Smashwords Short Story: The Rail-Walker

I have put a new story on Smashwords. I suppose that was a little premature. The story itself is still a bit raw. I didn't do much in terms of looking it over, but it already has a good review. I will update it when I get a chance to fix any errors in it. I want to put up the second part before I do that though. I want to start pushing for a thousand words everyday in something, whether I split it up in blog posts, short stories, and poetry doesn't matter. I have been slacking a bit too much. The semester starts up again tomorrow, and I still need to get a job. The beginning of the semester shouldn't be to bad as of yet. Maybe I will still be able to manage being a writer, of more than just code.

Smashwords again

I am going to try putting something on smashwords again. I have a short story that is probably going to end up being a bit longer than I originally intended, so I am going to put it up on smashwords as a serial rather than as one piece. I want to get a few parts of it finished first though so that I can edit it and make sure to have some degree of narrative continuity. I should actually write up a complete plot outline for this so that I don't end up losing track of what I was doing with it. I have attempted writing a serial in the past and that has been left incomplete for quite a long while at this point. As it is I may go and add that to Smashwords as well since I cannot republish it and the sight where it currently resides does not contractually claim rights to it anymore. That would also be a good idea, even though it is rather sub-par in terms of writing. As for working on my book, I think I will probably end up cutting off the last ten-thousand or so words, and rewriting that whole segment. Lots of work to do. I better get to it.

The work continues

I've finished re-reading my own book so I am prepared to push onward in my editing. I fixed a few of the minor problems that I had along the way, and I found a good place to include the Oath of Elorea. Instead of having it on a placard I have a character recite it, and I think that it turned out quite well. I still need to change up the ending, and that will be a large chunk of work. I'm trying to get back into writing consistently. I've worked on a few short stories and I've written up a few rants to try and get the weave flowing. It hasn't really worked to well, but I'm making progress anyway. Slowly, and without much inspiration. I should stop worrying about doing poorly while I'm editing. I know this probably isn't the last time that I am going to be editing this page anyway. As is I need to somehow gracefully transition to a period of training, introduce a few characters, and then get back into the action. I don't think I can realistically skip a training period, not without a sudden and unexpected threat...Well that's an idea that I haven't considered before. Perhaps I shall have ***** enter earlier that I anticipated, and he could be followed, jump starting *******'s plans....
That actually might work. I could have a good excuse for bypassing a lull in the tempo of the narrative. Pressure should be building now, not waning. That might be just the trick. I'll have to mull it over and see what I come up with.

Not dead yet...but far from immortal

I am still not dead yet, but I think this blog was on the verge of it. I have still been working quite a bit, but not as much as I should be. Writing the book has taken backseat for a little while, since the semester has started again. Even so I will continue to write regardless of what may get in the way. I need to finish the book soon otherwise a may go absolutely insane. As of yet though there is still a great deal of work to do. There is now a finalized version of the Oath of Elorea though...I think I have covered all of the major aspects of their society in a succinct set of lines that reads quite well. Here follows the Oath of Elorea:

I vow to die unto myself. In this way I may live.

Ever shall I be a harbinger of hope, in all adversity.

For those in want, I shall be provider.

For those in illness, I shall bare them health.

For those in weakness, I shall wield my strength.

Ever shall I be the adversary of evil, in all its forms.

The cruel, I am to meet with courage.

The greedy, I am to meet with wisdom.

The wicked, I am to meet with justice.

Ever shall I be caretaker of the land, in all conditions.

Where the soil is dead, I shall work to enliven it.

Where the water is fouled, I shall work to cleanse it.

Where evil has tainted the land, I shall revive its sanctity.

These things I vow and I know them well. They are in my heart.

My blood is for this cause, all the days of my life.

If ever I stray from this birthright, so too shall I lose my inheritance,

And I shall wear the stain of my blood.

So that all will see that I have betrayed this righteous cause.

It actually came out pretty good, and is better than the 'Creed' I had them using before. It's not actually included in the book yet, but I am going to try to work it in at the beginning, perhaps carved into a placard above Gaelen's door. If you want the full effect read it aloud, the words come out rather powerfully I find...

