I've decided to tell the better story. That means I have to figure out what the ship is out there for....I'm thinking raiders since it makes the horrific things that might or might not happen to them seem just...
In fact, since the Abysmali pretty much own the oceans it makes sense that to fish in them or travel on them one would have to pay them tribute, but since they're a dying race or at least scares, then they might not appear all that much. They're powerful and present enough that some kind of ritual would be needed but from time to time someone would try to ignore it...and they might get away with it for a while and not get caught.
The trick is that we'll need a new sailor joining the boat, to notice the lack of the Talisman or sign and be worried about it. The others will mock him for it, and of course, that is the voyage when the Abysmali take issue with their lack of respect.
Fire of Prophesy is at 3500.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Status
I have updated 4 of 21 chapters in "Micronation" for the third revision of the manuscript.
I have revised and cowritten 11 chapters out of 41 of "Precyber" with Ken....it's "the fourth novel" and is basically in a future dystopia set in Atlanta, GA.
"Fire of Prophesy" is at 3250 words, but it looks to need another 500.
Unfortunately, my schedule demands that I start working up a new story now, so I might have to piggy back a bit.
So what kind of story do I want to write? Next in the common theme is "Water" which almost automatically seems to be about the Abysmali, but that's a rather wide range of things to cover.
I'm torn between one of two different ideas...the first is a raiding party in Glashause that gets mixed up with the Abysmali from a distance...kind of a horror story set in the age before Fulcrum. The second is to be about their 'client' race in the age after Fulcrum in which they've modified humans....all of the major races have modified humans outside of Glashause in the third age...but I haven't given much thought about how.
That's why I lean a little bit toward the second idea, but its just an idea of somewhere to write about, not a story. As a story, the first definitely has more potential.
I have revised and cowritten 11 chapters out of 41 of "Precyber" with Ken....it's "the fourth novel" and is basically in a future dystopia set in Atlanta, GA.
"Fire of Prophesy" is at 3250 words, but it looks to need another 500.
Unfortunately, my schedule demands that I start working up a new story now, so I might have to piggy back a bit.
So what kind of story do I want to write? Next in the common theme is "Water" which almost automatically seems to be about the Abysmali, but that's a rather wide range of things to cover.
I'm torn between one of two different ideas...the first is a raiding party in Glashause that gets mixed up with the Abysmali from a distance...kind of a horror story set in the age before Fulcrum. The second is to be about their 'client' race in the age after Fulcrum in which they've modified humans....all of the major races have modified humans outside of Glashause in the third age...but I haven't given much thought about how.
That's why I lean a little bit toward the second idea, but its just an idea of somewhere to write about, not a story. As a story, the first definitely has more potential.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
1250 words
This story feels better than the last starting paragraph, but it already feels like its wandering a bit. I'll try to redirect it, but sometimes moving forward is better.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Initial Fail
Only 550 words written on the Fire Story, though I have finally finished the first draft of the Vance story that proceeded it, and I'm working on Novel #4 with Ken again. I should begin writing in that as of next week again.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Experiment: Fail
This is the start of the story from the 'helper's perspective'....didn't work.
"Vlurf loved his master. He felt honored to work for a man who made fate itself his tool. He knew that he would be able to help some in the near future. Still, the world was going to make him want to give up his position for something more normal, like a Crafter or Skald position.
Vlurf would have none of it. He belonged at his master’s side."
I'm clearly going to try something else. I think I'll try again with a foot soldier tomorrow.
"Vlurf loved his master. He felt honored to work for a man who made fate itself his tool. He knew that he would be able to help some in the near future. Still, the world was going to make him want to give up his position for something more normal, like a Crafter or Skald position.
Vlurf would have none of it. He belonged at his master’s side."
I'm clearly going to try something else. I think I'll try again with a foot soldier tomorrow.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Perspective
I'd considered telling this from more than one perspective, one from a heroic Speilglase person who is fleeing the approaching army and retreating toward Glashause, but for a story of 5000ish words, more than one perspective is...difficulty. Short stories are hard enough without mixing in half a dozen different camera angles.
The problem is that the Fate Binder is kind of a jerk. Alright, he's a total jerk. Do I really want the story to be about a guy who defies prophesy and gets burned by it? That's particularly ironic really since the ultimate theme of the novel WAS going to be that prophesy and destiny have a way of petering out, of not being reliable when you want them to be there.
