I’m having a hell of a time getting any forward momentum on the next stage of editing the book.
Admittedly, I’ve had precious little time to really focus on it over the past month – but when I get a spare moment, I crack open the Google Doc and try to make some headway — the same way that I wrote the thing in the first place.
This feels like work. Ew.
Which it is! This is the actual part where a pile of text becomes a novel. Everything leading up to this don’t count, if I can’t edit it properly.
Part of the problem is I need higher brain functions online to solve a lot of the notes that I’ve made — and that sort of thing is in short supply. I’m feeling out what process works best for me, just like the drafting stage — I guess I need to try blocking off more time, away from distractions.
Because free time just falls out of the sky. Commonly.
So, yeah – waaah, waaah, give the baby his bottle.
I wrote an article for my theatre’s new blog — I think the plan is for me to do so every couple of weeks. At least until the mob with torches and pitch coalesce.
Out theatre is a big family, so most of the jokes won’t read — but if you’re a fan of theatre, you may find a chuckle.
I was interviewed recently by the irredeemable Demon of the Sea, Sean Polite. It’s for his “Movers and Shakers Project” nominally exploring people of cultural resonance in/and around Athens, GA.
Nominally I say, as my interview is a long, rambling discussion of storytelling, video games, classic anime, Dungeons and Dragons, and other avant garde nerdery. If these topics interest you, or you’re just curious what I sound like — click and be whelmed.
Be warned, there are some naughty, naughty words.The interview is available as a free download, or to stream online.
Here is Sean’s writeup — I blush, I blush!
There is a story in everything we do, in each action we undertake, and even in the hesitancy that keeps us rejecting other actions.
Today’s guest, Derek Adams, a bard amongst men, sees the plethora of lore and legend in the grand and mundane things in life, and his insight has yielded creative results with a role-playing twist and a growing footing in the literary world.
A student of role-playing games (a.k.a. RPGs) and an advocate of the art of collaboration, he’s created a series known as Lodestar. With an eye for talent, he’s recruited a group of friends with unreal writing ability, to craft an ongoing tale of adventure, magic, betrayal, battle, and endless interaction. While he will admit that his own experiences with the RPG system are an influence, Lodestar is not exclusively defined within the categories of the typical role playing game. You create the adventure and he oversees it! He breaks down a good portion of the standard role playing terminology also.
The total flight hours of Lodestar: 500,000 words in a year and a half which equals a staggering amount of novels as you’ll hear.
This experiment in adventure has been a massive success, and has lead to a journey into the world of information age publishing. At the current time, the players have created a new story, set 15 years prior to the events of “Lodestar.” Derek is compiling these stories into a book, a massive volume called “Spell/Sword.” While the history of the characters, and motivations are a budding foundation for the journey to the past, no prior knowledge is required.
While he is a versatile masterful Mover and Shaker, he’s taking the plunge for the first time into the mind-numbing world of manuscript editing and confessing to the challenge of it. You can take a peek into “Spell/Sword” by going to spell-sword.com
There is a link between every role playing game and the anime series “Record of Lodoss War.” Stick with the interview, and you’ll find out what it is.
A link we share is our mutual participation in the activities of the oldest continually running community theatre in Georgia, Athens Community Theater—home to the Town & Gown Players. We discuss his introduction to and ongoing involvement with the volunteer organization, and his transition from acting to contributing behind the scenes with stories well known and unknown—culminating at the high helm of the director’s chair. I’ve gotten to collaborate with him in some of the shows, and true to the community theater experience, it’s been a wondrous fulfillment. You’ll hear about how you can contribute to the arts scene with a simple step towards the 60 year old coven behind the big white house on Prince Avenue.
Causing a stir in the cultural bowels of the Classic City are The Shadeaux Brothers, an enigmatic pop duo with a knack for songwriting at the maddening line between obvious parody for laughs and intense seriousness. Fresh off of creating the anthem of your summer that you never knew could be known to, Derek breaks down their history with a sensitivity to their abhorrence of any forms of the beast that is celebrity promotion. We go into their pioneering act of creating the medium of music known to the naked eye as ELF ROCK. Few are the talents who’ve been enlisted to aid in their sonic sojourn of Christmas albums, but distinguished are they all.
