C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 140

The Writing Life: The What and Why

I’m going to start up, or restart, a series of posts titled ‘The Writing Life:’. These will consist of things that I’ve found important as a writer, things that have made me stop and think, and mostly just my thought processes and opinions. If it bothers me, and it has something to do with writing, or being a writer, or the business of writing, you’ll find it here. And because these posts will be dealing with my thoughts on writing as I find my way in this crazy old business, they might even get contradictory, or even, heavens forbid, get it wrong. They’re not intended to be a ‘how to’ series to give direction, they’re just going to be my own thoughts and my own opinions. If you think something in them makes sense for you to try, go ahead. If not, then don’t. What I’m doing is taking a leaf out of the book of more experienced writers, and sharing what I learn along the way. Some of it will be useful to you, and some of it won’t, but you can decide for yourself what might, or might not, be relevant to your own writing journey.

Babes in London: Act Two, Scene Three C (Anika’s House, Part 8: Flashback—Friends of Kredak: Introduction)

SCENE THREE C: FRIENDS OF KREDAK

You are sitting around a rough, wooden table on benches worn smooth by use and time. The walls appear to be made of mud bricks and heavy wooden shutters cover deep, narrow windows. Outside a storm wind howls but, somehow, you know that the constant hiss against the shutters is sand, not rain. It is not a day to be outside. Or, possibly, a night. Who can tell? The storm has raged for so long it could be either. Your host is about to continue the epic he was reciting for your entertainment when there is a sudden thud from the trap door at the top of the stairs leading to the roof. For a few seconds it is followed by nothing more than the howling wind, and then a roar shakes the building. Either there’s a lion on steroids out there, or you’ve got company…
Let the PCs decide what to do. Inspired by the heroic deeds in the epic he was reciting, their host is all for climbing the stairs and taking a peek, something he does on his own if the PCs take too long discussing the situation. (A Senses [Earth] TH2 test is all that’s required to notice him picking up his scimitar and heading for the stairs; he’s not being subtle.) Roars and shrieks can now be heard from above and it sounds like there’s some sort of fight going on, on the roof. Their host is insisting he sees what is happening on his roof, but can be convinced to let the PCs go first (TH-1). If/when the PCs open the trapdoor read, or paraphrase, the following:
The wind is so strong that it snatches the trapdoor out of your hands and slams it open onto the roof. Sand stings your skin and beats against your robes, but you see the crash of the trapdoor has drawn some interesting attention. There is a dragon to the left of you, his snout and claws bloody as he uses his wings to keep him on the roof. There are deep gouges in his chest and flanks, and the shaft of a snapped spear is lodged in one shoulder. The creatures between you are a strange mix. They look like an oversized cross between wild boars and men. Some are wielding scimitars and some spears. All are wearing what looks like a rough leather skirt at their waist with thick cloth bands criss-crossing the reddish-black bristles of their upper torsos. How they flew to the roof, you’ll never know, but they outnumber the dragon eight to one, and he is barely holding his own. The one nearest you turns: “Be gone,” it roars, “lest you join this one in death!”
Let the PCs decide what they are going to do. If they try to talk to the dragon they get no reply as he parries another spear thrust with a swipe of his foreclaw and struggles to keep his balance on the edge of the roof. (NOTE: The Red Boars of Set are particularly powerful. The PCs may need to use their draconic forms in order to survive this battle.)
If they try to recognise what they are facing, have them roll a Knowledge (Ancient Cultures: Egyptian – requires the Sage edge) TH5. PCs with Mythology gain a -1 modifier to the TH, cumulative with the -1 modifier awarded for either of Occult and Religion knowledge skills.
NOTE: This adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.

Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.

Progress Report: Week 3, June 2017

I had a bunch of things I wanted to do this week, but I’m still trying to find an even keel. Stuff got done, despite me changing things around, though, and I found my feet on Babes , but it's been slow, progress-wise.
 
June Progress
New words produced: 6,626Outlines and Notes: 0Works completed: 27 (22 poems, 5 flash fiction)Works edited: 1Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 1,552University Prep and Assignments: N/A
Writing News
This week, in addition to working on getting my fitness and languages back in line I returned to writing a poem and a piece of flash fiction each day. It’s a lot harder to get into this habit than I remember, but I like the unexpected turn of each piece. For the flash fiction pieces, I tend to write into the dark, not knowing what I’m writing when I lay down the first few words. The poetry is much the same, although I will often choose a poetry form if I feel stuck at the start.
I should also remember that the Kindle version of my fantasy short story, This Year’s Starfish, was released on Amazon this week.
June-July Challenge: Babes in London
Now that I’ve reached the writing stage, Babes is coming along a little more slowly than I’d like, but the more I write, the more it comes together. I’m putting this down to the usual slow-down I experience when writing the end of any project—regardless of whether or not I have it plotted out.
This week I discovered that I’d plotted out what had happened to Set—at least, the Set of this campaign—and that helped a lot. I also began work on relevant bits of crunch, which slowed down the adventure writing, but also made it possible to progress the adventure writing. So far, changes are as follows:
Identified and began adding 6 new sires;Added 2 new spells;Refined Scenes 3-3D;Updated blog entries out to July 21;Continued with Scene 3D… slowly.
NOTE: This adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.

Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.
Ingress Updates
I’m working towards my black Spec Ops medal, and my black Trekkers. Each level of the Spec Ops medal is awarded for completing a set number of missions, and levels in the Trekkers medal are awarded for completing a set number of kilometres. Platinum, the Spec Ops level below black, requires 200 missions, but black is the final level and requires 500. This week I reached 366. Likewise, Trekkers platinum only requires 1,000 kilometres, but black requires 2,500, and this week I reached 1,857. Progress on Trekkers has slowed down a lot with the coming of PokemonGo and the need to walk to hatch eggs.
This week, I completed 10 missions for Spec Ops. The first four were stand-alone missions because I needed to complete a row of six before beginning on a series of six that would form a picture. The only way to have a number of series and pictorials display nicely on the scanner is to start each one on a new line—and, even then, they will be pushed out of order with each new mission completed, until you complete a new row, when they will all line up and display properly, again.
These were my first four missions, one was in John Knight Park, a short walk around from Belconnen central, where the other three were located.






















This was my series of six. I did it because I thought the picture was kind of cool.

The series and two of the singles were created for the Magnus Reawakens event, and I couldn’t complete them on that weekend, because I came down with the flu. They were a good way to make those of us who couldn’t attend the anomaly, feel like the wider Ingress community.
Next week, I’ll have to manage my time a lot better, as completing the series ate a lot of writing time on the Tuesday, and I just can’t afford to give that much time. I need to walk more efficiently… if that’s possible.

PokemonGo Updates
This week, I finally reached the first tier of the Skier medal, which was pretty special, given that there are so few ice pokemon here in Canberra. What made it even more special was the fact it was the hatching of my third lapras which got me over the line.




















And, yes, the lapras was another keeper. Perhaps that’s the advantage of belonging to Team Yellow—our hatchlings rarely disappoint. I might also note the irony of the hatchling and the badge occurring the day before the Solstice event.
In addition to the hatchling, I also evolved three new ones to fill some of the gaps in my pokedex:























 





















Fitness
As you might have guessed, I’ve started back into my walking. It’s been… interesting trying to fit it in with my writing. I’m looking forward to the days becoming long enough for my walking to occur first thing, instead of later in the day.
Languages
I also started very slowly back into my languages this week. I think I’m still going to have to divide them up so I’m only doing one a day, and then roll through the days, but I’m at the stage where I can translate the other three into Indonesian, even if I can’t do the reverse.

Babes in London: Act Two, Scene Three B (Anika’s House, Part 7: Flashback—Hounds of the Law: Sentence and Rewards)

SCENE THREE B: HOUNDS OF THE LAW

PART D: SENTENCE & REWARD
Once the capture (or apparent loss) of Brinna and Karymnos is resolved read, or paraphrase, the following, remembering that the PCs did, in their past lives capture the two:
Well, they led you a merry dance, but you caught them in the end. The scene of their capture fades, and you find yourself standing once again before a wooden platform and Lady Amintar. Brinna and Karymnos kneel before her, their heads touching the boards. “… the penalty is death by drowning,” the Lady Amintar is saying. The stern look fades from her face, and she glances down at you with a smile. “And for my hunters I have a new title. You are awarded the position of Hounds of the Law and your services will be retained in perpetuity.” The scene fades and you find yourselves arrayed before Anika’s desk with one thought resting uneasily on your mind. The summons to the trial had come from a member of another brood and you had answered immediately—but now you can’t remember why. You really wish you could, because someone out there appears to owe you a favour.
Allow the PCs to work out what they wish to do next. They may wish to continue searching the house, or they may have completed their search and wish to go elsewhere. If PCs have searched the rest of the house, as well as Anika’s room, and garnered all the clues they can, go to the section titled: ‘Finalizing Scene Three’.

NOTE: This adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.

Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.

