What has it got in it’s Pocketses?

Here’s a super-cool pocketwatch I bought from the  Steampunk Emporium.

Here's the face open (it has a glass cover):

And the back side, where you can see the various gears and bits:

It’s a wind-up one too.  No batteries.  Keeps excellent time too.  I bought it to go with my Navy Mess Kit (think formal) and it paid off in spades. 

To make the shipping worthwhile, I also bought some steampunk-ish goggles, and replacement lenses in blue (photos later).  This is for the Cygnaran look, and maybe to develop a new costume to go to cons in.  We’ll see.  For now, when I play Warmachine, I have the legit Cygnar look.  Now I just need a set of warcaster armour.  

Musical Accompaniment

I work with music.  Always.  Hell, whenever I’m home I’d have the CD player going with something.  Can’t stand radio, it has to be something I want.  As I draft this, I've got some Roxette playing in the background. The Tourism CD, I believe.

Reading: I pick something that will thematically go with the novel I’m reading.  Other things (game books, non-fiction) it can vary, depending on what I'm in the mood for.

Gaming: We use something appropriate for the game (i.e. fantasy for Pathfinder, Star Wars for Star Wars, etc), kept at a decent volume for playing.  In the past we’ve had ‘dire situation’ tapes made up for action scenes.

Wargaming: Same thing, usually more militaristic or modern soundtracks.

Painting: Depends on the mood.  Right now I have 25 CDs in on random, chosen from across my collection.

Housework: Crank the volume and the adrenalin.

Pretty much everything I do, I’d do it to music.  As I said, radio tends to have too much stuff I don’t care about, or they just talk inanely about something I don’t care about.  I’ll pick a CD to match a mood, or to accompany what I’m reading.  If it weren’t for the fact I’m up and out before my wife wakes up, I’d have the music on all morning too.

The same applies when I’m writing.  I know some authors have playlists (Carrie Vaughn puts it in the front pages of each of her Kitty novels) that are a bit more specific.  I made a playlist for Queen’s Legacy that, rather than the lyrics, works to evoke the mood I want to maintain for the main character.  In this case, there’s a lot of Rage Against the Machine, KMFDM, Evanescence and Nine Inch Nails.  My protagonist is angry, and she isn’t afraid to show it.  The whole playlist isn’t like that, but there’s a good dose of ass-kicking music. 

It also certainly helps that it’s a high-energy playlist that keeps the energy in my fingers as well.  I’ve avoided using any kind of franchise soundtrack, as they tend to evoke more the worlds they were written for, as opposed to my own feeling.  The exception would be the Battlestar Galactica soundtracks by Bear McCreary.  They have just the right sense of angst.

It also helps to have a fair selection of music.  I noticed last time I was at the music store I had each of a Saliva, Yanni and Sarah McLachlan album in my hands.  I am not limited to a single genre, artist or style.  And yes, I still buy CDs.  For film/TV scores in particular, I like having the full disc worth.  I could download, and eventually I’m sure I will, but for now I like having a collection of one artist’s songs on one item.  That and maybe I’m just old fashioned enough to hold to the concept of an ‘album.’  I rip them onto my device for portability anyway. 

Back to the topic at hand.  I’ve found that having music playing while working makes the work easier, smoother, and creates a better environment.  For me at least.  I know others who need total silence, but I find that a bit weird.  As they say, one’s mileage may vary.

Right now, it’s back to the mix of 25 CDs set on random while I do some squad organization and upkeep on my Eldar and Cygnar armies.

3D is Way Overrated

The last few movies I’ve seen have been 2D, and that is by choice.

Yep, regular old flatpic films.  Why? 

Not because of price.  Well, maybe a little.  It is a bit more expensive to see them, but as a percentage of the total cost of the four of us going out to a movie, not much.  However, that dollar each does add up.

Not because I’m some kind of luddite who doesn’t like new advances.

Mainly because it doesn’t matter.  The nature of the film format doesn’t change my desire to see it in 3D vs 2D.  If it’s a film I want to see, I want to see it.  The way I see it is this:

3D won’t save a bad movie from being bad because it’s a bad story, and a good movie will be good regardless of whether it’s 3D or not because it’s a good story.

Story first, it’s as simple as that.  When most 3D movies seem to be the shallow-field post-production style, which isn’t that great, and I have to wear glasses to watch them (something I paid good money several years ago to eliminate via laser), then I have to ask, what is the point?

Granted, some films are good in 3D when they’re made that way to begin with (i.e. 3D cameras or digital creation), such as “How to Train Your Dragon.”  Others are reasonably pretty to look at or were written with 3D in mind.  They are few in number, and still just as good on my regular old 2D home screen as they were in 3D.

I’m tired of the 3D fad, and would appreciate the continued production of well-written, well-acted films in 2D that I can go and enjoy.  Leave the 3D to the few that warrant it, or the IMAX crowd (I grant,  some of those IMAX 3D can be some kind of cool).

Outlining

As of this writing, I’m working through scene 45 of Queen’s Legacy.  I know it’s scene 45 because in my outline (which I will never, ever do by hand again) that is the number it has.  Overall, I’ve got 126 scenes (plus a timeline and flowchart), and I will get to them all.  It provides a level of progress (along with wordcounts), but most importantly it tells me where I’m going.

The roadmap of where I’m going is vitally important.  It keeps me on track, so that I know what I intend to write, and what each scene will include.  I also include notes on whose POV I’m using for that scene, and what I intend to accomplish in it (sort of a metadata for that scene).  The flowchart is just for some complex battle scenes as I had trouble making sure they all fit together.  The timeline just holds everything to a constant timescale.

Outlining also, and maybe this is the most important of all, reminds me of all the cool ideas I had when coming up with the story.

I admit it, I can’t remember everything I think of when I’m plotting.  When I sit down to make a new story, I sit with a blank piece of paper (and maybe a few notes from my ‘story ideas’ folder) and start to compose.  It’s pretty free form.  I start thinking of the plot, the characters, where I want it to go, any key or cool scenes I’d like to include.  However, that’s all it is, just an assortment of scribblings that are the nucleus of something.  Mostly to date it has been for writing RPG adventures, but as I was sitting down to plot out Queen’s Legacy, the techniques have served me just as well.

From there, I do an act breakdown.  Treating it like a multi-act play or adventure sort of helps me to break the action in to phases.  Not in an ironclad way, such that I must hold to it, but more as a standard starting point.  This construct then becomes the bones upon which I finalize the overall storyline, and dress up a few characters or ideas. 

For an RPG adventure, the next step for me has then been to write the individual encounters and events that will make up the adventure.  Things get tweaked along the way, but the writing pretty much stays true to what I outlined.

When I started fully outlining Queen’s Legacy, I replaced the encounters from the RPG adventure with a scene-by-scene breakdown of the story.  Some scenes had a few lines of notes, as they are quick, fairly simple in their action, or otherwise need little explanation.  Others were a full half-page so as to capture the intended action and other details.  Once this was done, the actual prose started.

Thus, everything I want to include is already outlined.  This is the bones and sinew of the story.  It has all the scenes and all the events that I want to tell.  This allows me, once it’s time to start putting the prose in place, to focus on writing those scenes well, rather than constantly being concerned with how it fits.  I’ve already thought about how everything fits together, even if I change it.

Change it I certainly will.  As I have written the first portions, I’ve already changed some events, moving them between scenes.  In some cases cutting some material out or adding some in as I realized the flow would be better one way or the other.  Despite needing an outline to stay on mission, I in no way write it in stone.  Things can change, scenes can move or be altered, all in service to telling the story as I outlined it waaaay back in the single sheet of paper stage.  Or maybe I change it dramatically and move away from that.  Sometimes I just have better ideas than when I originally outlined it. 

Sometimes I just embrace the chaos when I think of something better or a newer, better scene I need.  That works too, but without the overall roadmap, I couldn’t do what seat-of-the-pants (pantsers) do.  More power to them for being able to, but I just can’t.  Any time I’ve tried I tend to fizzle out after maybe a scene or two, because I just don’t know where I’m going.  Admittedly, that’s me.  One’s own mileage may vary, but thought I’d share.