The language is vivid (some profanity in good fun), and it is undone by the luminescence of the pop culture spectrum which Mr. Adams keeps at his bay of knowledge. Subjects are deftly switched at supersonic pace, from video games to Dungeons and Dragons, Doctor Who, social media/blogging sites (tumblr, WordPress) and the like. Even people who walk in on the interview are seamlessly woven into the conversation/interview. His super fast wit inspires a lightning round at the end of this segment, and the commentary is enlightening and humorous—as this whole interview is.
The link to my interview with Derek is below, and this writing is only a hint of the fun behind the story of Derek Adams, a fresh new addition to the Movers and Shakers Project!
A diagram for the Lodestar series. While we generally use pictures of the interviewees, in this case, the grandeur of the story takes precedence before the storyteller.
Hyper evolved frogs on steam-powered roller skates: 76
Weird dream sequences: 2
Witches: 1
Allusions to Buddy Holly lyrics: 1
Swords named ‘Chester’: 1
Word count: 49,235
I like my book. It’s got problems, but I don’t feel overwhelmed — YET. Several sections are in severe need of fleshing out, clarification and a rigorous, rigorous edit. The next stop for the Edit Train is working on the chapters individually, probably save the first couple of chapters for last as they’re going to need the most work.
I’m temporarily finished with my short story, Star Prophet. I’m really ambivalent about it — part of it I like, parts of it I don’t — but I’m trying something really outside of my comfort zone/style. I have lost all perspective on how well it’s working.
Looking for some feedback, follow the link for the full text, so you don’t need to read it piecemeal on the blog. Comments here, or on the page itself would be much appreciated!
Okay — so I’ve shirked long enough, time to answer the questions from this week’s story prompt. Sorry for the delay – I was just FOCUSING ON MY FREAKING ROUGH DRAFT.
El Capitan -What do you think will be the next big manufactured craze? Like pomegranates or acai berry. I believe it will be walnuts.
Walnuts are a strong possibility – but I’m telling you right now, it’s going to be jodhpurs. Twelve year-old girls just strutting around, society and morals be damned.
Nila – You know those tabby things that fill the holes of input/output thingies on your device or phone or whatever? Yeah, those are pretty nifty, don’t you think? Sometimes I wish they had those sorts of things for human orifices…
Well, they do. Pacifiers, butt plugs, nose plugs, blindfolds — and though I shudder to think, but I’m guessing there’s some sort of device that plugs up your plumbing completely, for fun and profit. I personally kind of hate putting covers and cases on my technology — my phone deserves to be NAKED and PROUD.
ERG. So many questions — so much work — so….lazy…..zzzzz…….
Rebecca – You need to write a story about soft shell crab sandwiches. (with the little legs hanging out of the bun)
That is horrifying.I’m imagining the little legs wriggling as I bite down — quickly flashing the crab sign language for “Help” and “Pain” and “God” over and over and over. You are a monster, madam.
Marisa – What mythological beast – assuming it could speak – do you think you would find it most challenging to write dialog for and why?
As already discussed — it wouldn’t be Minotaurs. I have like 8 notebooks crammed full of sparkling dialogue about horn care and maze-related metaphors.
I’m going to have to go with Medusa. I just wouldn’t be able to resist making each tendril of her snake-hair a separate character. That would be conservatively 40 different voices all vying for dialogue — a Cowboy Snake, a Sleepy Snake, a Snake with Crippling Depression, a Snake that Speaks only in Haiku — it goes on. It would be a sort of literary blackhole from which I would never emerge.
I’m having a hell of a time getting any forward momentum on the next stage of editing the book.
A diagram for the Lodestar series. While we generally use pictures of the interviewees, in this case, the grandeur of the story takes precedence before the storyteller.
spell-sword.com 