Plodding Away

I've been trying to write Jason's chapter again. I don't know why he's so difficult to write. Maybe it's because I can deviate much from what I planned on being said and done at this point, especially with how important the information in this chapter is to the story. I have a lot of the dialogue down, a lot of the character traits and I've even developed some plot points in my traditional writing manner, but still, the chapter remains unfinished. I think my other problem is I haven't got a "feel" for Jason's character yet. I want him to be more than an arrogant and angry. He needs to be likeable enough to count as a complex character and to have the ending I am planning MEAN something.

My philosophy in writing is that both sides of conflict need to have a face, a personality, a cause and a legitimate reason for why they do what they do. I don't believe in the archetypical villain who plots away in his tower with his only motivation as "I am evil." WMRR isn't that kind of story.

As for the next two chapters, I have a good idea of how they'll go down. I also finished a lot of the dialogue for a chapter after the next interlude (Myra's), which makes me feel better about not having done as much in the last month.

My video production has been difficult as well as I have just been BUSY. October was brutal in terms of being busy and being sick. I have had stomach issues for two weeks now, so I'll hopefully be seeing a doctor next week about that. Hopefully I don't have some infectious disease that will wipe out all of humanity as we know it.

Awww Yeah

Fixing plot holes, cleaning up dialogue and keeping characters consistent. This is what it's allllll about ladies and gentlemen!

...just not at 1 in the morning, heh.

Also...IS SOMEONE MOVING SHEET METAL OUTSIDE? What the heck is going on out there?

Catwalks and FRANCE

I seem to have a strange liking for catwalks. They're everywhere...taking over my soul.

Oh and I'm done Chapter 14, catwalks and all. Again, I'll need to fix the ending, but I like the strange way it has turned out. The plot is similar in events to version 1, but the rest comes down to location, location, location. I think I managed to write 15 pages on this one, which was WAY longer than I anticipated. I may have some clean-up to do later, but I'm on a roll for now. Also, I still need to fix Chapter 12.

Word Count: 92,631
Page Count: 162

Also, I just realized that the next page in my document starts with MEANWHILE, IN FRANCE. I'd be tempted to keep it for the sake of randomness, but I have no idea how it would fit into the chapter.

Progression

I find looking at the number of blog posts each year on the side absolutely hilarious because they have essentially been halved each year. Granted, this year isn't over yet, but I have a feeling the final count will be around 17. I either don't have as much to say, or I've just gotten lazy. I think it may be a mix of both. Regardless, I have been writing, mostly over the summer. I think I wrote more this summer then all of last year combined for WMRR, but that doesn't surprise me at all. I was in no shape to be writing last year, especially in the fall. Anyway, you'll be pleased to hear (well I'm pleased at least) that chapter 14 is about 100 words from being finished. I haven't finished because my energy gave out last night and I'm not exactly 100% health-wise. I think the October curse has arrived early this year.

Let's see if I can finish this before I lose what little is in my stomach.

Bits of Old Poetry

So I have it.
For now.
What you have lost.
I'm sorry in the end.

That I am a stranger.

Bleigh

Thank god for Dan's claustrophobia. Chapter's just writing itself at this point. All it took was two months of agonizing over the wrong material to have it work itself out in about 30 minutes.

Also, I thought I was a genius by combining two future chapters. Turns out I'm an idiot because the problem was a little more complicated than I remember.

In other news...bleigh.

Expansion

The world of WMRR is getting bigger. I need to revamp a few parts. I already knew I'd need to rewrite chapter 1, but I also need to work on explaining the universe a little bit better. Right now, its mostly character-centred, which is what I want, but it needs to have a strong base in another world on another continent. This will be difficult, but I think I have all the pieces I need. In addition, I am expanding the story. If all goes according to plan, there will be two books after this, which I have the basic plots and aspects outlined. I have been thinking on how to continue the story after the first part. I always knew there would be more, but I was unsure of how to execute it. All I need is to figure out how all the players come together in the end, and who will ultimately come out on top.

And the purpose. What needs to be accomplished. That, right there, is the ultimate aspect. One I do not have the means to devise yet. I have no idea how it will all end, but I know how a lot of elements will come full circle. I have a lot of work cut out for me.

So essentially, based on my current work ethic and amount of words I am getting weekly, this project (all three books) will be completed in...25.6 years.  

Either I need to pick up the pace or get a new hobby.