This doesn’t even include the revision process, which will have its own joys.

The Geek Cave

Here's a few photos of what my friends and family affectionately call "the Geek Cave."  Right now it's in the basement, as there's only so much room to go around in military housing.

The centrepiece of the room here is the gaming table, which I use for RPGs, wargaming and any other projects.  My wife will also use it for quilting, as it's the biggest, baddest table in the house (6' long, 30" wide, built of solid 2x4s laminated together).

It's surrounded by my library, some of which you can see here.  Not just books, but lots of gaming books, wargames terrain, some mugs for drinking at the table, and lots of toys & collectables.  Here's a side shot of my Gamemaster chair.

Next up is the painting station.  I love having my painting stuff always out and ready.  Sadly, due to some impudent beasts, I can't always leave work in progress out.  Yes, there's a box on the window, because someone (Cassandra) feels the need to try to get up there.  That's when things start to fall down.

Here's my Warhammer 40k cabinet.  Not to be confused with the Warhammer Fantasy, Warmachine, Hordes, Firestorm Armada or other wargame model cabinets.  Yes, lots are unpainted.  We've covered this already, move along, move along.

Those are the highlights.  That's all really.  Just thought I'd show off a bit of my cave.  Later I'll get to the office, which is really just an extension of the cave where I have my desk, computer, more shelves and reading chair.

Work in Progress (painting)

Here’s the latest work in progress for me.  It’s an Eldar Wave Serpent transport tank. 

I’m engaged in an escalation campaign for Warhammer 40000 (the miniatures wargame) with a friend of mine.  We did this to accelerate our painting, as we’ve included in our scenario rules penalties that apply to models that are unpainted.  Things like not being able to start on the table or other minor effects that encourage us to paint.  This way, hopefully, it continues to push our painting and I may one day actually have an army that I can field all-painted most of the time.  That would be nice, rather than this:

[sigh]

Yes, I have lots to paint.  Thankfully, now having finished with one training milestone, I can actually do some.  In between bouts of writing.  That way, my armies will eventually look entirely like this:

Work continues.  

Equivalence of Fandom

A while ago I was at a party at a friend’s house, and it was mostly other members of my MSE course in Halifax.  As we were chatting away and generally having a good time, one of my compatriots noted my Starfleet TNG delta-shield cufflinks.  She shook her head and dismissed them as my geeky silliness.  I pointed out to her that it was no different from someone wearing a jersey from their favourite hockey team.  She indignantly claimed it was somehow not the same, though whey I asked why she had no real answer other than ‘it just isn’t.’

I’m not going to make some ranting post about people disparaging geeks because that’s just old and doesn't really do anything.  I just found it interesting that there’s a perception that one piece of fandom (pro sports) is some how more legitimate than another (sci-fi).  Granted, to the followers of each, their particular thing is more legit.  Likely, many pro sports have more fans than a lot of sci-fi.  Fair enough.  I no more want to go watch hockey than she wants to sit down to a TNG or DS9 marathon.  Roger out, we’ll go our separate ways on that.  It was the way it was commented on, as if it were something beyond the norm, that I found a bit irksome.  Especially considering everyone in my course knows I’m the resident geek.  Everyone has their fandom (or they should).  Life is pretty boring and empty if there’s nothing you’re passionate about. 

(Funny aside: when I did ask how long a hockey game was (really, I had no idea), a classmate says ‘three periods.’  I know he was being helpful, but my confused look probably indicated an actual unit of time would have helped more.)

Wil Wheaton put up a good video about why it’s good to be a geek in his blog here, (or just google it).  Be passionate about something.  Writing, costuming, sports, whatever.  Otherwise, what are you really doing with your time?

Pathfinder Beginner Box

Last Christmas (2011, not 2012), I got for each of my daughters the Pathfinder RPG beginner box. For those who do not know, Pathfinder is a roleplaying game, successor to the popular Dungeons & Dragons game.  I like Pathfinder better, but it's a matter of taste.

The next day, we had our inaugural game with myself as GM.  To say the girls liked it would be an understatement of monumental proportions.  Since then, working around my sailing schedule of course, we’ve managed a few more games.  They finished the adventure that comes with the box  and I wrote an interlude adventure to move them to the next adventure locale.  They’ve had a blast playing, and I’ve finally been able to give them something that’s been a part of my life since I was 12 years old.

It is gratifying that I can share this thing called roleplaying games with them.  Good, old-fashioned players-around-the-table gaming.  Firing up the imagination and letting it take you to worlds unknown, where everyone gets to take part in telling the story.  I love it.  They love it.  It’s the passing of the torch, so they can have the same fun I’ve had for over 28 years now.  I also like playing games with them, they’re fun and aren’t yet experienced enough to have seen a lot.  When I describe the dragon, or the castle, or the dank crypt they’ve entered there’s that sense of wonder.  The same sense that I had when I started playing. 

I also am glad they like it so much.  Hopefully my oldest will start a campaign of her own.  Right now I GM for her and a few of her friends, which has been a big hit.  I think she would enjoy gamemastering, but she just has to get off her butt and do it.  She will, I think, and hopefully it will lead to years of adventuring, all in their own minds.

I laugh some days, as when others are telling tales of their youths, a host of my tales take place in fictional environments.  Talking of the grand schemes, the nail-biting escapes and crazy rolls when you toss the dice calling ‘twenty!’ and it actually comes up.  It certainly kept us out of trouble in our teen years (though I’d say we weren’t really prone to trouble anyway) and exercised our minds enormously.  It also taught teamwork, social interaction (i.e. you have to be civil at the gaming table) and as a gaming group we bonded to the point where we’re all ‘uncles/aunts’ to each others kids.

Since then both kids want to start/have started Warhammer 40000 armies, and we all have had a few good games of FFG’s X-Wing miniatures game.  I am raising two geeky, gamer girls and we all couldn’t be happier about it.  It also means I get to play with my kids more often, which is never bad.

Fixing the landscape

So here’s a picture of the gaming table.  

You’ve seen it before, covered in wargames terrain.  However, this time there’s some sorting going on.  With the help of my youngest, we’ve broken the stuff down into trees, hedgerows, battlefield kit, rocks, buildings and (for lack of a better term) elaborate pieces.  The trees, rocks, battlefield kit and hedgerows will all go in small bins to keep the dust off and make storage easier.  It should also keep them in better condition, once I’ve fixed them up.  Here's a bunch of trees, with sand added to their bases:

The buildings all need some sort of repair, and then to be painted, but they can still go on a shelf.  The elaborate pieces, almost entirely being made of some form of Styrofoam, will need repair.  Two (or more) moves have not been kind to some of them. 

Thus, the remainder of this week will bring out the white glue, paint and modelling flock so as to bring all the terrain pieces up to an attractive and playable condition. 

As much as I have to assemble and paint models, which is still the primary activity, the last few games have been played with fully finished terrain (well, less the scuffs, scrapes and dents I plan to fix).  It reinforced the idea that having a core of good terrain pieces makes battles so much more cinematic.  Besides, if one is going to paint a bunch of toy soldiers to a high standard, why not give them the battlefield they deserve?

Rebuilding

Whew.  Passed my Phase VI board, which means promotion to Lieutenant and a break from all the studying.  I tell you, I almost didn't know what to do with myself, going from a work all day - study all night schedule to a regular workday with time after.  Still, my board was "very strong" according to the Commander who chaired it, so I'll take that one to the bank!

That was on March 26th.  Since then I've been playing catch up with all the plans, tasks and other life stuff.  Immediately my 'to do' list of 50+ items sprang out to attack me.  I pushed it around and made it a bit less onerous, but gradually clawed through the important stuff.  That and, most importantly, made time for my family, who I'm pretty sure had forgotten what I looked like for a while.  That's what happens when you cloister yourself in for several weeks.

Today I got some words down.  Not a lot, nothing epic, but I took the time to get back into the story, figure out where I was and just started the next scene.  Boy did it feel good.  Feels like I'm getting back to the things that matter.

