NaNoWriMo!

I know it's been a long time since I've written anything on here, I've been very busy, writing, programming, coursework, building computers, the list goes on, and I try to get my writing done before I do my writing about writing. (Metawriting? :D )   I'm by no means 'done' with Aspect in any respect, it's still in its infancy, but I've just had a great idea for my NaNoWriMo story!   Which is amazingly good timing, seeing as it's now 1:35 AM on November 1st.

Aspect, I've been experimenting with different character points of view, but I did so by writing a few scenes out of sequence, and, quite frankly, it was weird.   I normally write in chronological order, so I get to anticipate and plan my favorite scenes, and change the details as I 'discover' other facets of the story writing the parts in between.   Jumping straight into a scene I really wanted to write left me oddly short on material.   I wrote the part I wanted and suddenly had nothing else to say, because I didn't know exactly where the characters had come from to get where they were, or where they were going.

Now I have the monumental, self-imposed task of writing both Aspect and my NaNoWriMo novel at the same time.   Great idea, Stuart, this should be a fun month. :P   It will be enjoyable in the end, but it'll definitely be a chore sometimes.   But maybe, just maybe, some more Songlord quality stories are buried in there somewhere.   I have high hopes for Songlord in the long run, and despite all of my other writing projects, Songlord 2 is actually one of the things I feel most driven to write.   That bodes well for the story as a whole, but I feel I shouldn't rush on into the next book before standing back and editing the first one!   I wouldn't want to change essential story events and suddenly have to rewrite vast swathes of book 2.   Anyway, I look forward to the return (or not?) of Catherine Langord and Isaac Darksbane.

Another Name

Oh, how this tortures me.   I'm trying to name Aspect's protagonist, and have been for almost three days now.   I have a good picture of who he is as a character, though not as clear on what he looks like.   And the name is escaping me!   I've got a lot of ideas for the story that I want to write about.

Basically, since I haven't explained yet on here, Aspect centers around a magic crafter, a man who can create new spells and enchantments.   But he can no longer cast spells himself, he needs the aid of his three (much more inexperienced) apprentices to do the casting, and he can handle the manipulating of the magic.

In the world of Aspect, there is an event every ten years, referred to as a Passage, where an interdimensional creature enters their plane of existence and drastically alters the environment to suit itself.   The protagonist was partially, and unwittingly responsible for the previous Passage, and has taken on the task of manipulating the next one, to see if he can control which dimensional creature finds a pathway into their world, ideally one whose elemental affinity would cancel out the current imbalance caused by the previous three Passages.

More on the lore next time!

A Name!

Naming things is the bane of my existence.   Fantasy always involves unbelievable amounts of naming, and it always bugs me.   Sometimes the names just don't work, but I can't sit and ponder on the name of village innkeeper #4 for days at a time.   Sometimes I have to go ahead and just use whatever I can think of, and I can ctrl+f replace it later.   (That is a great function.)

But some things are worth stopping to think about.   My newest novel, an extract of which I'll be submitting as a college assignment, now has a name!   'Aspect'.   The name is central to the story, short, and hopefully catchy.   It seems to have some weight to it.   It's the kind of simple thing I was looking for.

Aspect's mythology is developing in my head now, and I'll get more into that soon, but I'm really looking forward to writing it.   Rather than my usual emphasis on first-draft speed, that I sort of inherited from NaNoWriMo, I'll be taking it slow, editing as I go, and see how that turns out for me.   Hopefully the mythology will develop more fully earlier on in the book, because looking back at Songlord and Kosmos, there's a lot to change in the opening chapters.

New Idea

New ideas are always great, and I've been in dire need of one.   I've mentioned in previous posts that I'm working on (possibly too) many stories at once.   I've finished Songlord, but that's still rattling around in my head, new ideas for the second Songlord book, ways to improve the first one.

I've been working with another idea for the story for my game, which was taking basic shape, but what I've really needed is something for my college module on creative writing, so that I can get the ball rolling on its application process.   Well, now I think I have that idea and it's quite an interesting one, if I do say so myself.   It's inspired by a game, the new Magic: The Gathering game.   (Very cheap on Steam, you should get it ;)

Obviously the story idea I've had has nothing to do with the video or card game, but the basic idea of powerful elementals that can cross dimensions is my starting point.   We'll see what it develops into.   I'm already mulling ideas for how they affect the world of the story, but haven't 100% pinned down any details yet.   More to come.

Also, now I just need an idea for my NaNoWriMo novel and I'm set.

Start of Term

Ah, the university term, devouring even more of my oh so precious time.   It'll all be worth it in the end, but right now, my writing projects, my coding, and my gaming are sort of taking a back seat to getting my new flat fixed and organized.   No new writing stuff since last time, except more ideas about the projects I was talking about.

I've opened Kosmos a couple of times, and have read parts of it again, and it's clear I need to change a lot, so that's probably, hopefully, sorta, kinda gonna be what I'm working on soon.   That and my draft proposal for what I plan to write for my creative module in college.   *gasp*   You mean I actually need to plan ahead in full, written-out form?   We'll see how that goes.