Redundancies, Unnecessary Repeats, and “hey, those are the same!”
Credit to @eddie_03 (I think this is super cool, even if it doesn’t really relate to today’s post…)
May you be well! (It’s May now)
Hey folks. I’ve been busy editing my book! I’m a little over 2/3rds done with it (pre-ARC/pre-editorial laser strike). I’ve been making a lot of minor tweaks to it, both to the immediate characters/setting and the overall world/lore. One of those is one that in hindsight seems kinda obvious.
So, to run over it briefly, the human setting within my book, Ihmina, is cut into three large chunks — this book/series focuses on the north-most chunk, known as the Greater Spiral, and the fallout of a war that spanned much of it. Initially, the war was ended with two subsequent events: a nuclear bombing and a follow-up detonation as a result of a newly-awakened Goddess. I’m rolling these two things into a single event and combining the effects. It’s required a decent amount of tweaking to account for, but I think it makes more sense, rather than have two similar events as a double-whammy.
See? I thought I was being clever with this month’s blog name. I redundantly named it redundancies, redundancies, and redundancies. (I know you can read, I know you have good media literacy, but I’m kind of proud of it, sorry).
With that, I’m making decent headway on revamping the website too. Those should be ready pretty soon! Stay tuned for more, and stay safe y’all.
Inspirations and Where to Start
Credit to @feeling_hope
So, I’ve always loved reading. This probably isn’t a surprise. But I’ve recently been enjoying some of the books I read as a child (and the books I’d say got me into the idea of being a writer/author in the first place!). This is gonna be a shorter one, so don’t expect any crazy big lore reveals or hints this time around.
So I’d have to say it boils down to three primary authors/book series. I read a lot as a kid and a teen, though there was a good stretch post high school to now where I wasn’t actively reading (that’s mental health for you). The first and biggest one is, probably to no one’s surprise, Rick Riordan and his massive Greek/Roman/etc series has been such a profound thing in my life, both from a writing and a general enjoyment standpoint. I can’t express how much I enjoy his stories, and how inspirational the Percy Jackson books alone have been (and that’s not accounting for the others too, they’re just as phenomenal).
The second one, a very close second, are the Wolf Brother books by Michelle Paver. She’s given me a love for nature, and for animals, with her stories about pre-history humanity, and I feel like her works allowed me to see and respect the world in ways that only make sense as a proper adult. I love nature, animals, the world we inhabit, and I credit a lot of that love to her books.
The third book series, one I admittedly haven’t revisited recently (not for any negative reason, just due to business) are the Ranger’s Apprentice books by John Flanagan. It’s been a while since I last visited these, but I still remember them pretty fondly, at least as of now. I’ve always loved fantasy, archery, medieval knights and dangerous quests (even if these things can get overused at times).
My first big honorable mention goes to the Lockwood and Co. books by Jonathan Stroud. Who doesn’t love a good ghost book? Who doesn’t love a good ghost book starring a spunky, psychically-gifted girl? I’m still finishing this series (waiting on a B&N order too) and I’m loving every second of it so far.
Of course, Lord of the Rings must always be mentioned, right? I can’t go without mentioning it at least once!
Reading got me interested in writing. Writing got me re-interested in reading. I hope I can publish something worthy of the world’s gaze one day. Maybe soon, if I’m able to prioritize right. Happy April, world. I’ve got some new art for the character portion of the website, going up soon! Ironing out a few other lore/page notes too before I hit publish. Gotta make sure everything is cohesive, you know?
That’s all from me this month. Stay tuned for more!
Fear of connection, fear of correction
Credit to @pietyo
The human setting within my world is an isolationist one. The groups therein are in a constant state of precarious balance between fear of the outside world (the one beyond their borders) and the numerous inter-factions that make up humanity. My current/primary project focuses on an area known as the “Greater Spiral” which makes up roughly a third of the overall landmass in Ihmina, humanity’s territory.
Cheryl, Marie, and Fiona’s collective journey take place in this Greater Spiral and will explore the relationships within it between the Spiralists, Rizen, and other Spiral-adjacent religious groups as well as the ramifications that their choices have on the greater world.
