Seems I passed 1000 hits yesterday without noticing it.
Of course if you take away the hits relating to the new WOW Druid skins and the post on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and there goes a third of the hits. Heh.
Week In Review: Week Twenty Two 2009
Posted: June 4, 2009 in writing updateTags: writing, writing update
Time for another review of the last week’s writing efforts.
I’m making good progress, having hit the 2K mark for all the first three days of the month to date, and a total of 6200 words all up. All of that has been towards the second volume of Pure Escapism, and it is getting closer to being finished. Rough drafts if two of the four articles are complete and a third is very close, and will be finished today. The forth may be done today as well, but we will see. After that will need to come some extensive editting.
It feels good to be writing a decent amount again, making goals and progress. I guess it is like a drug at times – when I’m not writing I’m thinking about it and get moody and irritable, but when I make those writing goals I get on a it of a high. Now if I could only get over this habit of not writing when I sit down to write – to concentrate on it and ignore everything else.
Some sad news emerging that David Eddings, author of the Belgariad and other series has died, age 77.
While you couldn’t accuse his books of being great ‘literature’, they were entertaining and a guilty pleasure of mine and certainly helped broaden my mind that there was more fantasy out there besides Tolkien and C.S. Lewis when I discovered him in my early teenage years.
Had a quick glance at the books beside my bed and was surprised at how many were sitting there, either being read or recently finished. Plus a number of notebooks for ideas.
So I though I would list them – and will do so at regular intervals from now.
Reading;
The Swiss Family Robinson – Johann Wyss. (A favourite when young but haven’t read for many years.)
The Complete Chronicles of Conan – Robert. E. Howard. (Slowly making my way through, and also good for inspiration for Pure Escapism)
The Silmarillion – J.R.R.Tolkien (Pretty much never leaves the bedside.)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (Another collection of short stories I’m studying to learn the craft of writing them better.)
Toll the Hounds – Steven Erikson (Been there a while – started it but set it aside and never got back to it.)
Red Mars – Kim Stanley Robinson (Was trying to remember if it was as dry as I remembered, but on the other hand inspires the desire in me to explore new lands.)
Read but not returned to the bookshelf yet;
Sharpe’s Rifles – Bernard Cornwell (Using for inspiration for ideas)
Death to the French – C.S.Forester (Same setting as Cornwell, but different style)
Progress Report
Posted: June 3, 2009 in writing updateTags: Pure Escapism, Short story, writing, writing update
First two days of the June Challenge have gone well – around 4100 words written. All of that so far is working towards the second volume of Pure Escapism.
Most of the work has been on The Hall of Black Trees, which to date is around 7300 words long and the first draft not yet completed. It appears as if it will be the main piece for the volume, as the other stories aren’t going to turn out anywhere near its length.
Should have the rough drafts finished by weeks end at this rate, ready for editing.
Blizzard have unveiled the new skins for the Tauren Druid cat forms – and they are a vast, vast improvement over what they were. Not that that was hard.
The new skins make the cats look dangerous now, as well as their Tauren heritage showing amongst that of the great cat. The guild may have a hard time getting me to shift out of cat now…
June Challenge
Posted: June 1, 2009 in writing updateTags: Pure Escapism, Short story, writing, writing update
Well, June is upon us, and with it winter down here in the southern hemisphere.
With it I am setting myself a new challenge – 2K a Day. For the next sixty days I plan to set myself the task of writing 2K words a day. I had initially planned for 3K a day, but thought that might be a little too optimistic. I shall certainly aim for that if I can, but the 2K mark will be the minimum.
The initial phase will be to finish off the short stories for the second volume of Pure Escapism. If I can keep that up rough drafts should be done by the end of the week. After that I will start work on other things, perhaps some of the stories for the third volume, but hopefully also getting back to working on a novel.
The good news is that I hit the mark for the first day, doing just a bit under 2100 words.
Week In Review: Week Twenty One 2009
Posted: May 30, 2009 in writing updateTags: writing, writing update
Main news of the week was of course the collection of short stories I released as Pure Escapism: Volume One. I can’t say as how it has taken off like a house of fire, but it is early days and there hasn’t been much in the way of advertising its existence yet.
On the positive side I have had a couple of nice things said about it, which was very encouraging.
Work for the second volume is well underway – perhaps not as quickly as I had hoped, but certainly on schedule for a release in June.
The companion for the Eleventh Doctor in the next seasons of Doctor Who starting next year has been announced and it is…drumroll…Karen Gillian.
Who? I’d never heard of her, but she is a relative newcomer to the game, so that is hardly surprising.
Steven Moffat spoke highly of her in the BBC press release announcing her appointment though.
Seems they are going for a ‘younger’ look to the next Doctor – sort of reminds me of a clip from Stargate from episode 200 (though I doubt it will end up like that parody.)
As a writer, one of the things I really want to accomplish is to be able to give characters stirring, inspiring speeches – the kind tvtropes refers to as the Rousing Speech. The kind that can turn the tide of a battle or just make you sit back and go ‘wow’.
There is a bit of a one that makes an appearance in The Bronze Man, but as I’m still learning the craft it isn’t up to level of some of the ones that inspire me. In time perhaps.
One of the best ones for me is the Rooftop Scene in Bladerunner, given by Roy Batty. It is made even more memorial as the lines came from the actor, Rutger Hauer, who felt the lines in the script were lacking. Not your typical rousing speech, but one that really works.
Shakespeare was of course a master of the written word, and he can not go without a mention. There are many to choose from, including the stirring Band of Brothers speech from Henry V.
Elizabeth I in reality gave one such speech at Tilbury in 1588, before the defeat of the Spanish Armada. It may seem a little dated to us, but certainly fits the bill.
And then there is Tolkien. Lord of the Rings seems packed with them. From Sam, to Aragorn, to Gandalf, to Theoden.
Sam’s speech at the end of the Two Towers.
Aragorn’s speech at the Black Gate.
Theoden’s Speech at Helm’s Deep
Theoden’s speech at Pelennor Fields – in the book this is actually Eomer’s speech, but it was given to Theoden in the movie.
Any others that you find inspiration from?
Mist and Shadows 