thomas Magni, Galactic Man of Action.  Well, I have his first story about 2/3 to 3/4 done.  I just need to figure out the particulars of the ending and then write it.  It's only a short piece, and probably won't break much beyond 5k, if that.  But, it's a fun story, with a lot tongue-in-cheek humor and action.  I'll probably try to shop this one around the markets more before I just give up and ePub it.

Yesterday, while perusing Facebook, I saw a comment regarding the late, great Richard Matheson, and the older days of Sci Fi/Fantasy literature, and it made me think.   The comment was about how stand-alone novels seem to be things of the past.  And it seems that every book written these days, regardless of genre, is geared towards a series or trilogy.  Related to that comment was someone else's opinion that they prefer shorter works, and are tired of the gigantic doorstoppers.  I was just glad I'm not the only person who feels that way.  So, I'm thinking this may be where I am going to steer some of my writing.  Individual novels of moderate length, that can stand on their own, without sequels.

We'll see how that goes.  First I need to knuckle down and just write a damn book.

Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’

Imagine this guy as an Orc
wearing a battered red beret.

Not much has happened that I haven’t bored my reader with before lately. We’re still awaiting a final loan approval on the house. This part makes me nervous. If, for some reason, we don’t get the loan, we have to come up with a Plan B. Which will be difficult. I’m sure the apartment complex we live in would let us withdraw our notice and stay here. But, then again…

It’s all made more nerve wracking because the guy doing our loan doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. He just asked me a question regarding my income last week that was exactly what he asked me a few weeks ago. And it’s not even a difficult question, and one he, as a mortgage professional, should already know. We were told he can be a bit eccentric, so I hope that’s all this is.

Things are interesting at the Doolan house these days. With my daughter there full-time, I get to see how she and her boyfriend interact on a more regular basis (you may or may not recall we rescued him last November from a very bad situation). For the most part, they have been very well-behaved. Expect that they tend to talk to each other like they are 12, and he can really be a smarmy ass sometimes. I sometimes have to bite my tongue, so they can work out their own relationship. But, it’s starting to affect the younger ones, so I feel that we are going to have to have a sit down with them.

Anyways, enough of that stuff. Last week I finally got around to watching Predators with Adrian Brody. It’s a sequel of sorts to the 1987 Arnold classic, and was really well-done. I thought this one was actually better than Predator 2 with Danny Glover, and I liked that one. But this brought to light that my daughter hasn’t seen some of the great sci-fi action movies that I love, like Predator and Aliens. So, we watched Aliens last night. I think she liked it, but it was so late when we were done last night I forgot to ask what she thought. She did get creeped out at the right spots, so that’s a good point.

Interestingly, when I was watching it, I realized something. One of my recent projects is a military sci-fi story featuring Orcs and other fantasy races in space. I’m building my own universe, but it’s highly influenced by Fantasy Flight’s Dragonstar RPG.  This story is based on a squad of Orc mercenaries. So, when I watched Aliens again, it struck me that I seemed to be basing my main character, Sgt. Gorm, on the character of Apone. And I’m cool with that, though it wasn’t a conscious effort. I worked on that story last week, and may work some more on it today, and this week.

Another note on this project, I recycled a snippet that I had written about an Orc sniper a while back. I might have posted that here, but I can’t recall. Either way, with a bit of trimming and tweaking, it fit perfectly into the story I was writing, and will serve as an excellent opening scene.

Yay for recycled writing!

Morning Java



Agesilaus II of Sparta.

 Here I sit at my desk at work.  My boss is on the road today.  I have a few tasks to complete, but nothing all that time-consuming or immediate.  So, of course I open Word, and choose one of my many ongoing writing projects.  This morning it is my Sword & Sorcery novella/novel (I'm aiming for 40-50k, but it could end up being shorter).  I set my old iPhone 3G, which serves as an iPod right now, to playing epic soundtracks (currently Troy).  I place my fingers on the keyboard, stare at the screen like a sprinter waiting for the shot, and then...nothing.