I've also planned another session of Pathfinder (the roleplaying game) and am resurrecting the Council of Thieves adventure path.  Add to that some planned model painting and some game-playing with my kids, and life is back to normal.  My latest project is this:

I've pulled out all my wargaming terrain, and plan to repair all the broken or otherwise damaged pieces.  Once done, I'll stack it back on the shelves you can see in the background.  The gaming room is in a bit of flux, but that's only because we had to get our hot water tank replaced, so lots of things are in weird places.  That big box on end is actually our Christmas tree.  The library wraps around the gaming area, thus all the books to the right.  In the lower left you'll see Cassandra, one of our cats, giving me the laser beam eyes.  

Garfield came down to join us, and was promptly inspected by Cassandra.  

That's it for now.  This week is all about regaining the story of Queen's Legacy, and getting some sorting done to bring the gaming area back to snuff.

Tumbleweeds

Tumbleweeds are what you might see here for a bit.  Running up the last bit before my Marine Systems Engineering Officer Phase VI board, which means study, study, study.  Still have more drawings of systems and write-ups to get done, so the blogging may be a bit sparse.

That said, once done, promotion!  That and no more drawings, practice boards, studying... ugh.  Not for a while at least.  Then back to the book, back to normal.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled netsurfing.

2013 Goals

Happy January everyone!
I hope that your holiday celebrations (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, etc) were fruitful, engaging, relaxing or whatever your pleasure was over the past month or so.  Mine were certainly fun, and I'll be putting up some photos and musings from them in a bit.  Now it's on to a new year, and new plans.

As I've said before, resolutions aren't really my style.  I do, though, plan some goals for the calendar year.  Why the calendar year?  Why not?  So, in no particular order, here's my main goals for this year...

1) Finish my package and pass my oral board as a Marine Systems Engineering Officer.  That's coming up first, and the extra pay of promotion will help pay the bills.

2) Finish Queen's Legacy.  I've been pounding away on this for waaaaaaaaary too long.  Not that there's anything wrong with the progress I've made, but I want to get the draft done.  DONE.  (yes, repeating it in caps doesn't make it better, but it's only behind #1 because #1 is the day job)

3) Finish painting an army for Warhammer, Warmachine or one of the other wargames I play.  I say this because painting models fuels my muse, and is one of my biggest creative outlets, aside from writing.

That's it for the year.  Frankly, that's enough.  Those are my main, overarching goals.  In between is where day to day life happens.  I don't include things like 'spend more time with family' or 'play with the kids more' because in truth, I do that a lot anyway.  I'm always up for family time, especially now that the kids are playing the games I play, but that's another post I have planned.

That's it for now, only three days left of leave, and time to get some homework done.

Why Tuesday sucks

I was just archiving a bunch of things, and generally puttering about my office/gaming room, and I found some old records from the last company I worked for, ICD.  (Great company, by the way.  The Magna auto parts group is generally well run and a good place to work.)

One of the things I remember is laughing with the then health and safety coordinator, Glen, about how Tuesday is the worst day of the week.  Why it was so funny then, I don't know, but it's good for a chuckle.

Here's why (tongue firmly in cheek):

Wednesday: your're halfway there, can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thursday: this was payday for us, and we got paid weekly at the time.  Now, I guess it's further along than Wednesday, but it may be giving Tuesday some competition now.

Friday: TGIF!  Plus, you're always working like mad to get stuff done and put out all the fires that erupt right before the weekend (double if it's a long weekend).

Saturday & Sunday: if I have to explain these two...

Monday: usually spent catching up from Friday's madness, as well as sorting out the week-that-will-be, and new crises occur.  Despite being the first working day of the week, it usually went by really, really fast.

Tuesday: not enough craziness to make the day go by fast, and ideally most of your fires are contained by now.  You're not yet halfway through the week, and time just seems to dilate as the day goes on.  It's slow, boring and serves up only wretched paperwork and those reports you've been 'getting to' for the last two weeks.

There you have it.  Incontrovertible evidence that, many motivational posters notwhithstanding (and many lolcats too), Tuesday, not Monday, is the worst day of the week.

That's all I've got for today.

Sunday

The last week has been really busy, so I'm not going to say much today.  Missed my Thursday deadline, but like I said, some days (or weeks) are going to be like a kick in the junk.

On the bright side, I'm now over 60k words into Queen's Legacy.  On the dark side, it's taken what I think is an inordinate time to do so.  However, that's astern of me, so no point in worrying about it.  Today I beat a mildly vexing scene into submission and made over 700 words.  I'm going to take that to the bank tonight.

Also: Mount Washington already has 1.3m of snow!  Early opening, and my skis are waxed and ready.

That's all for now, watch this space tomorrow for something pithy and more interesting.

Goal setting

Today I pulled out my goals list for 2012.  Now that the ship is staying alongside, I can actually think about it.  It’s pretty similar to 2011, with some things scratched out and some added.  Actually, it’s the exact same piece of paper.  Every now and again I’ll look at the goals I have and make adjustments or revisions.  I’ve blogged before about how I generally don’t make ‘New Year’s resolutions’ per se.  However, I like to have a few, overarching goals that I’m steadily working towards.

This year’s goals are:

1. Finish Queen's Legacy (1st draught)

2. Finish organizing the house (this one will make other military households laugh)

3. Have more finished models than I started with this year (even one will do)

4. Assemble all the models waiting in the pile

I’ve already readjusted for this year.  Why?  Well, I looked at the goals I had, and realized that I have a pile of models in boxes that I have yet to put together.  I’m also short on space at home.  Thus, I changed the painting goal to one of assembly, so I can get everything built and on the shelf.  The exception is those models that need to be painted during assembly, like troop transports.  Those, though, can be made into sub-assemblies.

The point of that is to show that goals can and should be flexible.  Adjust and adapt to what you think you can do.  Right now, I may not get the ‘sort out the house’ goal accomplished as the sailing schedule for my ship was pretty busy this year.  We’ll see.  At least I have a target.

This brings me to the nature of goals.  Make them things you can actually do.  Not just within the realm of possibility, but within your ability and means at the time.  Also, don’t lie to yourself about them.  If you get them done, great.  If not, then adapt your plan.  Just keep working towards them and don’t make excuses to yourself.  I’ve been working on Queen’s Legacy for a helluva long time.  Changing jobs to the Navy, not enough ass-in-chair time and other reasons have caused that.  Mostly insufficient ass-in-chair time, and really, that’s all on me.  Same as with changing modelling from painting to assembly.  I won’t be able to do both, so I picked the one I need to do before the other.

Don’t confuse goals with a mission or vision.  It was a key distinction when I worked in industry, and remains so in the military.  Your vision or mission may be the ultimate end state.  For example, if I had to put my vision of my (future) career as an author into words, it would be something like: “To continue to gain readership and make a living by producing quality stories that people want to read.”  That says nothing about how to get there.  It’s a nice vision, but it’s something to keep on a plaque somewhere in the office.  Goals are the nuts and bolts steps of how to get there (or stay there).

The point of my ramblings:

1. Set goals, but be flexible
2. Make sure your goals fit your vision, but also that they are doable.
3. Don’t confuse your goals with your vision (and vice versa)

Creative regeneration

I’ve been bad the past week. 

Okay, those with gutter minds (like mine) can just stop the giggles.  I’ll wait.

…

Okay, now, what I really mean by that is I’ve given myself a week off of writing.  That sounds counterproductive, you’re thinking.  And you’d be almost right.

Instead of having my daily writing goal, I took that out of my agenda and replaced it with painting time.  That is, painting wargaming miniatures.  Why?  Well, to be honest, I found that the constant push to get writing done coupled with our sailing time, I was a little burned out.  So, to regenerate my creative juices, I figured I’d do something different and fun for which I had little pressure to produce.  I’m not saying my ‘ass in chair’ time is all that awesome (that’s another post entirely), but sometimes it’s nice to have the pressure off for a bit.

I also find it relaxing to sit and paint models.  Throw on some music, and I’ve got a happy evening going on.  It’s something creative, something I’m good at, and at the end of an evening or several nights, I usually have something completed.  Very different from the book, which is a longer term endeavour.  That sense of creative completion is very important to me.  It gives a feeling of success that just makes you feel better.

