Wordcount Wednesday

Project Disappointed Viper is going slowly right now, folks. As of right now, it's at 5,719 words. I hope to do better, but I know, I say that in every Wordcount Wednesday post.

On a more exciting note, I got the Advance Reader Copies for Failstate via UPS today. So tonight, I stuffed press releases and info sheets into them and then stuffed them all into padded envelopes to go off to various media outlets. I have no idea if I'll get reviewed in any of them, but here's hoping!

Aren't they pretty?

The Muppets

Thanks to the good folks at 365 Twin Cities, I got to attend a sneak preview of The Muppets tonight. I've been looking forward to this movie for a while now; the trailers that they've been releasing have been absolutely genius, such as the Green Lantern parody or the Dragon Tattoo parody. I hoped that the same silly genius would carry over to the movie itself. Truth be told, I'm not sure what I think of what I saw tonight. It was okay.

My problem, I think, came from the first part of the movie. Kermit the Frog said it best this past weekend on SNL when Jason Segel hosted: "When people go to a Muppet movie, they say, 'Gee, I can't wait to see the human!'" Except what Kermit said sarcastically, I think the writers took seriously. Let me put it this way: recently I watched The Muppet Movie and The Muppets Take Manhattan with my son. Both of those movies started with Kermit. Not this movie. Instead, it started with Walter and his human brother, Gary (played by Jason Segel). Kermit and company didn't show up until much further in.

In some ways, I get it. It made sense, given the overall plot: Walter, Gary, and Gary's long-time girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams) go to LA ostensibly for Gary and Mary's "we've-been-dating-for-10-years" anniversary. But once there, Walter learns that a rich oil baron is going to destroy the old Muppet studios (including the iconic theater) to drill for oil. Horrified, Walter convinces his brother and his girlfriend to round up the old Muppet gang, starting with Kermit, so they can save the studio.

But even with that decent premise, the film lurched in the early going. I blame the humans, personally. We don't go to a Muppet movie for human-related drama. Instead, we go to see anthropomorphic animals made out of felt have relationship drama. And boy, do they pack in some rather . . . well, I don't want to say "adult themes." Let's just say there was some stuff put in there that was meant for the adults. I can honestly say I don't think I've seen anything quite so heavy in previous Muppet movies. And the ending . . . well, wow.

There were some bright spots. Some of the cameos were genius (one in particular). And there were some great "breaking the fourth wall" moments, plus nods to previous movies.

I don't know. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I went into this movie. I'm pretty sure that this wasn't it. Not totally. But I hope this doesn't sink the Muppets, because if there's one thing that I realized as I was watching this: I missed them.

Wordcount Wednesday

Last week, I started the pre-writing process for a new novel. Personally, I use Randall Ingerman's Snowflake Method. I have for the past couple of novels I've written and it works well for me. I don't use the whole thing. Usually about 2/3s of the way through, I hit what I call "critical mass" where I have to start writing.

I hit that point Monday on with my new project. I still don't want to say anything about it, so we'll have to call it . . . shoot, I don't know. Blue Harvest? Rory's First Kiss? Incident on 57th Street? Okay, I've got it. My project will henceforth be known as Project Disappointed Viper. Why? Because that's what the random codename generator gave me.

Anyway, Project Disappointed Viper is currently weighing in at 1,086 words. A meager start, but I know it'll grow. I'm pretty excited about this one.

The People vs. George Lucas

My goodness, that was an interesting hour and a half. I just got done watching the documentary film, The People vs. George Lucas. And I have to say, it gave me some food for thought, both as a fan and as a writer.

Basically this movie details the love/hate relationship that fans have with George Lucas and a certain galaxy far, far away, mostly focusing on the late '90s re-edits and the prequels. There are interviews with fans, famous personalities (I see you there, Neil Gaiman!), and a few "Star Wars insiders." While they cover a lot of territory, from fan films to the way many Star Wars fans' love has been twisted into hate, there were some interesting focal points. For example, who shot first, Han or Greedo? What do you think of Jar-Jar Binks? And who does Star Wars belong to at this point, George Lucas or the fans?