So, when the words have a hard time getting started, what do I do?  I blog!

From my last post, you know that things have been hectic lately.  But, this week things have managed to slow down a bit.  With school being done for a week, and my next class promising to be pretty low-stress (I don't even have to buy any books, as all of the reading will be from the online library and in "handouts"), I have put academia out of my mind a bit.  Not completely, though.

As some of you may know, one of my long-standing projects is a biographical novel about Agesilaus II of Sparta.  He was an interesting character in that, despite being born with a deformity (usually a death-sentence for a Spartan infant), he was spared, and eventually sent to the agoge, even though he was the son of the king.  He excelled in his training and is regarded by the ancient historians Xenophon and Plutarch (among others) as being an extremely just and competent ruler, once he assumed the throne from his brother, Agis.  And yet, his rulership coincided with the downfall of Sparta, from which it would never rise to power again.  Thus history often lays the blame for this at Agesilaus' feet.  Whether that is justified or not, is irrelevant, as that is how history has been recorded for millennia, and is only now starting to change.

Anyways, my initial idea was to write about Agesliaus' youth, of which there is virtually no record.  It seems such a natural fit for historical fiction, as I can make most of it up, as long as the results coincide with recorded history.  However, for a previous class, I did a research paper on this very subject, extrapolating a probable outline of his youth based on what we are told about him, what we know happened during his early life (as in, the Peloponnesian War), and what life for a Spartan was like during that period in history.

I got full marks for the paper, and have even self-published it as a Kindle for $.99 (it's listed on my author page linked above, if you're interested).  This got me to thinking about possibly doing his story not as historical fiction, but as a work of academically researched nonfiction.  I already have a decent start.  I could basically expand on the various points I bring up in my paper until I have about 80,000 words.  Seems simple enough, right?

It's just an idea right now, but I am going to seriously consider it.

In the meantime, I will continue to dabble in my fantasy and science fiction stories, and see where it all leads me.

After I finish my coffee, of course.

It is finished...

After months of false starts, starts and stops, and downright procrastinating, I am finally done.  I have finished my 10k Sword & Planet story for Scott Oden's anthology.  The last 2700 words were written this morning.  By my count, there are now five complete stories in his hands for this, with at least a few more on the way (hopefully).  No word on whether it will be a print book, an ebook, or both.  Either way, I feel elated.  I always do when I finish a story.

Now that that one is done, I am kind of milling about mentally for what to do next.  I have no stories that have anyone waiting on them.  Well, aside from the various sequels that people keep wondering when I am going to write.  I should probably work on one of those.  But then there's a few longer projects, including a S&S novel (aiming for 40-50k on that one).

Of course, there is the 13-page paper on Social History due in a week and half.  Yeah, I should probably get going on that...

The weather was crap this weekend, but yesterday and today have been beautiful.  Walked both days at lunch, and I'm feeling pretty good about myself.  Hoping to get my punching bag hung up tonight so I can give that a go.  The kids have been stressing me out lately, and I could use the aggressive release.

Yesterday I got on a kick and looked into dressing up as Jack Flack for Wizard World.  The hardest part will be the gray leather jacket.  I asked my wife about making one (she sews and is looking at making her own costumes), and she said she might be able to do it, if she can find a decent pattern.  It's basically a Panzer jacket design, with zippers, and superfluous pockets.  The rest is pretty normal clothes that I already have, or can easily get.  I even have a beret, though I'd need to find a suitable flash.  I'm just wondering how many people would recognize who I was supposed to be...

Of course, all of this thinking about Jack gave me an idea for a new writing project.  But, I think I'll keep that one under my hat for now.