Crossroads

This time last summer I began what would be the toughest year of my life. Looking back one year, I feel like it has been a lot longer. I've been very lucky to have a loving family that I have been close to, and quite frankly sheltered by, for many years. I'm at a crossroads in my life, like many other people my age, where I'm just trying to figure myself out and come to terms with all that's happened. I feel like I need to move on from a lot of this before I can seriously start writing again. It may even encourage me to write more or write better. Point is, I have no idea what to do with my life. I understand myself better in many respects, but mostly I just confuse myself. I know what I like, what I want, and yet I've completely lost sight of the few goals that I had. I need to reassert those goals, or WMRR is never going to be completed.

I don't take criticism very well. I take everything way too personally, which may be a product from my time on YouTube. I use it because it's one constant source that I can share my interests and communicate with people in ways I can't otherwise. I love to make videos, but the stress to constantly produce and deal with the people who insult and demean rather than give constructive pointers really gets to me. Makes me angry mostly, because these people have nothing of importance to say. It's a useless waste of letters, data and time. Lately I'm just crushed by the constant drivel I have to deal with and am seriously contemplating taking a break from video production. True, I get more positive feedback than negative, but I have other aspects like writing, friendships, job hunting, work and personal growth that I could be pouring this time and energy into instead of videos. I will finishing Dungeon Siege 2, because I hate unfinished business, but I can't say if I'll be immediately moving on to Broken World. 

I want to be in a place where WMRR jumps to the top 5 priorities in my life. Since my last post I've only written about 300 words. I just can't find a pocket of time I can have to myself before 11pm at night, and by that time I'm too tired to do any work. This makes me extremely frustrated, because the same is true for recording. I need seclusion, time and silence for both activities, which I just don't have anymore. And this means absolutely NO interruptions. I want to finish WMRR. I want to finish it so bad so I can go back, edit and fix everything. There are so many glaring mistakes that just eats away at me, but I can't let myself go back and fix yet because I'll end up rewriting the entire work again. 

My goal then is to have WMRR done in rough draft by the end of this year. I have made goals like this before, but I need to seriously work at it like I did a few years ago when I wanted to enter that contest. I want this story finished, even if it never sees publication, I want to know that I can complete a work as large as WMRR. So as a fair warning, I may be making a lot of changes to my goals and priorities in the next while. You have been warned.

I'm resisting the urge to put a smiley face on the end of that last sentence.

Not again...

Every year. EVERY year for some asinine reason I either forget or can't participate in free comic book day again. I forgot to go again today. I slept in because I was so tired, started playing some video games and then I looked over at my comic book and it hit me. Picture me screaming clichéd Hollywood "NOOOOOOOO" as I fall to my knees and crumple into a ball on the ground and roll around like a wounded animal. Yes, wounded animals roll around. On the ground. Screaming NOOOOOOO.

So...my plans were thwarted again, but at least I get to go on vacation tomorrow for a week so I'm not too upset. Probably won't get much writing done, so I'm trying to pump out at least a little bit today. I have a new plan to apply for manuscript writing. Despite my forgetfulness, I don't give up easy. I'm thinking work stories this time around. They seemed to be my most successful ones from my other writing classes. I need an outline and some writing done on it. I'm also thinking of using completely new material. I won't recycle like I did last year.

WMRR has been going through some changes. I know EXACTLY how I want chapter 12, so I just need to do the rewrites and filling in for that. We'll see how silly it sounds when it's finished. Chapter 13 is done, but needs a better ending. The one I have at the moment is pretty awful. Chapter 14 is off to a good start, but I have one hurdle to flail over before the words flow the way I want.

It's going to be intense guys. So, very, intense. I am super excited.

My geek week would have been over today with free comic book day so...yeah. Comic con, Avengers midnight premiere, cosplaying and posting tons of LP videos have shown me that I've fully embraced my nerd identity. I'm so proud of myself.

Avengers was the most amazing movie of my life by the way. Well...maybe second most amazing. Lord of the Rings is hard to beat.

Old Memories

I can't believe what I used to write. I'm almost embarassed to read it now, but it's quite entertaining. Chapters 14, 15 and 16 are going to have a lot of elements version one had, but man am I glad I'm revamping it. It's bad. So bad. I've come a long way in six years. My writing isn't great yet, but it has improved so much. I say that time and time again, but what I used to write was so...innocent. The characters had personality, but they were all so cheerful and one-dimensional all the time. Hardly any seriousness to it. I'd like to think I kept some of that silliness in my current writing, but I have to admit that I don't lament leaving most of it behind. The story has also developed a great deal since then.