I’d like to, in time, branch further out from this area and focus on different parts of the world itself and the myriad groups in it, but for the start I’ll be shining that spotlight on the trio and their journey. Can’t give all the secrets away yet, can I?
Speaking of, I’m doing some mid-book edits for Cheryl and Marie’s chapters right now. It’s coming along well, if a little too slow. I still feel like I’m on track to have this book ready this year though, so there’s the good news!
Fear of connection is going to be a large focus throughout my work, I feel like that’s a fitting thing for me to write about. It’s important, if risky, but that’s part of the challenge, huh? And for the Spiralists specifically, fear of correction is a major thing too, as they are constantly fearful of their Goddess’ return.
Marianne Eternal and all that! One last quick note: I’m probably going to be shifting from two posts a month to one a month for ease on my part. None of my other work will be affected though. That’s it for now, world. Stay cozy out there.
Deities, Divinity, and definitions…
Credit to @cindylouve
The deities that my world contains are vast and varied. Deities in my books aren’t just figures one attaches a belief structure to or a single divine force but a whole tapestry of cultures’ own thoughts and wishes coalesced into a divine form.
Predzkya, the Goddess of Blood, isn’t a literal being of the blood running through someone but of the concept, the idea and meaning, that the word “blood” evokes. For the native humans of the northern steppelands, Predzkya evokes bond, family, ties, what knits the world together and creates its strong points. On the other hand, when Verdusk and the major Spiralist nations evoke Predzkya’s name they do so as an act of might, of war, of split blood and purity. Both of these beliefs are correct and both of them empower the Goddess in question — because both are believed in full by their individual sources. The Goddess of Blood as a concept goes by many names, and so the many interpretations of Her are accurate, in a sense.
This line of thought holds true for every one of Drahvon’s divine beings, be it the Dwarven God of craft or Filianore, the human Goddess of Self-love. See, deities are made rather than born. Any person or creature can, in theory, ascend, and any God or Goddess can be, in theory, dethroned (or destroyed). Marianne, Goddess of Vengeance and the only other human to ascend, stands out both due to her proximity to the current day and in her violent, sudden appearance. Definitions, like beliefs, change depending on those who enforce them, and humanity loves fighting over these kinds of things.
Just to drive all of this back home, definitions matter; so when someone claims a God is dying, or dead, or sick, it’s worth asking what they mean in Drahvon. They might just be hinting at things to come.
Humanity, Hope, and how I approach a dark world
Credit to @jacobboavista
So, I love a dark story. I love when something is emotional and gritty and thought-provoking, but with that love comes an almost inevitable… sadness. I start to think about the implications of that dark world, about what it says about its inhabitants and what it does by proxy. The worlds I love most (i.e Silent Hill, Metro, Metal Gear, Fear & Hunger so on) are extremely dark at times, and it makes me hesitant to make my own if only for the fact that I’m typically in a darker place when I write as-is.
But, I’d like to think (and it’s worth noting this thought reflects in a lot of the media I gravitate toward) that the darkness of a world isn’t its be-all-end-all. I find it really easily to be a nihilist, stuck in the dark depths of whatever awful things are happening (be they in a book, or the real world — and it’s worth noting, they are important to discuss!) but I feel we, as people, owe it to ourselves, each other, and our greater world, to carve that abyss out bit by bit, slowly strip it layer by layer, until the hope and love and light are visible again. Humanity can be remarkably cruel, and it’s easy for it to stick to that, it’s what I’d almost call the “easier” path for the collective to follow. And yet being helpful, being kind, fighting that cruelty even if you’re outnumbered or certain you’ll lose is what I love most. You can crush hope, smother out that light, but you can’t ever fully erase it. It might just take a while for people to see it again. Fighting hope, ironically enough, is pointless.
And so, my books, and the dark dreary world that humanity inhabits within it. Drahvon isn’t a world full of cruelty, but the humans within it have been (either by force or misdirection) steeping in that smog for far too long. Why are there no other races within humanity’s borders? They’ve driven them out. Why is humanity fighting itself and glassing whole provinces? They’re convinced that this is the only way to see the light again. It isn’t. It never is. War and death and cruelty help no one but the orchestrators, and to cut those strings the people have to first see that they’ve been entangled. The Great Karsk War isn’t the only conflict within the continent, nor will it be the last, but the goal of this series (at least, I hope) is to show that the darkness, no matter how thick, can be stripped away. Yes, sometimes it takes force to meet force, and yes, sometimes the ones you fight cannot be convinced that what they are doing is fueling that smothering blanket, but the only way to expose the light is to start somewhere.