Then again, this would kind of show the capricious nature of Fa's prophesy. After all, this anecdote in history is supposed to be THE poster child about why thwarting prophesy is impossible, but if I were to show that in the story and PROVING just how random Fa can be would be interesting. So instead of making the Fatebinder ignorant of Fa and blown up in a fit of solar rage, what if he deliberately plays a cosmic game of chicken, using his own rules against him and in the end showing him that he only follows those rules in name only?
That still makes him a jerk and a rather unsympathetic character. And yet I need to start writing next week. I think that the story has to be about Fatebinder, but I may give Fatebinder an assistant or a side kick of some kind. Someone with redeeming qualities that can see the good in Fatebinder while being blind to the bad. Of course, in the story, the irony will be how the reader is able to see both.
We'll see if it works.
In the meantime, I've dusted off an old story that I'm nearly done with, and will finish tomorrow or Sunday, that I'll be revising next week as I write this story. The goal is 500 words a day for two weeks, which will produce 5000 words, with then a week of multiple rewrites before submission. We'll see if I can do that.
The problem is that the Fate Binder is kind of a jerk. Alright, he's a total jerk. Do I really want the story to be about a guy who defies prophesy and gets burned by it? That's particularly ironic really since the ultimate theme of the novel WAS going to be that prophesy and destiny have a way of petering out, of not being reliable when you want them to be there.
Then again, this would kind of show the capricious nature of Fa's prophesy. After all, this anecdote in history is supposed to be THE poster child about why thwarting prophesy is impossible, but if I were to show that in the story and PROVING just how random Fa can be would be interesting. So instead of making the Fatebinder ignorant of Fa and blown up in a fit of solar rage, what if he deliberately plays a cosmic game of chicken, using his own rules against him and in the end showing him that he only follows those rules in name only?
That still makes him a jerk and a rather unsympathetic character. And yet I need to start writing next week. I think that the story has to be about Fatebinder, but I may give Fatebinder an assistant or a side kick of some kind. Someone with redeeming qualities that can see the good in Fatebinder while being blind to the bad. Of course, in the story, the irony will be how the reader is able to see both.
We'll see if it works.
In the meantime, I've dusted off an old story that I'm nearly done with, and will finish tomorrow or Sunday, that I'll be revising next week as I write this story. The goal is 500 words a day for two weeks, which will produce 5000 words, with then a week of multiple rewrites before submission. We'll see if I can do that.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Binder of Fate
The mover and shaker in this case is an individual who has mastered the secrets of the Scoungers who follow the Prophets around everywhere, the Hushers and the Wizards. He makes a pair of Goggles that allow him to see who is significant to a prophesy and who isn't.
The long story short of the situation is that he is determined to thwart a prophesy to prove that there it is merely a by product of people's beliefs, rather than a force on its own. He will start by outright killing several of the principle people involved in the prophesy, only to see the significant players shift. He then turns one of the princples involved into a mindless vegetable, and finally just assembles a gigantic army, playing on the tensions between Spielglas and her neighbors to invade the city states, taking them one by one until he has a massive force not seen since the days of the last empire ready to lay waste to the city.
He avoids several small threats and assassination attempts the prophesy moves in his way, because he can see them coming with the goggles, until Fa just gets sick of the whole thing and just fries the army to a cinder.
The long story short of the situation is that he is determined to thwart a prophesy to prove that there it is merely a by product of people's beliefs, rather than a force on its own. He will start by outright killing several of the principle people involved in the prophesy, only to see the significant players shift. He then turns one of the princples involved into a mindless vegetable, and finally just assembles a gigantic army, playing on the tensions between Spielglas and her neighbors to invade the city states, taking them one by one until he has a massive force not seen since the days of the last empire ready to lay waste to the city.
He avoids several small threats and assassination attempts the prophesy moves in his way, because he can see them coming with the goggles, until Fa just gets sick of the whole thing and just fries the army to a cinder.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Glashause
How does one make a boy come from nowhere? Somewhere where something important happened once a long time ago but that nobody cares about any more.
Long ago, Glashause served as the scene for the rise of the Second great imperial human dynasty, the one that confirmed the prophetic cycle of empire and chaos and then a rise from the ashes. It was so famous for so long, that eventually it became a backwater. The people were initially full of themselves, and then forgotten, then hicks and then something else altogether. Of course, to one degree or another, thousands of years of human history could make most of the planet like that, but Glashause was one in particular.
It is the largest and oldest of the city states, best known for the Light House which served in the last empire. It is also known as a center of learning. The worst kept secret in the world is that the next prophesy will take place there. This isn't another empire, that isn't supposed to happen until 200 years later with Ful, but everyone knows it is the last big 'foreshadowing' event.