What has this done?  Well, I found this weekend, by the time I was done everything I was doing, I felt like I had gotten some creative bugs out of my system, and was starting to think about the book in the off hours (meaning the times I wasn’t actually writing it).  This is a good thing, because now I’m looking forward to writing more rather than feeling like I’m just heading back to the computer to slog through a scene that won’t end.  No doubt about it, I love putting a story together, and playing in my world and with my characters.  However, it is work, and sometimes I just have to push through to the other side and get it done, knowing I’ll fix it in revision.  

That said, I get the same feeling of success from making a scene work in the book, or finishing a particularly vexing one that I had to wrangle into existence.  It may not be that ‘finish factor’ but it’s something.

Now I’m starting to ramble, which will lead to digressions, which will completely shatter the original topic.  Thus, on that note, I’m done for today.

Storyboarding

A few days ago, I sat down to write.  It was a pretty cool scene, at least the way I outlined it. However, as I sat down and began to put words onto the screen, it started to wind it’s way into a straggly thread and I started to lose the flow of events.

The solution?  Storyboarding.

Now, this wasn’t the kind of storyboarding like they do for movies and TV.  Believe me, I only wish I had the artistic ability to draw anything even close to that.  Instead, I used a flowchart.  I just charted the direction I wanted the action to go, and filled in details around each piece of action.

This gave me the basic flow, and where the action would happen.  The paper itself becomes the time axis, and that way I can make sure not only of the flow of action, but also that everything happens in the appropriate time.

Did it help?  Yes.  Granted, I deviated from the plan a bit, but frankly, that’s become an expected thing.  As much as I plot the whole book out scene-by-scene, each scene evolves and grows (or shrinks) as I write it.  Nevertheless, I found graphically plotting out the sequence of events worked wonders in enhancing my scene descriptions.  I have a feeling I’ll use this technique more and more, especially for complicated battle scenes. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up using action figures or RPG miniatures to help block out a scene.

The Return

Aaaaaaand … we’re back!

After a long time away, I’ve decided to refresh the blog a bit.  You may have noticed the new look, and eventually I’ll figure out the adding links business.  Probably add in some other details and generally freshen up the place.

Also, post more frequently.

Now that the ship is alongside pre-refit, that should happen.  Of course, I could always get posted to another one, so we’ll see.  If I’m lucky I’ll get a backlog put up to carry through.  If not, then there may be a few dry spells.

Be that as it may, I know both my vaguely loyal readers (hey, my wife and mom count as readers!) will be happy to have any updates.

So, for now, expect a few updates a week.  More if I find something interesting, less if I’m super busy.

I’m also going to diversify the content.  While writing and creating is the primary purpose of this blog, I’m going to add more geeky hobby stuff and probably more rants and thoughts too.  Why?  Well, first because I can.  Second, if I only post word counts or similar things, I can’t imagine you find it any more thrilling than I would to read.  Also, being yet-unpublished, my advice amounts to a diary of the methods I’m using.  At the end, we can decide if it actually worked.

So sit back, open a BEvERage of your choice, and maybe you’ll find something interesting (or at least hang out for some laughs).  Chime in on the topics that interest you (or grind your gears), and let’s have some fun.

Captain America - A Review

I saw the film Captain America a few days ago, and frankly, it was excellent. 

A few caveats; I'll admit, I can be easy to entertain.  Put a good (or even decent) story in front of me, well acted and throw in some cool scenery, and you've probably got me for about two hours.  This does not mean I don't enjoy good films, I just feel no need to be a snob about 'art' films vs. blockbusters.  Entertain me for the two hours and I'm good.

Also, I've never cared that much for The Avengers as a comic book.  It's okay, but never hooked me, y'know?

That said, Captain America the film hit all the right buttons.  The acting was well done, the visuals were great, neither overshadowing the film or lacking.  The overall plot was good, and even had a few surprises.

*Possible spoilers ahead, read at your own peril.*

What really made this film, was the story 'moments.'  Times where they worked to bring out the characters but did so in the story.  The characterization of the Captain/Steve Rogers:
Doctor Erskine: "do you want to kill Nazis?"
Steve Rogers: "I don't want to kill anyone, but I hate bullies, no matter where they're from"
(Okay, I'm probably not remembering the dialogue verbatim, but you get the point)

Same at the end, where he's on the radio to his girlfriend and they make a date, even as he flies the plane into the arctic icecap.  The final scene is well done too.  At every turn, and kudos to Chris Evans for the portrayal, they reinforce his character without hitting the viewer over the head with it.  They wrote a story that wraps itself around both the characters and the plot, showing them both smoothly.

This is where the film succeeded and went beyond my expectations.  It was well worth the fare.

That said, stop with the 3D already!  It wasn't necessary in this film, and most films don't need it either.  It won't save a bad story, and a good story stands on its own with or without 3D.  I had laser surgery to get rid of my glasses, I certainly don't want to put them on again for your film!

*ahem*

Thor, the preceding 'Avengers movie' was similarly successful.  I'll give Captain America the win for being better written, but one thing I like about both is they set out to do something (i.e. introduce their respective characters) and did so very successfully.  They didn't try to overreach their goal, and by the end of each film I felt satisfied with the story and its outcome, and each film succeeded in its mission.

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, wait aaaaaaalllllllll the way to the very end of the credits and there's a teaser.  You won't be sorry.

That's my nutshell review.  Good movie, go see it.
That and I like to see examples of good writing, where the plot, characters and settings interweave and reinforce each other, rather than glaringly standing out saying 'look at me!'  It's the kind of thing I want to accomplish in my writing, and I've always preferred it in my reading.

A Wet Head

Today I am in the process of reshaping my beret.  As anyone I did basic training with will tell you, my beret and my head have waged a never-ending battle.  Then, the dress regs changed and we were allowed to wear the ship's ballcaps off-base.  Yay!  My beret slid to the bottom of a drawer, biding its time, waiting for the chance to make my head look ridiculous.

Well, today I pulled it out in preparation for our journey to England, where we shall be on training for the last four months of the year.  Apparently they don't like ballcaps, so back to the beret it is.  Now I've been sitting in my chair reading, with a soaking wet beret on my head so as to reshape it.  This time, I've learned a few tricks and seem to be winning.  However, it is a canny thing, that beret, and I shall have to keep a close eye upon it.

This week as been slow, as I've mostly been readying my packing/repacking lists and sorting plans for England.  True, we don't leave for another month, but I've got leave back home in between and a chance to swap out some of my kit for things at home.  Frankly, being away from home is a pain in the butt when you've got to prepare to travel to a third location.  That and some days have just been wasted.  I didn't get as much writing done as I desired, but this weekend shall be the time I make up for it.  Hell, Wednesday I didn't do a think.  I sat in my chair after supper to read for a half hour while digesting, and woke up hours later and crawled over and into bed.  Very sad, but at least I felt great the next day.  Sometimes you gotta listen to the body.

I also tried more barefoot-style running.  After that first time, my calves were screaming in protest for the next three days.  This time, not so much, though experience told me to stretch a bit extra afterwards.  That and my legs didn't feel like a group of dwarves had surrounded them and beaten them with warhammers, so maybe this style of running is for me.  More data will tell.

That's about it for now.  Have to get to some more writing.  My recent successes (read: useful daily word counts) seem to beget success.  This is nothing new, as with many things, the more success you have, the more you are spurred to do it.  Happens all the time with painting models.

With that, I leave you to write words and fight with my beret.

Some random coolness

I have nothing for today, must write not blog.

For your pleasure, the Millennium Falcon, 'cause, why not.

This bit of coolness brought to you by my lack of werewithal to bring you actual content.

But it is cool, isn't it?

A day of victory

Today was what I like to think of a day of victory.

On the writing side, I bashed out over two thousand words.  In a mere two hours.  I took my laptop to the park near the Admiralty House museum on base and sat in the shade and just slipped into the zone.  It was good but reality did come calling.

