Rewriting Chapter Seven & Stuff

So, I suck at keeping this thing updated...

Anyway, so I'm been progressing steadily on Will-o'-the-Wisp. Chapter four will be posted soon (and Episode 2.4 of Rogue Wave Rising will be up this week, too) and I've gotten to chapter seven last week. It should have been written and ready ready to for editing this week. Well, it was full of suck! This in, surprisingly, the first time I'm written a chapter so horribly that I've had to go back and completely rewrite it. It sucks but it was bound to happen and will likely not be the last time. So I will be taking another crack at this damn chapter this week in hopes of slaying the dragon this time.

The good thing in all this is I found a new character to add to the fray, Robin Goodfellow. I was expecting him at first and he'll NOT be like the Shakespearean Puck you all know. Like most things, I try to get back to the root of the legion. Granted, I've taken a few liberties with him that I think you'll all like. Problem for those who want to see him is I'll likely add him later than chapter seven, since my rewrite will likely not include him. Still, it will be an added bonus to you all.

Since I've failed to keep you all updated on this story, I've also added some other new character you'll meet shortly, including a Púka and Ben, Arthur's roommate. Both play big roles in the story and more name association fun to decipher. I wonder if this will be a 110,000 word monster. I doubt it. I still don't see why such large numbers are so important in the publishing industry. A good story writes itself and is a long as it needs to be. Anything more is a waste. /rant So, I am still not totally sure where this story is headed but it does have a flow to it and I'm sure it will reveal itself shortly. Remember, I'm along for the ride same as you.

So, what other projects do I have on the waiting list besides everyone you can already see on dA and fanfiction.net? Well, a lot: Nebulosus is my vampire/religious epic novel that has been on the books since 2003 and it still my first story idea (really need to start cracking on that one); Emilee is a short story about a sick girl who mistakes a stranger for her dead brother; Bigfoot Chronicles that revolve around a series of short stories about the legionary creature; Light of Life is a short story about existence between life and death; Conitor is a Roman era short about slave twins and gladiators.

Lots to write and so little time; I need to finish these damn fan-fics so I can get cracking on the stuff that I can do something with... so, as if all these other ideas were not enough, Tee Morris threw me another reason to write. Originally I had yet another story that also involved vampires. Meant to be the original epic novel, it's first incarnation didn't go far before I had to rethink it. Nebulosus was and still is a very shorty story about a vampire and a human. After the original idea of the epic, called Certo, failed, I planned to merge these two ideas and work with it, since the short story filled the character needs of the epic. Well, perhaps it's then a good thing that I've waited so long to get things started.

As you all read, Tee Morris is part of the Double Trouble run on Amazon on 08/08/08, which is this Friday b.t.w. While listening to one of the interview he and Pip did for a movie review podcast (the name escapes me at the moment), which was over three hours of pure entertainment mind you, I heard Tee complain about how most vampire-based movies were always romanticizing the species and not being true to what the creatures really were. This is exactly what I've been bitching about for years to my friends. While I will concede that some of my stories do evolve the typical romantic/pulp-fiction Dracula-style vampires, I've always been a buff with the topic and wanted to write a book about the "true" folklore creatures, which are varied and unlike what most people think. Damn you, Morris, you showed me I have an audience!

While I had other plans, I will be start up this resurrected Certo plot and making once again its own story. This is good because I already have a lot of the story already planned out and many of the characters set up. The story would revolve around a dhampir named Blut who hunts the vile creatures across modern Europe and is several hundred years old. The creatures he hunts are these true to form creatures of myth and folklore. There's a lot of great emotional drama and action packed in with the blood and gore; and yes, I'll even make the dhampir more realistic; is that even possible with a fictional creature? Anyway, I'll keep you in the know once I get closer to working on it. Maybe it will even become a movie some day!

Again, remember 08/08/08!

Will-o'-the-Wisp

Will-o'-the-Wisp is my latest story, with the first chapter ready to read! The artwork above is a commission by MoonlightAlchemist. Be sure to check our her website "Ameiga Art" in the Linkage lists to the right! I get got the sketch and original in the mail today. Man, it puts this scan above to shame. Now I really know what they mean when they say their scanner rapes colors. I will be buying frames for it and the Erwin R. Morgenstern commissions this week.

So, since this is a writing blog, Will-o'-the-Wisp started as "Plight of the Faerie". Originally a very short tale that was edited down to a summery of less than 500 words, this sparked three more short summaries. The series stopped when I changed jobs. More recently, another deviation inspired me to do another; but this time it was a "full story" with dialogue and expanded plot. This helped me to begin expanding the summaries into chapters; and thus an adventure was born. Still, something was missing, drive and motivation. This is where this commission come in. It really was the key that got me where I am now with this story. The fire two chapters are comprised on two summaries each, with the third chapter comprised on the fifth installment plus new material. There are links to the original parts in the chapter descriptions.

The story revolves around Arthur Geoffrey, a young man of the Crown who is on holiday on the western shores of England hiking the coastline. There he encounters many fantastic and mythical creatures. While surprised to find them, he is not shocked at their existence. The time frame for this story is modern set in a world much like ours, where such myths are thought of a just fiction. Arthur is a kind man with a big heart and smile who is always willing to lend a hand, which gets him into the adventure of his life. What is it about this young man who can befriend faeries that draws Fate near? Read the story and find out!

It was inspired by a deviation (this is the term given to art postings on devantART) of a bound faerie, which you can find linked in the story description (use the link above!). This is how Gloriana, the nude faerie in the commission, got her start. For the fifth installment, the inspiration this time was another deviation of a sad Gothic faerie with a wish curse. This is where Morgan la Fay comes into play. Arthur gives them nicknames due to his in ability to sing their true names, which are in fact songs. I thought this to be a unique take (though I doubt original) and allows me to better fit names. Arthur is just a product of my brain. As you can tell, these names have connections to each other. While this will be a continuing trend in most all character names for this story, the names are more symbolic than descriptive. Still, the old tales will have an influence.

Biggest concern here is that Gloriana and Morgan are based on other's designs. This is why I had MoonlightAlchemist be sure to take the descriptions I originally gave and run with them. She did this that while keeping to whom they are. I have since modified their descriptions to better match what they look like in the commission. Same goes for the plight to which Morgan is first found. It is a fine line I do not want to cross, that of copyright infringement. However, I am taking an idea and making it my own, not stealing another's work and calling it my own. This is one key factor in my favor. Plus I will likely give credit to the original pieces as inspiration for this work; though this will not be enough should I have to defend myself. In my defense, what I have here is pieced from many sources combined into something more. I have never once taken credit for another's work in this matter so I doubt there is little to fear. Still, I need to delve into this more.