Editing continues

I just got back from a vacation in Virginia, where I actually managed to do some editing on Fire Gate. I've managed to make it about a third of the way through the book now. I've made some major and minor corrections along the way, but I know that most of the heavy editing is going to be in the last few chapters of the book anyway. Still it is a good start, in a fairly short amount of time that I was working on it. The more I consider different names the more I think I like The Elorean. Out of all of the other possibilities that I have considered that seems to fit the best. There are a few problems with that title though. For starters it looks like it was meant to be about a car and someone just took of the 'D' that was suppose to go in front of 'Elorean.' The other problem is that the title is reminiscent of The Hobbit. While Hobbits and Eloreans happen to be very different creatures from one another, they are still unique to their respective worlds and their race would be the defining feature of the book cover which features them. As such I feel that it is a little too closely referencing a Tolkinian  work for it to be in good taste. While the Lord of the Rings may have influenced my writing to a degree I don't want to present my works as just a different take on the same kind of world. Using such a similarly themed title seems like a poor choice on my part. Yet I cannot think of a more important aspect being introduced in this part of the story, since the Fire Gate is hardly mentioned and there are few other major themes that have yet to come into play. I will have to keep brainstorming to come up with a better title, but the story itself is coming closer and closer to its final form.

Fire Gate Finished!

Well, okay, technically it isn't finished yet, but I have reached what I intend on being the conclusion of the story for this book. Now I am going to have to start editing like mad. I was planning on getting this far much earlier in the summer, but as always I'm running behind my own schedule. I have a fairly good idea of the sort  of changes that I'm going to make. A few minor characters are going to have to be introduced by name, and I think I will have to expand upon what happens in a couple sections where, "and then they sailed for two weeks," or "and then they trained for a couple of months." It will give me an opportunity to expand upon the cultures and characters in a more peaceful setting, which I don't take much time to do. I'm also considering some way of prolonging the beginning of the book to give a better idea of Elorean family life. I was thinking that Deshka might not try to hurry them along and insist on resting before heading out(or perhaps Athal is out on a long hunting trip and is not going to be home for another day or so yet). That would let me give an idea of what some of Gaelen's training is like. I also need to expand on Valedectus since several people have commented that they particularly like his character. I myself find him rather interesting and I don't think it would be wise to miss such an opportunity. I'm certain he will be showing up again.

My Mind is going insane without me

Today it seems as if my mind is losing itself without me. I have an incredible urge to work on my book and push forward, but despite this I can't seem to find the words to say. I think it probably has to do with not having written in so long. This is the worst kind of writers block. I know what I want to write, but every time I put it on the page it is phrased wrong, or feels tangential to what is already there. I try trimming up what I wrote before to see if I can make it flow more clearly, but then I simply change it back to the way it was. My mind is screaming "Write!" and I can't seem to muster the will to do so. Yet I think all it would take is just an instance of clarity for the words to flow off my fingers. That may be why I have come here to write. Writing should not be forced, and so I am not going to push until I"m too exhausted. Instead I'm just going to give myself a little nudge here and see if i can start off on something worth while.

On a side note I started working on a program to draw 8-bit sprites. It isn't at all far along yet, in fact it technically just opens a blank page and has a short list of colors available, but it's a start. The game I was working on for my Computer Science class turned out nicely so I am going to use that as the basis of the game and will build it from there. I'm going to have to learn how to use sprites though, which we never covered this semester. In the book there is a section on classes which I understand to be necessary to the usage of sprites so I will have to teach it to myself and use a little experimentation in order to determine how to use sprites.

All in all summer isn't starting well. I still have all the resolve I need to do everything, but now that the moment has come it seems as if I am overwhelming myself with everything I want to do all at once. I need to slow down my mind and just work with the fragments that are before me now. The tallest tower in the world is built a brick at a time, I need to remind myself of this and just keep piecing it together brick by brick (or word by word in this case).