Like I said, this was a thought-provoking movie to watch. True confession time: I've been a Star Wars geek for most of my life. I've read the Extended Universe novels, played the videogames, bought all the soundtracks. One of the things I was looking forward to most about being a parent was seeing my son's reaction to the classic moment in Empire Strikes Back where we get a peek at the Skywalker family tree. And yes, I have been disappointed by the prequels. It took me a while to see how bad Episode I really is, and I've even gotten into arguments with my youth about which trilogy is better. I suspect that in the future, there's going to be a Jar-Jar line. A lot of what the fans said in this movie resonated with me, such as their pleas for Lucas to release a version of the original trilogy in its unenhanced form. You know, one in which HAN SHOT FIRST.

But at the same time, I also found myself wondering how I would react if I were in Lucas's flannel. Suppose one of my creations takes off and becomes a cultural institution that . . . What's so funny? Why are you laughing?

Okay, fine, I'll wait until you're done.

Seriously, though, if Star Wars is George Lucas's creation, if he is the owner of it still (and thanks to U.S. Copyright Law, he will be for a long, long time), then technically, he does have the right to go back and touch things up as he sees fit.

I know. I feel icky just for writing that.

But it's still the truth, as much as we may disagree. It's his story, his universe, and we're invited to come along if we want. Yes, I have an idea of how I would have told the prequel stories, but that's not my story to tell.

I guess what's really interesting about this movie is the sheer amount of rancor (pun possibly intended) that Star Wars can create amongst its fans. The fact that people are willing to invest so much vitriol and ire for a movie trilogy is a testament to what a cultural touchstone it's become.

And the one thing that made me smile was the ending of this movie. A lot of the vocal critics admitted that the reason why they do what they do is because Lucas inspired them. Whether we agree with what Lucas did in recent years or not, he shaped a lot of our childhoods. And I, for one, am still grateful.

So thank you, George. Now, if it isn't too much of a bother, can you please release the original trilogy?

Falling Back

True confession time: Daylight Savings Time ending is one of my favorite holidays of the year. An extra hour of sleep, y'all! But do we really understand all the intricacies of DST? Here's a handy video that helps explain it all and, quite possibly, will make you question whether springing forward and falling back is such a great idea.

It's a miracle I survived my childhood . . .

. . . with as little psychological trauma as I have, seeing as this was considered educational TV:

Orcs Must Die!

Every now and then, I'll spot a game on Steam that catches my attention for some reason or another. When I saw the title of Orcs Must Die!, I had a feeling that this was my kind of game, so I downloaded the demo and sure enough, I liked what I saw well enough that I pre-ordered the full. Just last night, I finished the first play-through, but I'm definitely not done with this fun and funny game.

The basic premise is this: the player is an apprentice warmage, one charged with protecting magical rifts from wave after wave of invading orcs, kobolds, ogres, and so on. You have a few special magical talismans that shoot fire or ice or electricity. You also are given a wide variety of traps and helpers to defend the rift(s). There are arrows that shoot out of the wall, giant springboards that can toss the orcs through the air, or swinging pendulums that . . . well, the less said about those the better.

This is basically a tower defense game with wall and floor traps. There isn't much of a plot, but what little is there is funny and engaging.

Like I said, I finished the game, switching from the medium difficulty to the easiest. Now I'm going back to try to get perfect scores on each of the levels. Doing so gives me "skulls," which I can spend to make the traps more deadly. And then there's the "nightmare" mode. I'm actually kind of looking forward to that one.

So if you have a few bucks sitting around, this one is definitely a keeper. Have fun (stopping them from) storming the castle!

Wordcount Wednesday

Stick a fork in Hive. It's done.

Well, not really. True, earlier this week, I finished the first draft of this monster project. The final wordcount for the first go-round? 85,504 words, which isn't all that bad, considering I set my goal at 80k when I started this . . . geez, when did I start this one? Hang on a sec.

Back in February, apparently. That actually isn't as bad as I thought it'd be.

In some ways, this has been a weird journey. Rather than pouring onto the page, this one was created in fits and starts. I seem to have taken Lent off, then took a two or three month hiatus after our second son joined our family (writers can claim paternity leave, right?).

But back to the wordcount. I'm actually impressed that I brought this one in so close to target. Granted, that total is going to fluctuate. The introduction I wrote back in February is getting axed. One of the main characters is going to be introduced earlier in the book, which means I have to add some extra stuff somewhere. And the ending, while bringing everything to a close, totally stinks. I mean, no symmetry, weak resolution, it's just "blah."

Funny thing is, I seem to recall I said the same thing about a certain other manuscript I finished about a year and a half ago. And look how that one wound up. So while I'm a little daunted at the prospect of wading back into Hive, I know I can make it better.