Violence is intrinsically linked to humanity. I can’t help but wonder if that’s because humans have spent their entire livelihood warring, or if they’ve been convinced that they need to in order to be safe. The world will turn long after we are gone, but doesn’t that just give us an even bigger, stronger reason to care for it, for each other? If not us, then who?
The protagonists of my project all come at this from different angles, and not all of them are equal. My final question is: how would you?
Speaking of world-building…
Credit to @theoeilertsen
The rewrites I’ve been doing have been taking a lot longer than I originally thought they’d take. The problem is that, as I cut more out, I need more to surround that space. My first book is still going to be focused, narrowed, trimmed down, but I’ve gotten caught up in what the would around my three protagonists (and the world outside of the book itself) is supposed to be.
I like where it’s going. There are new factions, new races, new kingdoms and rules, and a sense of things slowly coming together. It’s hard to walk the line between adding too much and cutting it all out again, because my brain is a pain in the butt to work with, but I feel like this project is tip-toeing in the direction of the final laps. (Jeez, how many times am I going to say that before it’s actually published, I wonder?)
With all that in mind, the world itself (the running name is Drahvon) has been pieced together. Humanity, the focus of my first books, are more or less isolated from the rest of the world because of their own actions. Who would want to work with a species that is constantly at war with itself, right? Magic exists in this world too, but only in specific contexts or ways. Humans have none, but the Fae do. Humans can’t use it, but the Elves can. There’s going to be references, discussions of the world outside of humanity’s reach, but it’ll be a bit more subdued due to the state of the north half of their territories (I.e. Verdusk, Myrreko, the zone, etc).
At least, that’s the running concept as of now. Time will tell how much of it is cut and how much is kept, but I’m almost at the point where I can send my book to ARCs for feedback. Phew. Almost there.
Happy New Year!
Credit to @thoughtcatalog
It’s apparently January now! That’s kinda crazy. It hasn’t been snowing a lot here, so it feels more like a late fall or early spring. Now that the holiday rush has settled back down (it was wonderful to see my family) I can refocus on my manuscript. Here’s hoping I can get it done soon-ish!
I’ve been revisiting some of my backlogged video games over the last few weekends, and that’s been pretty fun (for the most part). I’ll eventually be resuming write-ups on the Silent Hill games and discussing Elden Ring: Nightreign too. ERN is way too fun. My partner and I can’t stop playing it. Oh, and the We Were Here games are always a joy to go through!
Apologies for now having a beefier post after such an absence y’all. I’m still trying to get some thing readjusted! That’s all for now, and keep cozy out in that scary, wild world!
Winter, Worldbuilding, and Wumbology
Credit to @arturtumasjan
Howdy y’all. It’s the holiday season! That means I’m busy and tired and completely scatter-brained. I’m getting closer to what I think is the finalized manuscript (pre-editing of course) and so I’ve taken chunks of the site offline to fix them! Fun! And, probably kind confusing for some.
With that in mind, I’ve made the decision to move my story and its events from the our world to its own. I’ve got a few working titles for the world itself, but this will allow me to branch out (for the story as well as whatever comes after) without worrying about the drawbacks of real-world stuff getting meshed together. I feel like I’m so close to getting those last few bits of lore and world-building ironed out, and it’s been such a long, crazy journey, but I’d do it all again (even if it means restarting a hundred times to get it just right).