Questions and Ponderings

Friday's game was decent.  Most of it was travel time, with a good RP encounter in a sacked village that involved a group of Were (think tall wolf-men) of questionable allegiance.  They had helped in one way, but hindered in another.  Created some tension, and put the party in an interesting predicament.  Ahnuld didn't get to do much besides help investigate a temple to his god that was spared destruction for some reason.  However, next session promises to start with a roll for Initiative.  Sweet!

I also recently started a Facebook page for my Orc RPG.  Invited a bunch of friends and posted a download link to the playtest version.  It's more or less a complete game.  I just need to fine-tune the rules, and make any changes that playtesting comes up with.  Then it will need illustrations and artwork, and it will be pretty much ready to go.  Not sure how I will sell it.  Probably offer it as a PDF, but I might also do Print On Demand through Lulu or someplace like that.  We'll see how that goes.  First things first, though.  I need people to play it and give me feedback.

Earlier this weekend, Charles Gramlich asked me on Facebook where he could review my latest story, Blood from Sand.  And I honestly didn't know how to respond.  It is currently not available in any format, so there is no Amazon or Smashwords page to review it on.  I suppose he could review it on his blog, but what about people who read the review and wonder where to get the story?  Right now the plan is to re-publish the story, along with revised versions of both Pekra and Severance in a collection showcasing some of my better female protagonists.  That will happen in just under two weeks, after Severance gets out from under Amazon's KDP Select program.

I'll have to ponder that for a bit more.  In the meantime, I am down to one more discussion topic and a Term paper for this class.  So, my next couple of weeks will be focusing on that.  Probably won't get a whole lot of writing done, but that's nothing new.

I did start something that I am hoping to keep up with, though.  I have a tall bookshelf in our room that has been relegated more for clothes than books.  However, I cleared a shelf off so I could put some books there a while back.  Yesterday I organized the shelf with books that I would like to read over the course of the next year.  There's some new stuff there, some relatively new stuff, and some classics.  It's all various genres and lengths, but the main portion is Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery.

The first in queue is Orcs: Bad Blood by Stan Nicholls.  The direct sequel to the first Orcs trilogy, Stryke and the Wolverines are pulled back into conflict.  I had started reading it a while back, but had to set it aside (no doubt for school reasons).  So, when I picked it back up yesterday, I started right where I left off.  After just a couple of pages it all started coming back to me, and I am once more right in the thick of the story.

Had a good Mother's Day yesterday.  Made breakfast, went to church, had lunch at Red Robin, chilled at the house and watched The Dark Knight Rises (finally), and then just lazed the rest of the day away.  Michele says it was a great Mother's Day.  And, as long as she's happy, I'm happy.

Monday

First off, an update on this whole PayPal thing.  Turns out, like any other business, you merely need to threaten to take your business elsewhere to get attention.  After sending them a couple of emails about the issue I was having, including the afore-mentioned threat, I got a call from them yesterday.  Now, I didn't answer, since the call came from Nebraska, and I know absolutely no one who lives there.  But, they followed up with a personal email explaining the situation.  Basically, you can't have more than one PayPal account linked to a bank account.  And since my wife has already linked hers to our bank for D20 Girls, my account couldn't be connected.  Long story short, the money will get transferred somehow.  But I am still done using PayPal for this kind of stuff.

Anyways, it's Monday, coffee is still being imbibed, and work has a few tasks that need to be cleaned up.  Oh, and I forgot my effing flash drive at home again!  So, no working on current projects.  But, that won't stop me.  I have some ideas that I might start exploring.  Plus, I have an essay due on Sunday.  But those are fairly easy at this point.  I just need to discuss a topic for less than five pages.  Seems like a lot of latitude, but I have personal standards (I try to write at least four pages, regardless).

Today happens to be Kate Mulgrew's birthday.  For those new to this blog, I count myself among that minority of Trekkies that loves Voyager.  It's a close second behind TOS, in my book.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love all of them (with the exception of Enterprise, as I never watched it).  And I have mentioned it a time or two here.  But for some reason, Voyager really struck a chord with me, more so than TNG or DS9.  I think I just really liked the characters.  And the idea that they were just out there all alone, with no Starfleet to back them up.

