History is there for all to see.
But that shouldn't be all that we see.
A nation builds a wall and we call it apartheid again.
No, friends, you're missing it.
This is a brand new kind of terror and misery.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Short-handed
I'm reading three books as I write three stories simultaneously. Insomnia has its benefits, as does prolonged bouts away from the drink.
I stopped writing for a couple months because I thought everything I put to paper was shit, and nobody would ever read it. Then one day, I was hanging out with some friends, and it came up that I was, once upon a time, a writer of fiction. I kind of dragged my feet and did my customary "Yeah," followed by about five minutes of navel gazing.
It got me thinking though.
And on a lark, I went through all my current and old stories and printed off the best of each genre I'd been working on.
I took it a couple of weeks ago and shared them with some friends, and I was rather shocked by the reaction.
These aren't people who are themselves writers (or attached to writers) or media-gears, or enthusiasts in any respect. And they enjoyed each story, each completely different.
And so, every night for the last week, I've been staying up until 5-6 a.m. and just writing. It's like walking into a world, half-finished. Details hazy, but distinction is only two or three paragraphs away. I'm hoping I don't drop the ball again, but with all the responsibility coming my way in only a few short weeks, I can't guarantee anything will get done (as usual). Still.
The three I'm working on are these:
Scott Bentley, whom most of you are already familiar with. I've decided on an end-state, and the story will be something of a short story or novella. Probably not more than 200-300 pages max.
Priest, a high political fantasy rife with existential concepts of faith and ambition. It was started in a drunken haze one night, and has gradually grown into a thriving concept that scales well both in detail and scope. The notion of a religion that strives against organized religion and tyranny played a huge part in scoping the concept, as did the idea of power and celebrity raising one above concepts of justice.
Old Earth, a story of post-post-humanism, set thousands of years in the future, long after a cataclysm that changed the face of the Earth, and humanity. Humanity has undergone the singularity, albeit in pieces, and the post-humans have since left Earth behind for thousands of years. Now, they're coming back. Some say they're looking for something. Others say they're fleeing a war gone wrong, and are seeking to recruit more into their ranks of so-called Immortals.
I stopped writing for a couple months because I thought everything I put to paper was shit, and nobody would ever read it. Then one day, I was hanging out with some friends, and it came up that I was, once upon a time, a writer of fiction. I kind of dragged my feet and did my customary "Yeah," followed by about five minutes of navel gazing.
It got me thinking though.
And on a lark, I went through all my current and old stories and printed off the best of each genre I'd been working on.
I took it a couple of weeks ago and shared them with some friends, and I was rather shocked by the reaction.
These aren't people who are themselves writers (or attached to writers) or media-gears, or enthusiasts in any respect. And they enjoyed each story, each completely different.
And so, every night for the last week, I've been staying up until 5-6 a.m. and just writing. It's like walking into a world, half-finished. Details hazy, but distinction is only two or three paragraphs away. I'm hoping I don't drop the ball again, but with all the responsibility coming my way in only a few short weeks, I can't guarantee anything will get done (as usual). Still.
The three I'm working on are these:
Scott Bentley, whom most of you are already familiar with. I've decided on an end-state, and the story will be something of a short story or novella. Probably not more than 200-300 pages max.
Priest, a high political fantasy rife with existential concepts of faith and ambition. It was started in a drunken haze one night, and has gradually grown into a thriving concept that scales well both in detail and scope. The notion of a religion that strives against organized religion and tyranny played a huge part in scoping the concept, as did the idea of power and celebrity raising one above concepts of justice.
Old Earth, a story of post-post-humanism, set thousands of years in the future, long after a cataclysm that changed the face of the Earth, and humanity. Humanity has undergone the singularity, albeit in pieces, and the post-humans have since left Earth behind for thousands of years. Now, they're coming back. Some say they're looking for something. Others say they're fleeing a war gone wrong, and are seeking to recruit more into their ranks of so-called Immortals.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Update
Well, it's been about a month, and so much has changed lately, I don't know really where to start.
Not even a month ago I was on the verge of walking out of my job, and probably just coasting for the rest of the summer until university starts. It probably would've bankrupted me, but at that point, I didn't really care. I canceled all my plans (including camping, travelling, and heading out on photo excursions), and pretty much went into bunker mode. I just dropped off the face of the earth, focusing on just saving, saving, saving as much as I could.
It's now a month later. I transferred stores, kept my job, and just recently got a sidemotion into a tech position, one of the most lucrative places to be. Money's started rolling in again, and I'm now feeling more crestfallen than ever. I'm working double hours to make up all the time this summer I spent just dragging my feet. I'm thinking now, what a waste. I could've gone camping, fishing, or who-knows-what if only this little break had come along a little sooner.
And now I'm in a position where my job might start conflicting with my education.
I swear, without bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.
I'm also going to be selling the Jeep soon. An endeavour I'm not looking forward to, since it's had a lot of kilometres put on it, and despite being pampered like a luxury car, selling anything over 100k on it is just like sticking a razor in your mouth and giving the 'ole heave-ho.
That all said, I'm back on track for 2013. A small goal, but an important one - if all parties involved are still interested. I've even started narrowing the search for a bike.
I think it'll do just nicely.
Work on the new site is slow. Right now, I'm just exploring options for animation and design. It seems like a showdown between Flash and HTML5 at high-noon is imminent.
I'll write more about that later though.
For now, I've got about a three-foot stack of videogames that need playing.
Not even a month ago I was on the verge of walking out of my job, and probably just coasting for the rest of the summer until university starts. It probably would've bankrupted me, but at that point, I didn't really care. I canceled all my plans (including camping, travelling, and heading out on photo excursions), and pretty much went into bunker mode. I just dropped off the face of the earth, focusing on just saving, saving, saving as much as I could.
It's now a month later. I transferred stores, kept my job, and just recently got a sidemotion into a tech position, one of the most lucrative places to be. Money's started rolling in again, and I'm now feeling more crestfallen than ever. I'm working double hours to make up all the time this summer I spent just dragging my feet. I'm thinking now, what a waste. I could've gone camping, fishing, or who-knows-what if only this little break had come along a little sooner.
And now I'm in a position where my job might start conflicting with my education.
I swear, without bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.
I'm also going to be selling the Jeep soon. An endeavour I'm not looking forward to, since it's had a lot of kilometres put on it, and despite being pampered like a luxury car, selling anything over 100k on it is just like sticking a razor in your mouth and giving the 'ole heave-ho.
That all said, I'm back on track for 2013. A small goal, but an important one - if all parties involved are still interested. I've even started narrowing the search for a bike.
I think it'll do just nicely.
Work on the new site is slow. Right now, I'm just exploring options for animation and design. It seems like a showdown between Flash and HTML5 at high-noon is imminent.
I'll write more about that later though.
For now, I've got about a three-foot stack of videogames that need playing.
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