With that in mind, it’s simple! It’s just wumbology. I wumbo, you wumbo? I’m making it bigger, but NOT in the way that doomed my last draft. I’m just making the sandbox bigger for future ideas. I’m not sure if I’ll be putting a blog post out next time, since I’ll be celebrating with the family, but if I do decide to skip it, it’ll only be for a week. Take care and have a wonderful holiday season everyone.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
Credit to @jrnxf
So, winter is finally rolling in! I’ve been a little busy lately between a new job and being totally tired. The usual horror game marathon I go through (generally from September to November) has been stretched out so far that I’m at best like 2/3rds of the way through it. (Silent Hill Homecoming FUCKING SUCKS and I cannot stress how much of a misery it is to replay)
Writing is slowly getting back on track. I’m compiling the three chunks into a proper story now to run it by some friends and family. Fingers crossed it’s stronger than the old mess it used to be! Going to be spending the holiday season with my family, so I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully, if I can get the time for it, I’ll be able to ship this dang book off soon. When I’m done playing back through the SH games I’ll be writing about them on the Games section of my site too!
That’s all from me for now. Stay warm and stay safe out there!
It’s November? That’s crazy.
Credit ti @miracletwentyone
I can’t believe we’re getting close to the end of the year already. It’s been a pretty crazy one, huh? Things are rough out there. I hope whoever reads this is having the best day they can.
I’ve been kinda busy! Between finalizing moving stuff (bleh), being sick (do not recommend) and getting a new job (stress is fun, right?) I’ve hardly had time for my writing!!!
I’ve been chipping at it, though. Slowly but surely I’m carving away at Fiona’s story. I originally hoped to have everything done and sent off by, like, October/November (yeah, that ain’t happening lol), but it might end up being the beginning of the new year. Man, I hope my editor likes it. Stressful stuff, writing a book. But, I love it, and even if my books flop I’ll write. I love doing it too much to not keep trying.
I’ve never lived in Washington before now (though I’ve visited a few times). I’m looking forward to exploring it more now that I’m actually here. It’s really nice waking up to foggy mornings and rainy days. They always put me into a writing mood. That’s gonna be about it from me today, y’all! Gotta get back to writing while I can.
Oh boy, it’s been a minute…
Credit to @jonathantalbertphotography
Good morning world! I’ve been sick this last month (still dealing with it today, too) so I’ve been unable to write. The flu sucks! Don’t get it. I was sick on my birthday too, last weekend! Bleh!
So, with that in mind, I’ll slowly get back into the groove of writing. I’ve got too many ideas, too many projects, to just sit and be sick I dare say!
Admittedly, I don’t have a whole lot to write about today, and I’m sorry about that. The next post should be more substantial, and I should be back on my regular writing track as well.
Have a cozy November, y’all! Stay safe out there.
I genuinely love bats. I find them so cute. I was going to write about them a bit in my last blog post, but, y’know, sick.
Credit to @susannemartinus
It’s October!!
Credit to @pokrza
It’s time for spooky season! Time for candy corn and pumpkins and Over the Garden Wall! I love autumn so much. Any time it hits September makes me so happy, and October is just more of that.
I don’t have a lot of story news today, but Marie’s chunk of MM is nearly done. I’m on her final chapter, ironing the parts out, and then I can move onto the proper look at the final character, Fiona.
October is also my birth month! (just a little before Halloween, so I get to dress up twice) I always look forward to this time of year.
Every year I play back through my pile of spooky games with my partner, and this year we’ve started with Fatal Frame, Silent Hill, and Alan Wake. I’ve never been one for horror movies (or gore in general, honestly, psychological horror has always been my go-to) so I’m not really prepping to watch any movies. Looking forward to OTGW though! That’s a yearly rewatch.
That’s about it for now, folks. Stay safe, have fun, and take the season in while it lasts!
The Dividing Line
Credit to @allysphotos
Hey folks, it feels like it’s been a while! (Even though it’s only been two weeks, jeez…)
I’ve landed at my new place and started to unpack the looming wall of stuff I own. It’s been chaotic and confusing but I’ll (eventually) be able to have a dedicated writing room here! I was kinda just shleppin’ it out at my living room desk or (more recently) on the floor.
I can now kind of resume my writing at a semi-stable pace, and the primary manuscript is roughly 60% done, give or take the minor details I’ll be tweaking. I’m hoping I can carve away at this a bit faster once I fully get settled in.
Speaking of book stuff! I’ve shifted some things in the rewrite, tweaked some settings and character interactions to make the story flow better. It honestly feels more cohesive this way, and I’m looking forward to sharing that with the world once it’s finalized.