And one guy (who I'll detail tomorrow) attempts to manipulate prophesy to the point that he tries to keep the prophesy from happening. The thing is, that no one really knows about Fa, or the fact that he's ultimately the one behind the prophesy, because most people either worship Gods or one of the ancient powers. The fate manipulator is in for a bit of a rude shock, despite his incredibly sophisticated methods of manipulating prophesy.
Long ago, Glashause served as the scene for the rise of the Second great imperial human dynasty, the one that confirmed the prophetic cycle of empire and chaos and then a rise from the ashes. It was so famous for so long, that eventually it became a backwater. The people were initially full of themselves, and then forgotten, then hicks and then something else altogether. Of course, to one degree or another, thousands of years of human history could make most of the planet like that, but Glashause was one in particular.
It is the largest and oldest of the city states, best known for the Light House which served in the last empire. It is also known as a center of learning. The worst kept secret in the world is that the next prophesy will take place there. This isn't another empire, that isn't supposed to happen until 200 years later with Ful, but everyone knows it is the last big 'foreshadowing' event.
And one guy (who I'll detail tomorrow) attempts to manipulate prophesy to the point that he tries to keep the prophesy from happening. The thing is, that no one really knows about Fa, or the fact that he's ultimately the one behind the prophesy, because most people either worship Gods or one of the ancient powers. The fate manipulator is in for a bit of a rude shock, despite his incredibly sophisticated methods of manipulating prophesy.
Monday, January 5, 2009
First Story: Fire
Name of Kingdom: Speilglase
Basic Description of Kingdom: A confederation of seven city states between two powerful and warlike kingdoms. They have hints of viking and Japanese culture in their societies. They are located on the eastern coast of the largest and primary continent on Sylte (aka the Green world).
Government: Weak fuedal monarchy.
Social Structure: There are four basic social levels...five if you include the king.
The King: First among equals of the Thranes. Traditionally a hereditary position but the position is elected once every thirty years, therefore a weak king or a weak house can be changed with relatively little bloodshed.
Thrane: Essentially a hereditary dictator for one of the city states. They have theoretical control over all aspects of life not protected by powerful institutions (such as Hushers, Wizards and Destiny Prophets) or powerful castes (see below). In practice, they are almost all pretty live and let live except in times of war, simply because the unspoken cultural norm is that you let people do what you want.
Of course, conversely, the unspoken cultural norm is that there are certain expectations for most aspects of daily life and you're expected to conform to them unless you have a darn good reason.
The Castes: There are five honorable professions amongst the Speilers.
The general philosophy with each case is a balance between specialization (which gathers respect) and generalization (which also gathers respect). There is a guild like series of peer review to reward merit in each, with general levels of Apprentice, Journeyman and Master, with a Master having a certain number of Laurels which they get for doing noteworthy or cool things, which are especially useful in pissing contests with other masters. There is a minimum level of proficiency that is expected for each specialty in a casteman to know in their chosen caste.
Sailor: Obvious, but it includes raiding, fishing, trade, navigation etc.
Soldier: Footman, Archer, Calvary, Knight etc. All soldiers have some leadership training, obviously all are not good at it. By tradition, in times of war, ranks are divided by Caste Rank and Laurel unless otherwise ordered by the Thranes. There is a Shadow Rank system, however, which is controlled by Guild Masters at large, which puts compotent officers in charge and which is generally used by the Thrane in times of war.
Farmer: Not only agriculture and livestock but all of the various things that make a house hold work including carpenters, home makers etc.
Craftsmen: They make things. If you can think of something worth making, then you're considered a craftsmen. Technically speaking, all Castesmen are merchants, but in practice this mainly applies to Craftsmen. Of course, Castemen technically do not think of themselves as Merchants, but rather Entrepenurs, which is to them an entirely different thing. A merchant doesn't actually DO anything and merely moves money around or moves goods from place to place, which is something a thrall is good for. That means, generally, by definition, all foreigners who come to trade are Merchants, not Entrepenurs. This is a source of tension with Speilglase's neighboors.
Skald: Bards and entertainers of every kind of performance imaginable from poets to jugglers to painters. Technically, all of the other castes consider themselves dabblers in this caste, but selling their works or services is considered bad form unless they are of the Skald case. This also includes knowledgeable specialists such as lawyers and teachers. It technically would include scholars if the Hushers didn't tend to crush such things.
Thralls: The fourth and lowest rank. Anyone who doesn't choose a caste becomes a thrall, either in the service of castemen or the Thrane. Thralls are sworn for a year and a day at a time, after which they must become a thrall again, become a Casteman or leave.