So, now my brain is in Star Trek mode.  A friend and I were discussing his misguided dislike for Voyager when he mentioned that he would like to see a show that focuses on the Klingons in a post TNG era, where they are trying to re-establish the Klingon Empire, and get out from under the Federation's influence.  A show about honor and the rebuilding past glory.  I think that would be brilliant!  Good idea, Andre.

Other than that, not much is going on.  My new ebook will be delayed until near the end of this month, as I have to wait for one of the stories to get out from under the KDP Select program.  Which is fine, as it gives me more time to do some revisions, and to figure out a cover image.  I am kind of particular about those.  I don't want any of my books ending up on those blogs and sites that make fun of crappy book covers.

Ah, Monday...

Random Monday Musings

Since my brain is feeling a bit cloudy today, I thought I would try to rev it up with some writing here.

Last night we watched The Grey with Liam Neeson. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it was pretty intense, and though you could see shit coming from a mile away, everything that happened still managed to startle me when it was supposed to. I thought the characters were well-done, and over all, it was a well crafted film. Except the ending. All of that build up, and then…cut to black. I felt robbed. Although, if you stayed until the end of the closing credits, there was a quick shot that alluded to an earlier scene. This kind of gave you resolution. But not enough. I give it a 7 out of 10.

In other news, based in part on Keith’s comment on my last post, an idea that has been lingering for a while came forward with some clarity. Look for a new eBook to come soon. On a related note, I have re-priced two of my longer stories. I figure if publications base their pay on your word-count, then it wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to do the same with my self-publishing. And finally, after reading an article about non-fiction seeming to sell well on Kindle, I threw a couple of my academic history papers together and published them. They’re listed on my shiny new Amazon Author page, linked above. I also have a Goodreads author page, but I can’t link to it right now, as my work internet can’t translate that site very well (it’s a long story, involving an out of date version of IE that I can’t upgrade).

Now that the weather is starting to actually look like Spring (though the weather reports keep mentioning “chance for snow”), I am looking at getting outside more and being more active. Related to that, my friend gave me a punching bag that his kids had, but almost never used. It’s a good, heavy one. I need to drag it down to the basement, so I can hang it up and start taking out some aggression. Also, since it’s so heavy, I can wrap old belts around it, and make handles for lifting. Some good strength-training right there. My goal is to be in good enough shape that I can actually look like a superhero, should I choose to dress up for Wizard World Chicago in August.

Speaking of Cosplay, my wife is now an official “D20 Girl.” This is a group who organizes women cosplayers for pop culture conventions. But, rather than hired model “Booth Babes” who don’t actually know much about what they are promoting, these girls are authentic gamers and geeks. So, she will get free tickets to (relatively) local conventions, and will be required to wear costumes. She’s already planning on several options. This is way cool!

 

(By the way, this is not my wife.  Just a girl explaining what they do.)

Tom's Brain

Not to be confused with Spock's Brain.

So, this morning I found myself looking at my web-presence, specifically blogs, and what I would like to do.  Right now I have two blogs, this one and Fighting Man's Fitness.

This blog is more or less a dumping ground for all the crap that goes through my brain.  Here you get a slice of my life, some of my musings, my ideas, my dastardly (and not so dastardly) schemes, and generally just all kinds of stuff that interests me.  I try to keep these posts focused, at least a little, on writing and associated interests.  But I know I stray a lot.

Fighting Man's Fitness started out as a way of holding myself accountable for getting myself in better health, and better shape.  To that end, it was a bit cathartic at first to purge myself of a few demons, and organize my thoughts on the whole idea.  But now it has fallen off my radar, for the most part.  And whenever I open my Blogger Dashboard, I find myself wondering why I even have it.