I think that’s about it for now! I’ll be back with more reviews, blog updates, and an eventual story for you to read. Take care until then, world.
Moving, adjusting, trying to land…
Credit to @zvessels55
It’s September! Almost time to decorate. I’ve never been a fan of summer, or the heat in general for that matter, so I’m always excited for the other parts of the year.
Moving is coming along well, too. Most of the current place is packed and things are coming along (mostly) smoothly. Writing is slowing down as a result, I’ve made a lot less progress than I figured I would, but it’s still coming along. Marie’s section is close to being done, and once I’m done with hers and Fiona’s parts I can move onto that final revision.
And after that? I can send it off to the ARCs and send it to my editor. I’m looking forward to finally getting the kinks out of this, getting the issues ironed out. I don’t have too much else for this update. Take it easy and have a good one! See you in the next one.
The Concrete Room — Liminal Spaces and Tradable Places
Credit to @alan_angelats
I’m sitting on the floor as I write this. My living room (really, my whole apartment) is a massive mess. I’m in the middle of a move, going to a new place, and so everything is packed up, pushed around, and boxed.
I’m in the in-between, right now. The liminal space between the start and the end point. I’m in the hotel hallway, between the room and the elevator. I’m in the tunnel between the store and the house, you get the idea.
The concrete hallway is that liminal point within my stories, a long stretch of pure, perfectly-carved concrete with little bits of paint and plaster peeling off of it in sparse sections. It has no visible light, yet is illuminated just enough for one to see its various twists and turns.
This hallway is the through-point, the place where my characters move from their known world to the one that created it. If one travels down this winding path of dark industrial veins, taking all of its twists and turns, they’ll find themselves at a door. It’s worn down, sitting lopsided in the doorjamb. Beyond that door is a room. It varies in size, varies in layout, but has a single consistent piece:
A desk, covered in papers, messy, unclean, like both the best and worst parts of someone’s life have been experienced here.
I’m writing this from the floor, waiting for parts of my life to reach that next doorway. With each day I get a little closer, with each month, a little more concrete (get it? get it!!), and as we start the fall into autumn I feel like more parts of that hallway are taking shape.
That’s it for today, y’all. Have a good one!
Fall is almost here!
Credit to @juliegeiger
I can’t believe it’s august already! This year feels like its both going by really fast and crawling along at a snail’s pace.
Got some life stuff happening, so writing has slowed down quite a bit, but that won’t be indefinite. The draft is still coming along well too! I’m roughly 1/2 way through it right now.
Other than that, I’ve been doing more recommendations on the other parts of my website! Silent Hill 2 is the newest one, go read it!
There are a few good books I’m reading lately too. I’ll be writing about those soon! Super short post today, but I wanted to do one regardless.
That’s all, y’all!
Revisions and Redressings
Credit to @benwhitephotography
I’ve always been thorough with my work. That sounds good, right? Making sure that the corners aren’t being cut and that I’m checking everything off. My problem, though, is that I more or less get some serious tunnel vision.
I end up cutting corners, skipping steps, and making mistakes because I get so hyperfocused on the current part and it makes me miss otherwise obvious things.
My project is being done in three major waves. Wave one is finished, the rough basic draft. I formatted and outlined everything I wanted to do and slapped it on the page. But, like I said, it comes at an annoying cost, and so now I move onto wave two. This is where I rewrite the book, using the previous version as a basis and a more honed-in outline as a framework. It allows me to notice the things I’m missing (like a key character moment, a set up, or the details of a location that were otherwise skimmed over in the previous draft) and it puts some of those gaps into larger focus.
From here, when I finish (I’m about 40% done with the second draft overall, across the three characters) I’ll repeat the process and hopefully have something resembling a completed manuscript (or at least one close enough to it for my editor to not have a headache).
I’ve always liked the number three, not sure why. It just feels fitting with this series as a whole. Three characters, three focal points, three experiences, three drafts, and so on.
That’s all for now. If you need me, I’ll be in the writer’s room!
Fiona, the Manor, and Wellbay
Credit to @forhiskingdom
Today’s blog post is focused on Fiona, our third protagonist, and her surroundings!