I know, that despite these improvements, I'm still extremely naive in my writing. A lot of instances follow the logic that makes sense to me, but not necessarily everyone else. What I'll need in the near future is a really good editor to tell me when I'm completely out of my mind. This will be often, but I think I can handle it. There's no way I'd give up on something I've poured over six years into.

MEAT

The title of the future or the big red letters on your grocery list when your brother finds out there are no more slices of ham in the refrigerator.

I am finally, FINALLY, entering the halfway point people. I can't tell you how excited I am, because I have been looking forward to writing this section for a very long time now. Not only that, I have a general outline of it because I've written it before. It's horribly written, but it's still there. I know exactly where I want to go with this, how many chapters it will take and the points of view I want to go from. Makes me all giddy inside. Chapter 12 and 13 may be messy, but they're out there in raw form now. Horray!

Also, I'm at 82,000 words.

Then Your Body's Like FUUUUUUUUUUUU

Finally have some time to breathe...and to write.

My what a crazy year this has been. I'm not even sure where I'd begin if I were to talk about it. Two major papers are out of the way at least. I went real theoretical on one of them for a portion of it. I hope that it does all right because I'm not sure I even understand what I wrote. Regardless, I have resumed work on WMRR after months of doing the bare minimum. I'm closing in on the 80,000 word mark. I have a lot of work to do in terms of revising, but I've been putting a lot of thought into the characterization, the plot and the tension. Those aspects really needed a lot of development, and I think I'm finally ready to write Jason's chapter properly. I wasn't too sure where to go with his character, because up until this point, he had been the hub of antagonism so far. I don't know if I like the fact that he takes 12 chapters/70,000 words to appear. I try to make most of my characters mean something, have a central effect...well at least the ones I name. If they can all play a key role, no matter how small, that would make me happy. Jason plays a huge role...and I suppose at this point he appears near the "half-way point," but that may not be enough.

I also came up with a new segment...which I've actually written, but it will need extensive revision and maybe even a re-write. I'm not sure whether I should use the first person for it or not. The story IS being told by a character, but it contrasts so much with the style and doesn't leave enough room for the details.

As for the summer, I'm glad I won't be finished school. A massive trip this year simply would not have worked, especially in light of recent events. This opens up an entirely new wing in the castle as I can try to apply for manuscript writing again. I've put a lot of thought into it, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the work stories idea. I'd like to write a series of stories about the jobs people do...perhaps in a place like Calgary, and link them together to construct a single narrative with reoccuring and intersecting characters. I think it could be fun and it's certainly a better idea than my last year's proposal.

I'm also planning on engaging in all sorts of entertaining activities this summer...though I'm pushing for a week-long vacation to Disney World. I really want to go to Disney World. Throw me on a few rollercoasters and I'm one happy camper. Just nothing spinny unless you want the upholstry ruined.

Short Term Memory?

I could have sworn that I posted here in the new year already, but maybe that was something else.

So, it's been quite a busy week for crazy events happening. I can't talk about half of them here, but for what I can say...things have been shaken up a bit. YES...THINGS.

I am not graduating this year. I talked to a degree advisor, and apparently I am five courses short of graduating...so I have some decisions to make. I need to determine when I take my courses and in what subjects. I also need to decide if I want to tack on a minor (which would be seven courses not five). I just need to remember that an extra two courses is an extra 1000 dollars...so yippee. One good aspect to this is that I have another chance to try for manuscript writing. It feels like unfinished business to me. I think I have a better idea for the project as well, so I'll make sure to update on that while I go.

In the meantime, I'm in the middle of trying to catch up with a lot of the activities I've been engaging in. On of them is my video editing (which is going a lot faster now that I have a computer capable of better quality encoding). I'm working on my Legends of Aranna LP, and trying to finish Dungeon Keeper 1. In the meantime, I may post some useless video to let people know I'm not giving up on the account.

As for WMRR, it hasn't gone anytwhere in awhile. I'll admit I've been distracted by games and books. Speaking of books, Republic of Thieves is finally out. I just remembered when I was writing this...only there are no books in stores, and it'll take up to a month to ship. I'm just happy that I'll get it. I've been waiting a LONG time.