So what's next for me? Well, Hive goes up on a shelf for now. I've learned this the hard way: I need emotional and intellectual distance from my writing projects to do a better job editing when the time comes. In the meantime, I might take a crack at a short story that's been rattling around in the ol' brain pan for close to a year now. I mean, I've had this Post-It note:

 . . . stuck to my desk for who knows how long, waiting for the day when I could finally use this information in said short story. Maybe now's the time to do so.

I've also begun the "pre-writing" a new novel. Won't say anything more about it for now. Yes, it's kind of secret. Maybe I'll be able to explain more about it in the future. Probably. Most likely. For now, though, consider it Project X. Only without Matthew Broderick. Or Helen Hunt. Or the monkeys.

You know what, let's just forget that part, okay?

Bye, Ron!

Here's something fun: J. K. Rowling once considered killing one of her main characters halfway through the Harry Potter series. The last book turned into a total Joss fest, but this would have shifted things pretty radically, right?

Happy Reformation Day!

Wordcount Wednesday

Wow, it's been an interesting week.

First of all, let's get down to official business: my Hive report. I'm still cautiously optimistic that I might be able to finish the first draft by the end of this month. By my rough estimation, I need to write at least three more chapters and an epilogue, and I've been averaging about a chapter a day. So we'll see. I've made predictions like this before and usually I've come up wrong.

But this week was pretty good, all told. I was able to write 6,804 words, bringing the grand total up to 80,399 words. That means I'll finish over-target, but that's okay in this case. I'm sure that the first rewrite will tone things down.

With that out of the way, let's talk some of the other fortuitous things that have happened. For starters, today marks my debut as a contributor at Speculative Faith, a blog dedicated to Christian speculative fiction. I'll be posting every other Wednesday. This week, by way of introduction, I told a little of my journey to publication, something I've never really done before. I'm not sure what future topics I'll talk about, but I'm thinking my obsession with telling stories with aliens in it has to come up at some point or another.

Last but certainly not least, this week also marked a major milestone for me: a book that I contributed to is available on Amazon! This is the first time this has happened. I've mentioned the book before: Spirited. As of right now, it's available as an e-book for the Kindle. I've heard that it'll be available for the Nook soon. Print copies won't be available until March (sorry to all the purists out there). But if you've got nine bucks to spare, the proceeds go to 826 National, a non-profit organization that offers free after-school tutoring, workshops, and in-school programs.

Wow. Quite the week.

Wordcount Wednesday

I feel like I'm always making excuses in these updates. I am writing. Really! I still feel the same "psychological progress" from last week. The story is moving forward. I'm just not adding that many words to Hive as I go.

To wit: I added 3,374 to the book, bringing the grand total to 73,595 words. That's good, but not great.

So what's my excuse this week? More edits on Spirited, including a look at the galleys. That was a fun first for me. So was getting the cover for the book:

So there you go. I keep saying I want to step this up. I've even been secretly hoping I can finish this monster by the end of this month. But with only 12 days left, I'm thinking it might be a while longer. Time will tell.

Goliath

Late last night, I finished reading Scott Westerfield's Goliath, the conclusion of his Leviathan series.

The valiant crew of the British airship Leviathan is back and this time, they're on a mission that could bring the war gripping the world to a sudden stop. A scientist from America claims that a weapon he's invented can easily bring every major world power to its knees. The British Admiralty believes the threat is real. So does Prince Alek, who continues to travel with the Darwinist forces. He feels responsible for the war in the first place, and he'll take any chance he can to end the destructive conflict. But Deryn Sharp, still masquerading as a boy, isn't so sure. But then, she's got a lot on her mind: her secret could unravel at any moment and worse, she's beginning to realize that she doesn't just see Alek as a colleague but as something more.

Can Alek and Deryn work together one last time to end the war? Or will the Clanker and Darwinist forces tear each other apart and take the world with them?

This was a fun read. The story was fast-paced and the action great. Once again, I loved Westerfield's imaginative recreation of a steampunk alternate history. His Darwinist creations, basically living vehicles, were fun to see in action, overshadowing the steam-driven war machines they faced. And the plot was superb as well, what with a certain famous American inventor claiming that he could end the war early.

But there lay the one flaw with this book: if you know your history, especially when it comes to unusual events in the early twentieth century, the book's biggest secret becomes glaringly obvious. Now perhaps I noticed this because I do know a little about unusual events that occurred in Europe in the early twentieth and the typical reader of this book won't.