On the professional side, I passed my Naval Engineering Indoctrination board.  Actually I passed it last Wednesday, but I'm including it here because I feel pretty good about the whole weekend.  Since it's my blog, I can do that.  :-)

I even tried an experiment when I did my workout today.  I've been reading about the concept of 'barefoot running' lately.  Now, you must know, normally I hate running.  Can't stand it.  It's too slow (and I admit I'm no sprinter) compared to my beloved bicycle or inline skates, it's too boring unless you can find a trail to run, and frankly, it tends to hurt.  After a friend sent a few articles about running barefoot, using the body's natural running stance (more of a midfoot hit rather than a heel hit), and looking at some interesting shoes (Vibram Five Fingers - www.vibramfivefingers.com, not endorsing, just passing the interest), I decided to try the whole idea out.  I went to the track over by the base hospital and spent the first ten minutes of my run barefoot (on the grassy part, not interested in the gravel portion, thanks), then put shoes back on and continued for the remainder.

Observations; I found that the barefoot stance was more natural, and wasn't as jarring as a heel hit that one uses with a more traditional running shoe.  I definitely used some muscles that haven't been used much lately (hello calf muscles!), but it was very interesting.  I can honestly say it didn't suck as much as I find running normally does.  That said, the track was still boring.  I'd be interesting to try a trail, but would want some shoes and before I actually lay out money for these odd 'foot-gloves' I think I'll continue my experiment for a while. 

The benefit of running for me is that in the military, it's an easy piece of kit (i.e. shoes) to take with you, and you can do it anywhere, from a treadmill to a flight deck. 

Add to all of that some laundry done and I think I'm going to toast myself with a nice, cold beer.  Tomorrow is another day, and another good one for writing.  Now if only it wasn't so thrice-cursedly hot.

Switch in focus

Success this weekend.  Roughly 1500 words.  It started with an agonizing ripping of even the most willing verb onto the page, and by the time the weekend was done I was pouring them out.  Well, relatively speaking.  There was studying to be done as well.

This next week promises to be a busy one.  Exam on Friday so studying and preps will take the lion's share of time.  Words shall have to wait.  Once this week is done, though, I can regain balance.

That's it for now.  Just happy to crank some words out and finish a scene that was being ... fussy, for want of a better term.  Oh, and I just looked at the bottom of the page.  Page 100!  Whooo! (yeah, I'll take the small victories.)

Words vs words vs words

Nothing like being on the opposite coast from home to give you time to write. I'm in Halifax right now on another training course. Seems endless some days, but that's what you get when you change trades.

The downside: my family is still on the west coast. This sucks, but my wife and I decided that any course (or combination of courses) under a year would be a 'no move' if possible. Saves on the upheaval.

The upside: I have only my course to worry about, and the after hours are free to write.

Have I been ironclad in my discipline and written every day? Heh. This is me we're talking about here folks. However, despite my procrastinative tendencies (yep, I did just make that word up), I have actually managed to churn out more words. When added to the pile I've done since the last time I posted, I'm cruising right along.

(And no, there's no reason besides life and other craziness why the last post was so long ago. Deal.)

So now here I am, a naval engineer now instead of MARS, and ready to finish the book this year. I'd say earlier, but courses and other job-related things (those things that pay the bills right now) have a terrible habit of getting in the way.

An interesting thought came to me as I was walking back from the grocery store. I was laughing to myself (inwardly, of course, else people do tend to look at you funny and cross the street) as I carried my parcels down the street. Why was I laughing? Well, I was thinking about Queen's Legacy, and how I'll definitely need to rework things in revision. Then I wondered how my words could ever be as good as many of the published writers I read every day. Then my mind turns back to the fact that all those people are just people, like me, who have put a lot of work, practice and effort into their writing. So my mind returns to its original confident state, thinking that with enough work and practice, so too can I go there.

The point of my rambling is not to draw down the accomplishments of published writers, many of whom I enjoy and/or revere. Rather, to remind myself that it is mere mortals who write these words, and pour hours of effort and work into their texts. Like any other profession, it's skills are learned through doing. I can do this. Maybe no one will want to read my works. Maybe they will. I'll not know unless I finish, and get them out there.

That's my thoughts for today. If you've stuck through my rambling, then good on you. Right now I think it's time to get back to writing, then some technical drawings.

Resolutions

Another batch of words today. All is good. Now on to ironing, shining, and homework to get ready for a week of class.

Normally I don't make New Year's resolutions. I have nothing against the idea, just that I figure any day can be 'day zero' if you want it to be. Maybe just the length of vacation I had this year makes it feel a bit different, or something. However, this year I've resolved to plug at writing every chance I get. 15 minutes here, an hour there, etc.

Will I finish the book this year? I don't know.

I do know that if I don't get back on the horse I've neglected for too long, I definitely will NOT finish. That is not acceptable.

Hit the stride today

First off, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and Happy any other reason you can think of. Good mood today, and I'm lookin' to share the joy.

I hit a pretty good stride today. The last entry was what, July? Yep. After a whirlwind in August of getting my family moved to the west coast, then slamming into the MARS III course like a winged brick hitting the ground, I've had the holidays to reclaim my writing.

Well, that and actually dig my way through all the boxes and such to get at my stuff. Let's just say the movers made a mess of everything. Just put it wherever, and it took three days just to bring order to the madness and get sorted enough to have bedrooms, living room and kitchen that could be productive. Oh well, part of the job, I guess.

That said, I did pass the course, so now I'm in MARS IV, and if all goes well, I'll be in the fleet sometime in May/June. Yay me! First, let's pass the course. Gonna screw with the writing something fierce, but balance, young padawan, balance.

On the writing front, I got fully reacquainted with the WIP, and tonight I'm bashing out some serious forward progress. Not sure how many words yet, but at least a thousand or so. Just taking a break to get some tea and loosen the mind a touch. I didn't revise anything, just reread some bits, checked my references, and carried on. Well, I did add a note on the hardcopy I had to include some description of the main character at one point. Realized I didn't have any! I'll get that on revision, but it's good to remember. Not such a good thing to forget. Just as I promised myself not to go back all the time, I also promised to make notes and have a list of things to remember, whether it's names for bit-players I made up on the fly, or just what colour someone's horse is. It's small things, but if they get mixed up, it just makes me wince as a reader.

Right then, enough of my rambling, just rejoining the blogosphere. Pipe the carry on.

Love interests

I got to thinking about the last post I made, and I wondered to myself why the idea of the love interest is so important.

The simple answer would be to just think about it for ourselves, why we consider the ones we love to be important. Now, before you click on another favourite site, I'm not going to get all philosophical on you, because that would be boring. At least, boring for me to write, and I try to avoid that at all costs. But I digress.

I think one of the most compelling aspects of a story is to make the reader care about the main character (or characters). How to do that? Up the stakes. What's a great stake? The character's love interest. While it can be the parent-child or sibling or other relationship, one of the most powerful is the romantic love interest. One glance at the 'romance' section (especially the size of it) in any bookstore tells you how powerful a story element it is.

Thing is, it's not just in the romance genre. The amount of romance in SF/Fantasy probably rivals that of romance itself. Not to mention all the other romances going on in the rest of the fiction section. In my own WIP, it is going to be one of the primary plots, and a driving force to evolve the main character. Why? Love affects us in ways we just can't always explain. It can be a strong motivator (just look at the effort spent on attracting and keeping someone), it can be a source of comfort, fear, jealousy, embarrassment, wrath and the list goes on. Probably a longer list than most other story aspects. Give your character a reason to love, and they now have a reason to fight, to quest, to push harder and faster than the antagonist. Apply some threat, and you've got an instant (if not fully fleshed out) story.

Now that I think about it, it can apply to all the other sides of love too. For all the parents out there, you know what I'm talking about. Put your child in danger and every parent turns into Conan, or Rambo.

So, shortly I'm bringing my main character and her love interest together. Sparks shall fly, though I think in a non-typical way, and we'll see. Maybe they'll work to derail my carefully crafted plans. Then I'll just have to bring them back into line.

WIP progress: doing okay, but a test for my course in the Navy derailed some of the work last week. Still cranking out words, though.

There's my thoughts for the day. Anything to add, feel free...

