I'm still here!

Wow, this place is still here? It’s been an off couple of weeks for me, so this blog has kind of fallen by the wayside. After my 5-day blogging marathon, I think maybe I was a bit burned out. Of course, last week I had my first overnight trip for work, and all of the stuff that went along with that. But really, there just hasn’t been much to geek out about for me lately. At least, nothing I haven’t covered in spades before.

One thing did occur recently. A friend of mine invited me to become a founding member of a guild for the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. So, that got me all jazzed up over Star Wars again. Still haven’t had the urge to watch the movies, but I know that will come soon. In the meantime, I’m thinking of the game, and what kind of character I’d like to play. Right now, I’ve settled on a Republic Trooper. Heirs to the Republic Grand Army from the Clones, these are highly trained “Special Forces” types of soldiers. I considered going with some kind of Jedi, but I think there will be a glut of those, and since we’re playing the “good” faction, the Trooper seemed like a great fit for me.

I’ve also taken my Stargate pastiche idea and began modifying it into an original setting and premise. Had a huge flash of inspiration the other night, and wrote a bunch of notes in my notebook. I think it could be cool, though it will take some tinkering to get it to work on its own, and to not be a blatant Stargate rip-off.

My brain has gotten pretty derailed from fantasy and S&S lately, and though I still have occasional thoughts about those (particularly about Orcs), nothing in those genres is really pulling on me lately. Mostly I’m thinking about Space Opera and military sci-fi. I think I need to write something in that vein, just to see where it could go.

My computer is still on the fritz. Basically, the NVIDIA drivers stopped working, and I can’t reload them. I’m not sure if it’s a software issue or a hardware issue. I’m leaning towards software, as some of the Windows (Vista Home) elements have malfunctioned as well,. In particular, the Windows Updater. I can’t get updates to download and install properly, and I have had to shut off the updater, since it kept locking up my system. So, basically my computer is using a standard VGA driver, which restricts me to 1024x768 resolution, thus negating me playing any of my games. The plan is, when I get my disbursement from student loans, I will be buying myself a new laptop, and making my old desktop a “family” computer for the kids to use. That should all happen late next month, I hope.

Other than that, life is ok. My wife has some exciting things coming up. More on that as time goes on, but right now it’s a bit hush-hush for legal and financial reasons. My daughter will only be here for the week after Christmas, thanks to my ex-wife being…well, she’s an EX-wife for a reason. Let’s just leave it at that. My stepdaughter is getting to be handful. Love her dearly, but sometimes I want to give her a brain-duster. And my nearly-3 year old is way too smart for his own good. We’ve discovered that if we don’t engage him intellectually in public, he turns in to Jack-Jack’s demon form. Guh!

Oh, and I want one of the new Kindles for Christmas.

General update

So, I have this need to blog today.  It helps me get the writing muscles warmed up, so I can move on to some fiction. 



This is how I envision Mahak.

Currently, that fiction is the story of Mahak the Vengeful.  I'm rather liking this one.  Yesterday I had to cover the front phones during lunch.  So, I took my notepad and pen, and in between fielding calls, I wrote out some notes.  Interestingly, I had started this story as just a straight-up, brutal action/revenge story.  But as I write, I find myself filling in details, which has lead to more subplots and story elements.  This is actually a good thing.  My aim was about 10,000 words.  The initial story I was trying to go for might have stretched enough to get to 5,000.  With these added elements, I think the thing will be closer to 7,500, maybe more.  We'll have to see.  Also, some elements are setting themselves up for sequel stories, and a lesser character that was intended to be for one scene and nothing more is suddenly playing a much larger role in the story as it progresses.  Amazing how that happens!

Thank you, Scott, for planting this seed in my head.

In other news, my computer at home is cranky.  It boots up, and then freezes.  There is obviously something in the whole process that is corrupted.  And I can't really run any good diagnostic programs, because the ones I need to run won't run in Safe Mode.  I've uninstalled a couple of programs (including Avast, my anti-virus software), in the hopes that they were the corrupted ones.  This all started not long after a new version of Avast came out.  But, it's still not working.  So, yesterday I decided to upgrade to Windows 7.  It's something I need to do anyways, and Michele is a student right now, so she can get a really good deal on it ($60 or so).  I hope that fixes it.  If not, it's off to the Geek Squad!