How's that for trying to avoid spoilers?

It's not a major flaw. Even knowing what I know, I still was sucked in to the story, which came to a pretty satisfying conclusion. So if you haven't checked out this series, do so. You'll be entertained, that's for sure.

Book of Days

I just now finished Book of Days by James L. Rubart.

Cameron has had a rough life. He's lost his wife, Jessie. He lost his father, first to a disorder that robbed him of his memories, and then to death. But worst of all, Cameron is starting to lose his own memories and he worries that he too will die an early death. But both Jessie and his dad told him about the Book of Days, where God records the past, the future, everything. Cameron comes to believe that this Book holds the key to curing him, if only he can find it.

Ann is a woman looking for her past. And she has a lead, a good one. But if she follows it, she'll have to work with Cameron, a blast from her past that she just isn't ready for.

Both Cameron's and Ann's journeys will bring them to a small town in the Pacific Northwest, a town with its own secrets and people who will stand in their way. Will Ann find her past? Will Cameron have a future? Those answers are written in the Book of Days.

Okay, so my summary is a little over the top. Sue me.

It took me a little while to warm up to this book. I'm not exactly sure why that is. It was an enjoyable read with a few twists and turns to keep things interesting. Some things didn't sit well with me (for example, there's an unnamed villain and Rubart tries to drop hints that it's one person; it's pretty obvious it's not that person). But by and large, I enjoyed this book, especially after I got past a "critical mass" point, where I had gotten invested in the characters and stories. I especially appreciated the way Rubart portrayed Cameron's deteriorating condition. Very well done.

Naturally a book like this raises some questions about God's omniscience and how that relates to and interacts with human choice. Granted, this isn't a theology textbook, but I think Rubart did a good job of showing how both can work together. At least, I thought it was good. My colleagues who wear the funny shirts might disagree with me but hey, this wouldn't be the first time.

So all in all, a solid read and well done in my not-so-humble opinion.

Wordcount Wednesday

So I was hoping to do better this week. Yeah, that didn't happen. But more on that in a minute.

Looking at the numbers, it doesn't look like I made a lot of progress. Over the past week, I added 4,611 words to Hive's total, bringing it to 70,221 words. But while the wordcount may not reflect a great deal of progress, I think I made psychological process. For a long time now, I've felt like I was spinning my wheels with this book. But in the past week, I've been able to move the story forward in some major leaps and bounds. Major revelations, some fun new (sort of) characters, and the players are getting in position for the final moves. I'm actually kind of optimistic that I can wrap this puppy up in the next few weeks.

So why didn't I do better? I blame The Night Queen, the short story that I wrote for a YA anthology. You remember, the one I wrote last week? Well, the editor for the anthology got back to me with a list of suggestions and edits and so I spent a day working on that (a day I had originally intended to pump up Hive's wordcount. Not that I'm complaining, just stating the fact). The great news is that I've officially been brought into the anthology!

It's called Spirited. Thirteen authors (including yours truly) have written spooky stories. The proceeds from this book will go to charity, specifically 826 National, an organization that promotes youth literacy.

Here's a book trailer in case you're curious about the book:



Pretty cool, huh? If you "Like" the book's Facebook page, you can stay up to date. Oh, and be sure to check out the cool contest that's being run right now. You can win an advance copy of the book by playing "Ghosthunter" with the authors' biographies. I mean, you've got a leg up now, right? You know at least one of them.

Phoenix Jones arrested

A few months back, I posted a video about a real life superhero named Phoenix Jones, a man who really gets dressed up in a costume and patrols the streets in an attempt to fight crime. Well, apparently Jones was arrested recently for pepper spraying a group he claims was fighting but police say were dancing.

I'm not going to take sides on this one, but I'm thinking if you can't tell the different between fighting and dancing, you probably should hang up your cape and cowl.

Wordcount Wednesday

So things took kind of a curve this week.

For starters, I wasn't able to get as much work done on Hive as I would have liked. So this past weekend, I was really going to try to kick it into gear.

Then a fellow writer and friend of mine, Jill Williamson, notified me of an anthology looking for a short story. Did I have one lying around in a drawer somewhere that would fit the theme and the wordcount?

Unfortunately, no. But I figured I could crank one out in a few days. How much time did I have?

It was due today? Oh, shoot.