More Words

Finally braced myself and dove back into the WIP today. After a rather slack weekend (pure indulgence, but I feel no shame), I've pounded out a grand total of 817 words! Don't all go nuts at once now. This brings my total to 12 324 words. Hmmm, doesn't sound as impressive saying it out loud again. (yes, I'm saying it out loud as I type, you can't hear it, but it's happening)

Still, I was going to stop as I have some ironing and other chores to do before bed but I couldn't. That, more than any abstract word count, is what felt good. That continuous push, when the CD has ended, the lights are all out because you haven't turned them on and you are ignoring chores because it's just hitting the page. I won't say easily, because I really had to work for these words. Maybe I've shaken the rust off, but just getting them out. Hard to describe, really.

So now I'll waste some time writing a blog entry. Naturally. :-) Nothing like a little procrastination before shining shoes. Bleh.

It does feel good to get back in the groove. Now I just have to maintain that forward motion. Today's scene was a bit of a character builder, though I didn't get through it all. A bit slow, but I'll save those considerations for the rewrite. Next up, the meeting of the love interest!

It's here!

Now my writing binder has arrived! Along with a box full of D&D books and assorted other bits. Spent most of last night sorting everything into my quarters here on base. This morning I opened up the binder to my outline, and realized I have a lot of review to do. Time to get my head wrapped back around the book. Nevertheless, it's a relief to have it here to work on, even if I have to wrap its schedule around the Navy's.

Tonight, my goal is to review and get back on it. Tomorrow I'll begin throwing some words at the page and see if I'm 'on' or not. Of course, if not, I'll just keep going. I'm already itching to fire my keyboard at certain scenes, but patience. No need to rush in and make a hash of it. Get it all sorted out first. Which is typical for me. Take some time to get my head sorted, and I can do a much better job. Rush in and it's all a mess. No offence to those seat-of-the-pantsers out there, but that's not how I work.

Now, off to work.

On its way

My writing material is now on its way to me in Esquimalt, courtesy of the most wonderful woman in the world, my wife. This is also the woman who, when I suggested giving up an engineering career to join the Navy, wasn't surprised. The one who said, basically, 'okay.' So yes, the most wonderful woman ever.

Along with inline skates and several D&D books. So now I just have to wait a week or so for the stuff to arrive, and remember to never, ever, outline in hardcopy only ever, ever again. Never. Ugh.

At least it's on its way. Then I can begin plugging away again. Hopefully spend an hour a night or so. At least work towards that, but we'll also see what the Navy loads me up with. Once I get settled with the course routine then the writing schedule will fall out also.

I also have had some readers on the first four chapters that I've written. Responses are positive, but also some good criticisms. I've filed them away for now, as there's no going back. Even over the things I've seen with Queen's Legacy. Just made the notes, and filed them away. I have to push forward only.

At least I've been able to control the growth of new stories. I often get good story ideas (or even average ones with potential) at the most unlikely times. I try to record them, and just stuff them in a folder in my desk for later use. Otherwise, I'll have a half-dozen starts and outlines, with nothing on its way to completion. Mind you, some are pretty interesting. Maybe some outlining while I wait for Canada Post to work it's magic wouldn't hurt.

For now, I have shirts to iron and some shoes to polish.

On to the next phase

Just catching up on things with my shiny new laptop. Right now I'm at the Naval Officer Training Centre, in Esquimalt, BC to begin the next phase of training. I graduated April 24 from basic officer training, and my wife and I got married that evening! Fortunately, she is sending my writing notes and such things, as well as the files, so I can keep plugging away, in the few shreds of spare time I might have. I plan to keep this blog to writing, but some Navy stuff will likely creep in. Can't help it, this job is so much cooler than my last one. Once I get my writing sorted out and back in line, I'll have more to say.

I certainly realized while on basic training just how much I missed writing (or any other creative outlet for that matter). Now that I'm outfitted here, I can keep going and get the ideas flowing. That and there are several good readers who want my stuff in the group, plus one published author! Life is pretty good, and will get better. I've heard the next course will allow some free time after the work day and on weekends, so I'm looking forward to pouring all the new experiences into the imagination mill and grinding them up to reform into good stories.

Anyway, while I wait for the mail, there are persons waiting on me to have a few wobbly pops. Next time I'm making my outline digital, instead of handwritten hardcopy. Gaaah. That one's biting me on the arse now. Oh well, learn for next time.

I'm still here

It seems like I've been away from the blog for a while, and it's true. However, I'm still kicking. I was accepted as an officer candidate in the Canadian Navy, and have been in the application process for most of 2007. Thus, I've been occupied for a while. Needless to say, the ravings will continue soon, once basic training is finished. Watch for me in May!

Book Pimping

Aaaaaaand we're back! Another trademark long absence. However, this one has been due to a potential career change (sadly, not writing related), that I'm keeping close to the chest for now. Suffice to say it has drained the writing resources (read: time), but I've considered it acceptable losses. For now.

But enough about that. Hopefully more soon.

My real post is about book pimping. I know, *groan* everyone talks about that at some time. Well, for one, there's no guarantee of originality in the header is there? Exactly. I'll save the original brain cells (there's a few I've stashed near the back, just past the visual cortex for just such an occasion).

Why do I want to talk about book pimping? Because just recently I've done it, and it really hit home that what many author/bloggers go on about is that word of mouth is one of the best ways to sell books. I'm not going to say I have any credibility as a marketer. Nor am I a bookseller, but today it struck me just how powerful it can be. Example:

The junior project engineer was looking for a new book to read. He figured I had a few titles I could suggest, as we both seem to enjoy fantasy and SF. Fine. He said he just finished one of David Weber's books, and I said 'here, try this series (the Honor Harrington, starting with On Basilisk Station - there, you've been pimped!).' That was Friday. I get an email this morning saying he finished the book and is starting book 2, and it was awesome. I agree, but I'm digressing. This was the first time I've pimped a book cold, on someone who wasn't in my 'inner circle' of friends, and had the same reaction as they had.

As an aside, I think I've been a key player in Mr. Weber's royalties from the greater Toronto area, but again, I digress.

So far I've given/pimped those titles to at least a dozen people, from family to (now) co-workers. Of course, it does rely on the author writing a good book, and me liking it, etc. etc. However, I suspect that word of mouth - and booksellers can be the best of them - can sell more books than a print ad.

Then again, what do I know?

New eyes

Hello all. This time it's not a trademark disappearance. I've been avoiding screens for a while, as on April 19th I had my vision corrected with the Lasek procedure. I'm trying to get some stuff cleared up around the house, but a bit later I'll fill you in on the whole deal. It's pretty cool, and the procedure is interesting. Then I just got busy at the ol' day job, after taking a week to recover.

Otherwise, writing has ground to a steady halt. Of course, after a while I go cross-eyed looking at a computer screen for too long doesn't help. The healing process continues, and I should be putting out words soon.

More details later.

Back at the keyboard

Back at the keyboard, 979 words stronger today. Not much, but my usual average for an hour's work. The perfect culmination of a weekend of household tasks. Of course, there was that novel I finished reading on Saturday. One of those grab you by the shirtfront and not let go. Author Mike Shepherd's Kris Longknife series. Some military science fiction along similar lines as the Honor Harrington series by David Weber (also highly recommended). Interesting characters, great action, and the dedication in book 3 is the best.

Aside from that, it's been a weekend of laundry, accounting and other boring yet necessary tasks. Not to mention finding a way to get the birds out of our vent humanely. Before they have chicks.

Hello all

I'm still around. Of course, after carrying on about my consistent word counts, I then go off the grid for entirely too long. However, I will admit to being preoccupied with a potential career change and various and sundry other things that would bore anyone to tears. Toss in a dash of procrastination and there it is. Typical, trademark long absence.

On the bright side, things are in the pipe and my potential day job change is out of my hands now. I'm heading back to the keyboard with renewed vigour. Since the day job isn't going anywhere, I figured I'd resculpt it to better suit my desires. However, until anything is solid, I'll put that away for now.

Next up will be a quick review of where my story is, and back at it. The challenge will be not to edit anything. I'm trying to get back on the forward progress, rather than going back.