Fiona’s been inquisitive from birth; a curious girl, she often buried herself in books in her family’s library. She’s quick to react, quicker to show attitude, and stubborn to a fault.
Naturally, the curious girl must be trapped in her family’s manor. Fiona has nowhere to go, no-one to talk to (aside from the groundskeepers and her caretaker, Anton), and doesn’t like the reasons she’s given when pressing for answers.
Wellbay, the town closest to Fiona’s home, is a small, quiet fishing town in the UK. Not many people come, not many leave either, and a new face — even one as subdued as Fiona’s — tends to stand out. There are rumors of a wealthy family up in the hills, of armed guards and a big secret kept out of the public eye. Fiona, of course, doesn’t feel drawn to these rumors. She’s far more focused on the town’s library and its endless lines of books. She knows her family, knows they have nothing to be secret about, and thinks it all silly.
So, what happens to the cat when curiosity clashes with contempt?
That’s all for this one, folks! Catch you in a few weeks.
Marie, Savo, and the “Salvage economy”
Credit to @zibik
Hey y’all. Another lorepost today! This time it’s about the area surrounding Verdusk and how it operates in the modern day.
Marie’s story is focused on the fallout (both literal and figurative) of the Great War; how it affects the people, the land, and the overall systems that surround them.
Marie works with her friends as a scavenger (or scavver), someone who scours the surrounding areas for hardware, weapons, or goods and trades them (either for rations or currency). I’ve discussed the Cataclysm a bit more in a previous post, so if you’re confused by what I’m referring to when I say it, go back to that one first: Karsokm, Veinbrides, and the steppelands. I’ll be doing another in-depth post on the Cataclysm at some point soon too.
Back to Marie and Savo. Savo is the nation she lives in, a remnant of the land Verdusk once sat on (and split between two other nations: Kyovkret to the west and Vostek sitting in between). In Savo, the salvage economy has gone into full swing. People from all over the country fight to trade and trade to fight. Factories, bunkers, even abandoned cities all have riches to be grabbed. All of these things, big or small, are traded to one of two groups: Stalkers (Exclusion Zone scavengers who trade to survive) and the Vostek-based Rizen government itself, who reward people with rations, money, and other things.
Those who trade with the Stalkers are more likely to find rare or restricted items, while those who trade with the Rizen are often met with rations and strict quote thresholds.
Regardless of who you trade with you need to be careful, as there are plenty of people looking to take advantage of the mix of Verdusk and UDF survivors.
To wrap this all up, Marie’s story focuses quite heavily on both the scavenging aspects and the implications of Rizen occupations. In a town where markets are shuddering and the provisional government keeps its gates locked, what is one to do?
That’s all for today folks! My draft has been wrapped up. On to the rewrites!
Rough draft, rougher choices, Spiraling ever in
Credit to @johnnyboylee
I’m both surprised and proud of myself. I’ve finished the main rough draft. My manuscript is making progress; I’ve nailed the basic idea down! My three parts (Cheryl, Marie, and Fiona) are being built, formed from ash and blood and all the other dramatic stuff.
So, what’s next? Is that it? Can I slap it on amazon now?
I wish, but I’d be making a huge mistake, and I think Susan would want to slap me (editorially, of course).
No. Now we strip it down again. Now, I pull back the fluff and skin and the things that are obscuring the message and I rebuild it again. This time I’ll focus on getting those points solidified and iron out both the grammatical formatting and the actual spacing of the work. It’s hard to not get lost, to just run rampant and let the story control me. It’s a nasty temptation, one I’ve talked about on a previous post (I’ll be letting that desire run wild in a different story, one that I can only do once every other focal idea I have is finished; look forward to that in like three decades). Back to the point: the manuscript needs to be refined, adjusted, ironed out. I need this to be as good as my skills and wills will allow; no matter the cost.
As for the rest of this? Let it spiral ever-downward. Let it drown and be consumed in the process. The story must continue, no matter the cost to its characters; and make no mistake, I’m as much of a character in this work as any of the ones I’ve drafted are. I can’t escape my work, and it can’t leave me. I’m too quick to anger, too impatient, too far into the crushing inky darkness of the spiral to know anything else.
That’s it for now! (Hey, P.S., I did another book recommendation on the site too, check it!)