Actually, it wasn't all that bad. I spent two days writing it and then did a fast edit on it. It's probably a lot rougher than I would have normally liked, but I sent it to the editor today and we'll see what happens. The end result was a story called The Night Queen that clocked in at 5,526 words. I have no idea if it will get in or not. We'll just wait and see.

So Hive took a backseat this week, as you can tell from the wordcount. I only managed to write 1,445 words, bringing the grand total up to 65,610. Hopefully I can do better this week.

Boneshaker

And so I continue my foray into the steampunk genre with Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. And this was a fun read, even if it's not exactly what I expected.

The Civil War has been dragging on for decades and the Russians are trying to decide whether or not to sell Alaska to the U.S. When they learn that there's gold in the Klondike, they start a race to build a machine that can dig it all out. The most likely contender is a man named Leviticus Blue, a scientist who builds a massive drill called the Boneshaker. Thing is, before he can deliver, the Boneshaker runs wild through underground Seattle, trashing the financial district and creating a big old mess.

Worse, in the aftermath of the destruction, a strange gas the locals call the Blight begins to seep through the town, killing people and turning them into zombies. To contain the threat, a massive wall is built around downtown Seattle.

And that's just in the prologue. Many years after this disaster, a young man named Ezekiel Wilkes decides he needs to get into the ruined city to clear his family name. He's really the son of Leviticus Blue and he's sure that his father didn't do anything wrong. He's bound and determined to face down the undead rotters and the folks still inside the city. But what he doesn't realize is that his mother, Briar Wilkes, is on his trail. She wants to make sure he gets out alive. But with a city controlled by a mysterious scientist Dr. Minnericht, no one is really safe.

I'm not sure what I expected with this book. I think I expected more gadgets, crazy inventions run by steam and gears and such. And while there were a few, it wasn't all that many. Cherie Priest seemed more interested in exploring the ruins of a vastly different Seattle.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy this book. I did. The counterfactual elements blended seamlessly with Priest's descriptions and I really enjoyed this story.

I'm coming to the conclusion that steampunk might not be for me. It's fun and all, but I'm not sure I'm going to be anything like a rabid fan. But with books like this, I might be willing to stick around a while longer.

The Healer's Apprentice

I heard some good things about The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson and so a few months ago I downloaded it to my Kindle. There it languished for a long time before I decided I had better check it out.

It's the story of a young woman named Rose. She's been apprenticed to the town healer (imagine that) and because of that, she encounters Wilhelm, the duke's older son. After helping him, she winds up being drawn bit by bit into his world. Worse, it would seem that Rose is developing feelings for him and maybe even vice versa. Problem is, Wilhelm is betrothed to a noble woman, a young lady he's never met. How can he fulfill his duty when Rose occupies his every waking thought?

For the most part, this was a good read. It was a bit too predictable for my taste. I had the plot pretty much figured out a quarter of the way in. Dickerson managed to toss in one curve ball that fouled the scent a little, but not enough to really throw me off track. The faith elements were woven in nicely and I appreciated the subtle nod to some of the issues that sparked the Reformation.

So all in all, this book struck me as a solid read. Maybe the problem is I'm the opposite gender as the target audience and romance really isn't my genre. But don't let that stop you. You might just be swept up by a well crafted fairy tale.

Wordcount Wednesday

Okay, break time's over.

Yeah, I've been really bad about writing. I kept putting it off, thinking I could take one more day, one more week. No big deal, I can start again in June. In July. Of course, in July, our family grew by one and it's tough to write when you've got a newborn in the house.

Excuses, excuses.

But that's hopefully going to get better now. I recently got back from the annual ACFW Conference and it's kind of charged my batteries. Apparently some people found the idea of a pregnant teenage cyborg to be interesting. So I've got to start work on Hive in earnest.

Thing is, I haven't been keeping my wordcount updates . . . well, up-to-date. Last time I posted my count was back in May, when Hive clocked in at 50,393 words. Over the past few months, I've been able to tack on a word here, a sentence there. I didn't think it amounted to much. But apparently I did better than I realized. Added to the stuff I've written since Monday, that brought the grand total up to 64,165 words.

Excellent. That also means I'd better start wrapping things up, if I can. My original target was 80,000. I think I'll go over, but big surprise, I always go over.

Normally I'd set a deadline for myself or a prediction of some kind. Not now. I'm hoping I can keep this up, though. I've got a lot of stuff rattling around in my head that wants to come out and play. But the pregnant teenage cyborg needs to get out of the way first.