At any rate, must go as the little one is paging us! I'll be back soon with more wit (or at least more ramblings and ravings, didn't you read the byline at the top?).

7k Total

After ten days of writing, I've managed a substantial 7421 words. I've stuck to 1 hour minimum per day, and I seem to be able to crank out from 700-800 words. Not bad. I'd love to increase that, but I'm happy to roll with a steady total for now. Once I've been able to produce that on a regular basis, then I'll up the ante and shoot for more.

I've found the hour/day target reasonable, as it allows for the day job, household tasks that can't be moved, and time for my family too. I only wish I could forgo sleep completely. That would free up lots of time.

The one thing I noticed, was that I took Friday off. I made up for it on the weekend, piling Friday's slot in the rest, but this may be a trend. Friday seems to be the one night where the whole week comes crashing down and I'm just bagged. Then Saturday morning I have loads more energy. We'll see, but I think it's a promising start. That whole journey of a thousand steps starts with one idea.

Another day, another hour

Another successful hour of writing. That's been my goal. Spend at least an hour a day writing. Ass-in-chair kind of work. So far it's paid off. You could call it a New Year's resolution, though I generally don't make those. I figure, if it's worth resolving, then it's worth doing it as soon as you think of it. I think the holidays just gave me a recharge from the day job, which helps ease the general fatigue of full-time work.

I've managed to pull anywhere between 600 and 800 words per hour, with few revisions. I'll pull a word here, tuck one there, but I try not to go back. I've re-read only to find my place again. I've already seen some places where I'll need more description. I'm focused on action, dialogue and trying to get my characters' voices out. I figure that's what revision is for. Only when the whole thing is done will I go back (unless I find a glaring continuity error, but let's burn that bridge when we come to it).

So far so good. Feels like being a 'real writer.' Now, off to the elliptical trainer. Must continue training for the ski season. Then offerings to Uller for snow.

Welcome to 2007

Hello all, and Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2007. I'm still wondering where 2006 went, but sometimes that just seems the norm.
I hope your holidays were good (and good to you). I hope those of you who are aspiring writers like myself made your word counts, finished those projects, or met whatever goals you set.
Me, I didn't meet all my goals, but I feel I made good progress, and learned a great deal. I'll list some of those learnings in a future post. Right now I've made my words for the day, and am just getting coffee, lunch and various and sundry other things ready before turning in.

I have found, though, that I've had to push for discipline. Both before I started the prose of the novel, and now that I've waded my way into chapter 2. It is definitely difficult to sit down and work hard at something when you've already put in an 8 hour (or more) day. That is something I'm still pushing, I'll freely admit.

The other is the nature of writing. I've managed, now that I've spent some time writing the prose, to finally send my internal editor to the back seat, and let the words come. Now, I tend to fight that editor's tendency to constantly thing "it's crap" and keep plunging on. I tell my editor (the demonic little wretch) that he can have his say in revision. I have avoided going back over what I did previously, except a skim read to catch up on and regain the groove of the scene.

So far, it's working. That, and my desire to prove I will do this. Not for anyone else but me.

Page One

I started Queen's Legacy today. Sure, I already set up the page on Monday with 'Chapter 1', but today was the first prose. Staring at that empty page, I understand the intimidation factor of it. So I just started typing. Well, not exactly. I did spend some time thinking about the first line. After that, I followed my outline for the action, and tried to keep it flowing. It's okay, I suppose, all 898 words of it (according to MS Word). I know it'll need revising, but I have a fine library of examples here at home to guide me, and there's no other way to do it. Write, revise, repeat. Let's have at it.

Outline done!

The outline for Queen's Legacy is done! I've done a brief on every scene, so I have the framework I can wrap the prose around. Of course, like any plan, it's unlikely to survive three seconds contact, but at least I've got all the bases covered plotwise. I've got all the necessary characters involved, and I think the pacing should be good. We'll see as it becomes a full work.

However, as my reward, I get to play with some toy soldiers for a bit (translate: put together some warhammer models that have been lurking on the shelf for too long). That and a Terry Goodkind novel that's been whispering my name from the other end of the library for a few days now.

I'm taking a few days to relax the mind, and then dig right back in. I think I need to check the timeline for a few things, plus there are a few details I need to clean up. However, it's time to throw down and write the story. At this point, I can't prevent it from coming out. I couldn't quit if I wanted to. Whether or not it eventually reaches publication, I need to write the story. To get it out and on paper, make it as good as possible, then start the next one. I love the 'high' of creation.

Beyond that, writing is the only thing I've focused on for the past weeks. Damn it feels good to have the outline finished. I'm going to go revel in my personal glory.

Target acquired

I made my target last night. Even on a swimming lesson night. Felt pretty damn good. Broke through some scenes with serious confrontations, and I think they'll shape up nicely. It was just good to get the words down.

Missing Teeth

Well, I'd like to say my time spent not-blogging was spent writing, but having had all four wisdom teeth extracted last Tuesday, the past week or so has been a complete null-zone. Reading and recuperating, mostly. However, thanks to the benefits of codeine pain killers and anti-inflammatories, the time was not the agony I've heard described by others. In truth, the whole op was pretty simple from my perspective. They put me to sleep, I woke up, and it was all done.

However, back into the saddle now, and almost finished. For this year supposedly being the year of the first draft, I think I may have been optimistic. Real life, combined with a lack of discipline on my part, has slowed me down. Hmmm, discipline eh? Maybe I could get my wife some leather for Christmas...

Yeah, too much information. I'll just keep that thought for later.

However, I refuse to worry about setbacks, even self-imposed ones. I'd rather consider that I'm almost done the scene-by-scene outline, and ready to start some serious prose. Now I just have to buckle down and keep my ass in the chair and fingers to keyboard. I figured I'd do something I heard at Toronto Trek, where one of the other writers at the workshop puts on a tiara marked 'Diva' when it's her writing time, as a signal to her family to 'do not disturb.' Not certain I'm the tiara type, mostly as I have no matching purse, but a light I can turn on to indicate the same thing is an idea. Besides, it is an excuse to get one of those cool lighting dish lights. Mmmm... pretty lights.

Now I must interrupt this impressively boring diatribe to head off to swimming lessons for my daughter. Maybe I can borrow one of her tiaras until I get my light.

Then again, maybe not.

Been a while

Sweet mercy, has it really been since June that I've put anything up? Where did summer go? Much as I look forward to winter, it feels like the time just swooshed by (much like deadlines).

Almost finished the scene breakdowns. 'But that was supposed to happen ages ago.' you say. Yes, but as ever, my optimistic view of getting things done was destroyed by the arrival of our new daughter, in June. Thus, in my forgetting of how much work a newborn actually is, my timing is a bit off. Oh well, some things are worth shoving schedules around for. Nevertheless, I've almost broken the story down, and let me say, there are some pretty cool scenes I'm planning. Hopefully I can pull them off and get the impact I'm aiming for. It felt pretty good to get done what I have, actually, so I'm not too worked up over being behind.

Since I'm sneaking a post in at work on lunch, I shall leave you all to get back to work. However, more (and more regular) to follow.

Word Play

Have you ever noticed that some words are just plain, cooler than others? I don't mean their meaning or specificity, but rather just how they roll off the tongue, like a fine wine. For example, the word buccaneer. Honestly, just say that a few times, then throw some emphasis in, maybe an arrrh! or two. Doesn't that just conjure an image just from saying it?

Not that other words are boring, but let's face it, even the word word is a little dull. Not much you can do there. Doesn't change the use, or how important it is, but even some of the simplest words can just be thrown out there and sound so, well, cool.

Doubt demons and plasma guns!

Hello all, once again my rare wit graces these electrons. Mind you, rare seems to mean post frequency, rather than some level of genius, but I shall endeavour to maintain my own illusions. Helps keep up my (questionable) sanity.