So, I'm thinking of getting rid of the exercise blog, and substituting it with a Gaming blog.  This new idea would be where I discuss the gaming that I do (or want to do, or wish I could do) in all forms.  From Tabletop RPGs to Video Games to Online MMOs.  It would also be a place where I talk about one of my other passions, game-designing (specifically for Tabletop RPGs).

Oddly, this would be about the fourth blog I have started here, aside from my main one (which you are reading now).

Anyways, in other news, I am working on some ideas for writing Pulp Adventure stories.  Not specific stories, or even characters yet, but rather the methods and mechanics of what makes a good story.  Lester Dent, creator and prolific writer of Doc Savage stories back during the late Pulp Era, was famous for using a "formula" for all of his stories.  This is what allowed him to crank out literally dozens of stories in a relatively short period.

I have taken his formula, and boiled it down and defined it in terms that I can get around, personally.  My next step is to come up with a cool Hero, a cast of recurring characters and villains, and some plot devices.  Then I plug that all into the SuperComputer, and presto! PULP ADVENTURE!!

Ok, I'm not going to actually do "paint by numbers" stories.  But the idea intrigues me, and I think it would be a good springboard for some dashing adventure fiction.

I also have a 250-word Abstract on my Term Paper due on Sunday.  I suppose I should get started on that whole mess this week too.

Plot Problems and Fears

When I write, my biggest obstacle is always Plot. I think I’m pretty good at characters and characterizations. I’m rather proud of my ability to write action scenes. And I think I’m fairly decent at descriptions and setting. But all of that means nothing without a Plot. And that is where I falter.

I have a hard time figuring out what should happen to characters. What should the main thrust of the story’s narrative be? How do my characters get from Point A to Point B in a somewhat original, entertaining, and non-linear way? And don’t get me started on sub-plots. Stories within stories make my head hurt when I am trying to invent them.

This is why I tend to write short stories. I can use simple plots and sub-plots, and the outcome is pretty straight-forward. The idea of doing a book-length story of any quality kind of intimidates me.

And that’s probably why I falter. It’s like when I was a kid, I was scared to death to go off the high-dive. Then, at summer camp, I did it. It was easy because the water was so over chlorinated, you couldn’t see how deep it was. When I got home, I went to the local pool, which was crystal clear. And that 12 feet of water scared the living crap outta me! But, I jumped anyways (though I jumped sideways and tried to hit as close to the ladder as possible).

And that’s probably what I need to do for my writing. Just jump. Every piece of writing advice I have ever read tells you that your first works will suck. That’s very disheartening. My ego is fragile, so I can’t imagine enduring endless amounts of “Wow, that was lame. You should just scrap it.”

I avoided that with my first few short stories by self-publishing them. But I don’t know if that’s a viable option. Either way, it requires me to actually write the book(s). And so I am back to being scared of the whole process. Yeah, I know there’s no logic behind my fear. But that doesn’t make it any less real or less paralyzing.

So, are there any tips or tricks to developing a good plot? Or am I going to have to just muscle through it?

Some stuff

So, ever since that douchebacle with The Action Elite, I have just been lurking on occasion. It’s a good source of news and I still liked to read reviews and stuff there. I just wasn’t able to post or comment anymore, which was fine. But today, I go there, and all that loads up is a blank white screen with the words “You Are Banned.” at the top. Apparently the dick who runs the site has had some fancy IT stuff done to block my IP Address, or some such. What a loser.

Anyways, in other news, the plague is finally running its course in our house. After each of the rest of us went through it (with my son going so far as to get an ear infection), my wife has finally come down with it as of yesterday. She had to stay home from our make-up session of D&D yesterday, and is working through it like a champ today (both the smaller kids are home with her all day).

Speaking of the little ones, not only did Connor get an ear infection, but Sydney had to have an emergency appendectomy last week! Yeah, she started complaining about abdominal pains on Tuesday. With her being a 10-year old with a penchant for crying wolf, we didn’t think very seriously of it. But her father, having had his appendix removed when he was a kid, took note of the location of the pain when she complained at his house on Wednesday, and took her to the hospital. Long story short, it was inflamed to twice the normal size. She went through the procedure fine, and is on her last day of recovery today.