Related to that, we're thinking about getting me a new laptop, and making my desktop the "Family" computer.  But that won't happen until I figure out what I am going to do about grad school.  I have completely lost any semblance of interest in the program I was in, so I am dropping that.  But, being an online student (my life just does not allow for a traditional school), my options are limited.  We've decided that I should pursue something just for me, rather than something career-oriented.  I'm looking at a Masters in Military History from Norwich.  I think that would be way cool.

My wife is taking my 15-year old and her friend to Warped Tour today.  It's a bunch of neo-punk bands (very different from the punk of my youth, but the spirit is still there).  Funny thing is, my wife is very into fashion and what is currently cool (not only personally but professionally, as she's a hairdresser), so she is dressing pretty much like my daughter is, with her own flare added.  Normally, when moms attempt this, it's disastrous.  But Michele pulls it off well, and honestly, it's not that different from her normal look.  I'm looking forward to hearing about it, and how many teenage boys try hitting on her.  She looks a lot younger than she is.

Other than that, life moves on.  Looking forward to Captain America this weekend.  I'm bummed we won't be able to hit the first showing on Friday like we did with Thor.  But, it's ok.  I just get giddy when I think about how cool this movie is looking to be.

What are you guys up to?

Lazy days of Summer

I am lazy.  There, I said it.  I got it out in the open.

What?  You're not surprised?  Yeah, I suppose that comes as no shock to those who know me.  But lately I have been feeling even more so than usual.  I have written barely a paragraph or so in the last week.  Mainly because it seems that these days I can only really write while sitting at my computer at work.  And up until now that has worked, since my job is in a relatively new department of the state government, and I am still in the process of defining my exact function beyond a few necessary tasks.  However, things have been heating up, and I actually have work to do.  So, less time to just sit and compose.  Add to that the fact that sleep seems to be a commodity I am short on these days.  Not sure what is causing that.  You know, aside from staying up too late and getting up early.

Anyways, I have been writing a lot in my head.  I have completely revamped the entire opening of the Gorus book in my head.  So, all that I have written for it now will be going to the "Cut Bits" file I started, and I will be starting all over.  I think the tone and pace of this new idea is much better for the story and genre.  Basically, I'm starting with a barroom brawl.  Classic stuff.

I've also been developing some ideas for the Mahak story.  I think I may have enough for a book.  I'm also considering, if I can get a good short story done about him, submitting it to Scott Oden for his Orc anthology instead of the Orc Space Pirates one I did.  In reading a lot of the commentary on the Facebook page, it seems that most people are going for more dark tones, with the majority of the stories having an Orc as the protagonist.  In mine, the Orcs are the villains, and not a whole lot is explored about them.  With Mahak, I can explore Orc culture, as it exists in the community world that Scott is creating.  I dunno.  We'll have to see how it goes.

So, anyways, it's Independence Day.  Standard BBQ with friends.  Copious beer and brats and good conversation.  Remembering that our founding fathers, though not perfect, and quite reprehensible by modern standards, gave us something that will endure.  Something worth fighting for, and even dying for.  Freedom.

Enjoy your day, folks.  We'll talk later.

Some things need to remain dead

I’ve always been a fan of resurrecting a dead character in D&D and other RPGs (though I have never actually had to do it). However, it occurs to me that sometimes what’s dead needs to just stay dead (especially the cat in that Stephen King movie). And sometimes this even applies to writing projects.

A few years ago I started a project about a human boy raised from infancy by Orcs. I really liked the characters, the background, and I enjoyed writing many memorable scenes. As usually happens, I got burned out on it, and put it aside. Mainly this was because I hadn’t really plotted anything out. I was just trying to let the story tell itself naturally, building a plot off of the events as they occurred. That didn’t really work so well, as I got lost and started meandering.

Today I decided to reopen that project and work on it. My original vision was a novel-length work, with the possibility of it being the first in a trilogy. But, after much reconsideration, I thought that maybe I would rewrite some of what I had, and turn it into a novella. With this thought in mind, I proceeded to reacquaint myself with the story.

And that’s when I realized that the writing sucked. It’s bereft of colorful descriptions, and filled with mundane terms like “asked” and “said.” In order to make it entertaining, I would need to go through and do a major rewrite that would almost match the amount of work required if I just scrapped it and started over.

In short, the project is dead. And I’ll probably just let it stay that way. For a while. Maybe someday I might pull a Dr. Frankenstein and steal the better scenes for a future project. But, as a whole, the story will just be a file on my computer, and not much more.

Has anyone else had this happen?