On the writing front, I am continuing to churn away, though things such as real life continue to interfere. I've found that I can get through three or four scene outlines per evening, maybe a little more if I slide some in at lunch. Mind you, my scene outlines tend to run 1/4 to 1/2 page of longhand. It seems to get slower as I progress, while I double check things like timelines and past scenes to make sure everything is roughly in line. However, I can see the story take shape. I've already modified a few things. Mostly for timing. Amazing how you realize that certain events you thought were okay, move around dramatically (pun intended) when you start to detail things out. Little details, travel time, preparation, and that sense that your character just can't do something then, they have to wait, yet they're bound an determined to do it anyway!

Ahem.

On the bright side, it feels good that the characters are coming alive. They're starting to emerge from the page and become more real. The down side; the usual demons are stalking. Mostly the doubt demons. You know the ones, they whisper at you "why are you bothering, who would read this tripe" "that's so unoriginal it doesn't even qualify as boring" and that sort of stuff.

Fortunately I keep my mental plasma pistol handy. You just can't have too much plasma!

Outside in

I just read a great book by Dave Duncan, who is one of my favourite authors. Another in the 'King's Blades' series, Paragon Lost. As with the others, he weaves a rollicking good tale, best read to soundtracks like Three Musketeers, Dragonheart and The Mask of Zorro. One thing that hit me while I was reading it, is that the entire book is written in third person limited point of view, using everyone except the main character! (At least, I don't remember many scenes from the MC's PoV) When I realized this, the writing took on a new level of interesting, in that I was impressed by the way he handled it. You almost wouldn't notice if you weren't looking, but lately I find I try to turn a critical eye to the books I read, if for no other reason that to add to my own knowledge of technique. At any rate, the book was good, and his use of PoV was just cool.

It goes to show, even while writing, keep reading, in and out of your genre. Everything going in will coalesce into that mystical concoction known as your own technique.

As for my own work, I've been letting life and work stand in the way too often. Must work on that. However, I'm still pounding away at my scene-by-scene breakdown, and the story is coming together. I think I'm heading for a bit of muddle in the early middle (say that a few times fast, I dare ya!), but we'll see. Nothing the revision can't smooth over, at least with a thick, red sharpie!

The one advantage to having a love of writing certain things by hand (there's just something about pen to paper, which I've gone on about before), is that you can't run out of power. Taking everything camping was great, save the cold last weekend. We took Friday and Tuesday off (Monday was a holiday here in Ontario) to get a camping getaway. Weather called for 8-16 degrees C all weekend, with a bit of rain. Hah! More like high of 8, with rain every night! Still, the days were nice, we got in some hikes, and kept the fire going when the rain wasn't coming down. That and turned on the heat in the tent trailer for the first time. Cold weekend, I tell you. It's May, so you always expect to have long shirts, short shirts, pants, shorts in any combination, but all three at once was a bit much. Always an adventure, which is why I love camping (car or backcountry, I'll take either).

Building

Now we're getting somewhere. Once again, I am taking entirely long to post. *sigh* Much ado about the day job and all that. Plus I've been hovering around the next step in my writing, that of breaking down the scenes for the book. Not sure why, probably a mix of fear, uncertainty and a healthy dose of 'where do I start?' So I just started.

Right now I'm thinking one scene per chapter, but that's in the future, once the actual prose takes shape. For now it's just a somewhat arbitrary benchmark. I'm outlining in some detail (i.e. a paragraph or so) for each scene. The key for me is to do a few things:
1) outline the action - make sure it's not too much or too little, that the scene has purpose and moves at the right pace
2) maintain point of view - in the margin for each one, I outright state the PoV character. I even alter the way I outline to ensure I'm thinking from the mind of the right character.
3) establish some flow and get the story down in detail.

Granted, I could probably just jump into the prose and have at it, but I'm not like that. Maybe with more experience, but right now I want to make sure I get the story tight. Make sure I cover all the plots and subplots (or erase/chage them) that I listed in the overall plot breakdown. This way, each layer of the story becomes like building a structure. Start with the design itself. The world, the characters, you have to choose the right plans. Once you have that chosen, each layer gets closer to the actual prose.

The first layer is the basic story. What is going to happen, to who, and why. Kind of like the foundation. The next is the plot outline, where more details are thrown in and the whole thing subject to the 'does this make sense' check. This is the stud walls to hold the building up. After that, the scene-by-scene breakdown, so that I don't leave anything out or let any subplots get warped. This is the structural layer, and the final reality check. All the drywall, electrics and other necessary items. After that, each scene gets layered over with prose. This is like the drywall, paint, tiles, carpet and other tasty stuff.

Enough with the analogies, though. Right now this is the way I feel comfortable, my biggest concern is to get the story right. Even though the chances of my first one selling are grim, that's no excuse for not making it the best possible.

So that's my method right now. If anyone feels like sharing, please, share away in comments.

The Story is Broken

I got the type-in done for the story breakdown. All those scribbles turned into an actual summary. Four pages, not bad. I have lots of extra ideas floating around, but for making the summary, I just kept it to the flow of the story, with the extra notes (e.g. a needed scene here, some background to flesh out there) written in as needed. All it is are some headers for each 'act' and a list of bullet points (in rough chronological order, sort of) of things that must happen, plus key scenes (where needed), and some other details.

Next is the breakdown of all the scenes. I may just type this one in, rather than handwrite first. It also depends on where I do it, as I'll take any level surface with a pad and pencil. I like to have control of the story, at least until some good ideas beat their way in and I have to include them. We'll see. For now, I'll stick to the plan.

I kept the summary to a five-act format that I tend to use for writing adventures and other things. Maybe I've just read too much Shakespeare, but the thought process of using 'acts' to break the story into manageable chunks seems to be working. I think of it like the film Star Wars IV: A New Hope, where you have the Tatooine section, the Death Star section and the final Space Battle section. Simplistic? Maybe. So far it's helping me frame the story and weed out weak portions or other inconsistencies or having the aliens arrive in chapter 14 (TM to Miss Snark for that one). that and the simple appearance of it belies the work involved to make the whole come together. It's that engineer thing. Start with the supports, the framework, then start laying in the electrics, the power transfer, then the inner and outer hull, etc.

Of course, all of this has raised more questions for world building, and I suspect there are some more secondary characters coming out of the woodwork somewhere in the middle, but that's all part of the fun. Those details can be cleaned up once the scenes are broken down.

Lots more to do, hopefully the trials of the day job will ease up a bit. A bit too much overtime lately has crimped the writing. Not only that, but were in a house crunch as well. With a baby on the way, that spare bedroom has to be cleared out and made ready. Since it's been a bit of a 'drop zone' while we worked on other areas of the house, it leads to the basement organization and that spills into the garage... well, you get the idea. It's been almost two years since moving in, and we still have a huge bunch of white walls. *sigh* All in due time.

A small taste

What a great day yesterday. I felt like I had a taste of the life of a full-time writer. My company has a policy of giving everyone their birthday as a day off. Very nice. The best part was that I spent the bulk of the workday writing. Aside from a short jaunt to take the car for an oil change, as well as walking my daughter to and from school, I had the day to myself to get some work done.

And boy, did I get work done. I took the original plot outline, and basically tore it apart and reassembled it. Combining the ideas generated by creating my main cast of characters, plus assorted brainstorms, as well as reviewing and wondering "what did I mean there?" I think I've managed to refine and clean the whole storyline. Funny how a lot of thinking and work boils down to four or five pages of notes. Doesn't look like much, but it's the quality that counts here.

Next step: let it lie and tomorrow, give it another pass, just to be sure, and then type it in so I can back it up all over the place. That final look is what I call the 'morning after' check, when painting models. Sure, when you've been milking the muse until 3am to finish that Necron lord model, you go back the next morning and put it under some sunlight, and you find a spot you missed and a few highlights to fix. Then it's done. But I digress.

After I've got the outline done, my next goal is to get every scene plotted out. It sounds a bit crazy, and I know I won't get every scene down on the list, but I have found myself to be more of a structural writer, I like to keep control and know where the scene is going. That said, I'm not going to be chained to the outline, just need a roadmap of sorts.

Not much done today, though. Must remember the mistake in having a middle-of-the-week vacation day. The day job was insane today, which sapped all the energy, not to mention the overtime. Ah well, must pay bills and such (repeat as required).