Scary stuff, man.

I wish I could talk more about my writing, but just about all that my keyboard does these days is compose stuff for school. I have narrowed my research paper to talking about the influence of the Vikings on European and Asian cultures, so I will be starting to pound that out soon. I have another essay due in a couple of weeks, so I’ll be starting that probably tonight. And the discussion boards are constantly calling.

However, I have been looking at all the stuff on my flash drive, and have been picking at a few things lately. I have about five works that are each roughly half done, give or take, with the remainder of each planned out. Now I just need to knuckle down and do it. Maybe now that my house is nearly illness-free, I can do that.

You know, once I dislodge myself from the Xbox and from DCUOnline again…

The Muse

I have been fighting off sickness for almost a week now.  It comes and goes in waves.  Some days, I'm fine, others, not so much.  The one thing I hate the most about being sick is the drain on my energy levels.  As my body fights off infections, I am unable to move much, or to think very clearly.  God forbid if I try to write something coherent during this time.  So, as a result, despite having a lot of time to myself in the last few days, I have produced just about nothing.

Yesterday, I had the first essay due in my class.  I had started it last week, before getting sick.  The beginning was strong, and I think I stated my intent clearly, and backed it up logic and reason.  And then I got sick.  Yesterday I was home with several symptoms which muddled me so bad all I wanted to do was lay in a tomb and mummify.  But, the essay was due, so I dug in and did it.  All in all, it probably isn't as bad I think it was.  But, I guess we'll have to see.

This morning, I am feeling much better.  So, in between work tasks, I usually have Word open to any given story (if I am properly inspired).  Today, Word was open, but the page was blank.  I couldn't start writing, or continue writing because I am still kind of in a fog.  So, I opened the WIP of Scott Oden's latest work, A Gathering of Ravens.  I am honored to be among a few beta readers, helping him keep on track as he converts a detailed synopsis into a finished novel.

Anyways, aside from enjoying his writing immensely, and being so engrossed in the story that I hated it when I reached the end, I was also inspired.  As most of you know, I am working on an Historical novel in fits and spurts about King Agesilaus II of Sparta.  Well, today I was inspired to create a new character that would serve as a temporary POV character during a battle scene.  As I thought about the character more, I realized he could be much more important to Agesilaus' story.  Oddly enough, when I opened my "notes" file, I found that a similar character had already been thought of many months ago, but completely forgotten. 

Or, was he?

I have come to the conclusion that this is how my Muse works.  I will get a germ of an idea; I jot down my initial thought; and then it percolates.  Eventually, something sparks renewed interest in that idea (consciously or subconsciously), and I begin to flesh things out again.  In time the idea will fully come to fruition and mesh with other, similar ideas, and a story will emerge.  At least, that's how it should work.  I'll let you know if/when it does.

In the meantime, let me ponder the implications of the events at the Battle of Mantinea, in 418 BCE...

As an interesting aside, tomorrow is my wife's birthday, and in celebration I am taking her to see a group called Muse on Monday.  Funny, that is. :)

Was that a tumbleweed?

Ok, not that kind of Boxing.
But Rocky always makes my blog cooler.

Happy Boxing Day!

To celebrate, the Fight Card books are on sale for Kindle for $.99 each for the next week or so.  I've read the first three and they are awesome!  If you enjoy boxing stories in the tradition of Robert E. Howard, and the Fight Stories of the Pulp Age, check them out.  I think I might just grab the rest that I don't have yet.

Anyways, here I am at work.  Practically alone.  Nothing much to do but a few small tasks.  Naturally, I am inclined to goof off.  And of course, maybe write and do some homework.

