Combat in Orchids Ablaze was relatively straightforward. Most encounters involved only a few primary characters in restricted spaces. The sequel is not going to be that straightforward. At least three major battles will erupt during the story. Continue reading “Keeping Score: Battles #1”
And so I continue my love-hate relationship with technology. Attempting to shift my mobile writing platform from a full laptop to a tablet running Windows (so I can shift easily between them) threatens to do me in.
I’ll get back into the regular swing of things as quickly as I can. Working the new configuration into a process for writing that lets me work across my various writing platforms takes a bit of, well, work.
I’ve often been (rightfully) accused of being a very low-tech, high-tech person. I don’t like cloud computing.
Sacrilege, I realize, but I like my stuff where my stuff is. Yes, I may lose it if I don’t take care of business. No, that isn’t going to make me change my hidebound ways. Instead, I found a perfectly awesome tech support team that keeps me up and running and reasonably sane. Usually.
I shall return! Thanks for bearing with me.
DDW
Most people that know me would not consider me an optimist. However, I have apparently been guilty of optimism with regard to the next book. As I began work on the interior meat of the new book, I discovered I haven’t accounted for certain design elements. There are several variations to the quote: “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” That’s apparently just as true when the campaign is for a series of stories. The next book isn’t the enemy, but all the obstacles to fielding it are doing a dandy stand-in job.
Only a quick update for this session. The first cut at the prologue is now complete at around 1600 words. It may be a little on the long side for a prologue. Given previous drafts, I’m estimating those 1600 words will drop to around 1200 to 1300 “keepers” in the final version. That’s a reasonable length for a prologue, I think. After I get into the first chapter, I’ll see if it makes more sense to pull part of it out as a bridge segment or incorporate it into the first chapter.
I’m glad I took the time to build the legends and poems that I intend to use before heading into the meat of the book. It helped cement the characters and motivations in my head. I’m ready to dive into the story and see where it all leads. It’s always interesting to see what the characters think about my plans as the writing continues! They like to surprise me.
I accept all good wishes, by the way, so feel free to send some my way.
DDW
Beginning work on Book 2 of the Lodge of the Wolf has brought into sharp focus three specific items:
The first two bullets really boil down the same question: can I write another book at least as good as the first one. Some of my favorite books were the only books the author published under that name (at least as far as I can find). Did the author run out of ideas, out of time, out of money, or something else entirely? Perhaps more than books, movie sequels are notoriously (sometimes hilariously) worse than the original. Part of that is unavoidable since the setting and characters are most likely repeated in the sequel. It’s practically impossible to repeat the freshness (“newness”) while still keeping at least partial continuity within a “living” setting.
The HITMAN (Heuristic Interdiction, Tracking, Monitoring, Assault and Neutralization) Program is a highly classified, cooperative, international research operation sponsored by several national governments. It is the successor to the North American HITMARC (High-Intensity Threat Management and Augmented Resource Control) Initiative. The HITMAN Program’s mission is to research, develop, design and build advanced robotics suitable for fielding against Augmented opponents. In Aurora City, the program utilizes the services of several elite research entities, including Glacier Freelance Research (GFree) and the Council for Advanced Development, Research and Experimentation (CADRE). Despite the aggressive security posture of the program, rumors of various HITMAN designs circulate through the underground shadows of Aurora City.