Basic Description of Kingdom: A confederation of seven city states between two powerful and warlike kingdoms. They have hints of viking and Japanese culture in their societies. They are located on the eastern coast of the largest and primary continent on Sylte (aka the Green world).
Government: Weak fuedal monarchy.
Social Structure: There are four basic social levels...five if you include the king.
The King: First among equals of the Thranes. Traditionally a hereditary position but the position is elected once every thirty years, therefore a weak king or a weak house can be changed with relatively little bloodshed.
Thrane: Essentially a hereditary dictator for one of the city states. They have theoretical control over all aspects of life not protected by powerful institutions (such as Hushers, Wizards and Destiny Prophets) or powerful castes (see below). In practice, they are almost all pretty live and let live except in times of war, simply because the unspoken cultural norm is that you let people do what you want.
Of course, conversely, the unspoken cultural norm is that there are certain expectations for most aspects of daily life and you're expected to conform to them unless you have a darn good reason.
The Castes: There are five honorable professions amongst the Speilers.
The general philosophy with each case is a balance between specialization (which gathers respect) and generalization (which also gathers respect). There is a guild like series of peer review to reward merit in each, with general levels of Apprentice, Journeyman and Master, with a Master having a certain number of Laurels which they get for doing noteworthy or cool things, which are especially useful in pissing contests with other masters. There is a minimum level of proficiency that is expected for each specialty in a casteman to know in their chosen caste.
Sailor: Obvious, but it includes raiding, fishing, trade, navigation etc.
Soldier: Footman, Archer, Calvary, Knight etc. All soldiers have some leadership training, obviously all are not good at it. By tradition, in times of war, ranks are divided by Caste Rank and Laurel unless otherwise ordered by the Thranes. There is a Shadow Rank system, however, which is controlled by Guild Masters at large, which puts compotent officers in charge and which is generally used by the Thrane in times of war.
Farmer: Not only agriculture and livestock but all of the various things that make a house hold work including carpenters, home makers etc.
Craftsmen: They make things. If you can think of something worth making, then you're considered a craftsmen. Technically speaking, all Castesmen are merchants, but in practice this mainly applies to Craftsmen. Of course, Castemen technically do not think of themselves as Merchants, but rather Entrepenurs, which is to them an entirely different thing. A merchant doesn't actually DO anything and merely moves money around or moves goods from place to place, which is something a thrall is good for. That means, generally, by definition, all foreigners who come to trade are Merchants, not Entrepenurs. This is a source of tension with Speilglase's neighboors.
Skald: Bards and entertainers of every kind of performance imaginable from poets to jugglers to painters. Technically, all of the other castes consider themselves dabblers in this caste, but selling their works or services is considered bad form unless they are of the Skald case. This also includes knowledgeable specialists such as lawyers and teachers. It technically would include scholars if the Hushers didn't tend to crush such things.
Thralls: The fourth and lowest rank. Anyone who doesn't choose a caste becomes a thrall, either in the service of castemen or the Thrane. Thralls are sworn for a year and a day at a time, after which they must become a thrall again, become a Casteman or leave.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Goals for 2009
Write a status update of all writing (prose) projects once a week.
Begin writing high fantasy in September of 2009, at 1000 words a day for four months to create 120,000 words for the novel so I can still have 100,000 words and cut 20,000 of them.
Write 12 short stories, 1 every three weeks until then to flesh out the world. Outline the short stories here but write them off line so I can submit them for publication (Thus forcing me to improve the stories to publishing quality standards.)
I am also considering writing a science fiction story once a month, but I will wait until after Grad School in May 2009 to do this, which would make the goal to submit 7 non novel related short stories for publication in 2009.
The novel short stories (fantasy) must NOT be part of the novel itself or involve its characters. This is designed to flesh out the world and make it more livable.
Begin writing high fantasy in September of 2009, at 1000 words a day for four months to create 120,000 words for the novel so I can still have 100,000 words and cut 20,000 of them.
Write 12 short stories, 1 every three weeks until then to flesh out the world. Outline the short stories here but write them off line so I can submit them for publication (Thus forcing me to improve the stories to publishing quality standards.)
I am also considering writing a science fiction story once a month, but I will wait until after Grad School in May 2009 to do this, which would make the goal to submit 7 non novel related short stories for publication in 2009.
The novel short stories (fantasy) must NOT be part of the novel itself or involve its characters. This is designed to flesh out the world and make it more livable.
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