On the writing front, I hope to crank out more of my S&P story for Scott's anthology.  I verified with him that I am not holding up progress, so the pressure isn't too great.  But I would still like to finish it soon.  So, I may work on that over the next couple of days.

On the homework front, I am behind on a couple of discussions. I can post on those still, but I will have points deducted for lateness.  Still, I managed A's on both of my Academic Book Reviews, and I think my research paper turned out fairly well.  So I should be ok on that front.

On the subject of the research paper, and on writing, I figure that the paper will serve as the basis of the synopsis for my Agesilaus book.  All I have to do is take out the academic references, add in a couple of subplots (that can't be historically verified, but make for good story), and then flesh the whole thing out with some more detail. 

In other news, Faith is home for the holidays.  She'll be going home around the 5th or so.  It's kind of a short visit, but that's ok.  One more semester, and then she is home for good.  Having a lot of fun with her and Isaac.  A lot of banter and goofing around.  It's nice to see the boy opening up and being himself.

Been playing a lot of Skyrim over the last few days.  That game is addicting!  Speaking of xbox, I got HALO 4 for Christmas, so I will be trying that out soon.  The series is so story-driven that I don't want to attempt to play it when the little ones are awake.  They make listening to anything a challenge.

Hope your holiday season is going well!

End of Days

Ok, no, I don't think the world is going to end on Friday.  And if it does, what could any of us do about it?  No, it's just that this may be one of the last posts I make in 2012, so I thought a bit of reflection was in order.

2012 was a pretty normal year for me.  Spikes and dips, and all manner of events in between.  I kind of gave a summary a few posts back, so I won't repeat myself.  But, I am feeling a bit melancholy these days.  I mean, I just turned 42, and I feel like I haven't accomplished much in that time.  I know that I have done a lot, and I am proud of those things.  But, none of the dreams I had as a young man have come true.  I'm not an Action Star, I haven't written a screenplay, I haven't published a novel.  I had a lot of big dreams when I was young.

But then, didn't we all?

I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions, but I feel like I need to set some goals, and actually work towards achieving them.  So, for 2013 I think I will focus on the following:

1.  Finish a book-length rough draft.  I have several projects in the wings that could get me there.  Right now it'll most likely be the historical fiction novel about Agesilaus.

2.  Lose 20 pounds...and keep it off!  This has more to do with better habits.  Lately, I have been feeling stuffed on less food, and I think that my body is telling me something.  Ordering smaller meals, and not feeling like I HAVE to eat every bite will probably help me a long ways towards this one.  Add in some regular exercise, and I think this is very doable.

3.  Come up with a five-year career plan.  I love certain aspects of my job.  I have a great boss, a lot of fee time to do what I like (write) at work, and the tasks I am handed are usually not very difficult.  But, I think that's the problem.  I feel underutilized and underchallenged.  So, career-wise, I think it's time to shit or get off the pot.

That's probably enough for now.  I will also resolve to read more for pleasure, and watch more movies that I like.  No need to watch more TV (though I was stoked to find out this weekend that NetFlix has season 2 of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes on instant view now!).  I will also try to play with my kids more, and to be more patient with them.  Some days, I feel like a bad dad, and I don't like that.  I know it's mainly their ages (4, 9 and 17), but I hate feeling like I need to raise my voice so much.

I other news, I had a bit of random inspiration while driving to church yesterday.  So, I have started laying the groundwork for the next Orc story.  I should probably come up with a catchy title to encompass all of them.  Something like "The Orc Cycle"...I dunno.  Anyways, this one focuses back on Pekra, and heavily involves Bofdak the outcast Dwarf.  Should be some good old-fashioned violent fun.

On the gaming front, been playing a lot of Skyrim on the xbox, a lot of Star Wars - The Old Republic online, and will be playing some Shadowrun with my wife and a couple of other friends.  My biweekly D&D game is still going, but I feel like it will either come to an end this year, or take a turn in a new direction.  Either way, I'm looking forward to some change there.

So, there ya go.