Babes in London: Act Two, Scene Three B (Anika’s House, Part 6: Flashback—Hounds of the Law: Rendezvous)

SCENE THREE B: HOUNDS OF THE LAW

PART C: RENDEZVOUS
If PCs are using the dogs:
Dusk is closing in, when the hounds begin to bay. So much for the stealthy approach! Ahead of you, just beyond an outcrop of rocks, you hear a shout of angry frustration, and a woman’s cry of dismay.
PCs have finally caught up with the runaways. Karymnos is a desperate man and slips into hiding the moment the hounds begin to bay; his plan is to make his way into the river and let its current carry him downstream and to the other side. He has given Brinna instructions to do the same, and the pair split up, confusing the dogs with a choice of two scent trails. As PCs round the outcrop, read or paraphrase the following:
Apart from a horse still tethered to a tree, a picnic blanket spread in the late afternoon sun, and the hastily discarded remains of someone’s supper, the area beyond the outcrop is empty. The dogs reach the blanket and begin circling to regain the scent; there is sudden confusion as the lead hound tries to continue the pursuit in one direction and his second lead lunges in another.
Let the PCs work out how to handle this before allowing them to close the pursuit. Because Karymnos is trying to be stealthy, he is moving slower than any PC and dog combination, but the same cannot be said for Brinna who is fleeing headlong for the water, discarding pieces of clothing, and anything else that might slow her down, as she goes.
If PCs are not using the dogs
Have them make three Air (Senses) TH3 tests against Karymnos’ Air (Stealth) TH3 (it’s hard to hide traces of the pack horse’s passage through the undergrowth). If the third test is successful read or paraphrase the following:
From behind another outcrop of rocks, you hear the sound of voices, soft laughter and the restless stamp of a horse.
Let PCs work out how to tackle this situation. Whatever they do, as soon as they show themselves, Karymnos and Brinna bolt for the river, heading in two different directions as described above. In this case, however, Karymnos won’t be trying to be stealthy unless he manages to lose whoever is following him in the undergrowth.
KARYMNOS – ATLANTEAN HUNTEREra Mythic; Race Natural being; APL 2; Init 8; Aspects Fire 4, Water 3, Air 4, Earth 3; Health 3m; <3/ 3+ / 6+ /9+ / 12+ / 15+ / 18+ / 21+; Size/Reach 0 / 2; Armor 0; Karma 3; Stride 20 ft. (Moderate)Throwing Dagger 4/L , Recurve Bow 10/M, Long Sword 10/M,Fist (2) 3/L, Kick (2) 4/M, Sequences Knife FightingSkills Athletics 5; Knowledge: Finances 4; Knowledge: Geography 4; Knowledge: Law 3; Medicine 3; Melee 5; Ranged 6; Senses 5; Stamina 4; Stealth 6; Travel 5; Will 5; Edges:Allies: Smugglers 5; Circumspect 3, Deft 3, Stealthy
BRINNA – ATLANTEAN FREEHOLDEREra Mythic; Race Natural being; APL 0; Init ; Aspects Fire 3, Water 3, Air 3, Earth 4; Health 4m; <3 / 6+ / 9+ / 12+ / 15+ / 18+ / 21+ / 24+; Size/Reach 0 / 2; Armor 0; Karma 15; Stride 20 ft. (Moderate)Fist (2) 3/L, Kick (2) 4/M, Sequences Skills Athletics 4, Knowledge: Farming 4, Knowledge: Finances: 2, Knowledge: Mythic Culture (Atlantis) 2, Stamina 4; Edges Allies: Freehold, Durable, Network: Freehold.

NOTE: This adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.

Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.

Babes in London: Act Two, Scene Three B (Anika’s House, Part 5: Flashback—Hounds of the Law: The Chase)

SCENE THREE B: HOUNDS OF THE LAW

PART B: THE CHASEFrom here, the PCs match their skills at hunting and tracking against Karymnos’ skills. The hunter has used the main path for much of the way, both for speed and to hide his trail. After 6 hours of traveling in the dark and 3 hours of hard riding, he left the trail and headed down the mountain, using rocky outcrops and stony ground to hide his diversion. He is heading for Heiron’s River where he has arranged to meet a boat to take him and Brinna to Elios, which is in the opposite direction to which he is expected to go.
If they are using the dogs , the PCs reach the rocky outcrop where Karymnos left the path around mid-afternoon. Read or paraphrase the following:
The dogs are looking tired, but very pleased with themselves. Eight hours of tracking, and they think they’re still on the scent. The trail turns a corner, and the trees give way to a bulge of rock that extends across the path and up and down the hill on either side. The dogs stop. One sneezes. Another rubs its nose. The third dog glares at you as though it’s your fault, and the fourth sits down and looks confused. It’s the lead dog that picks up the trail again. After two more sneezing episodes, it begins to pull you away from the trail, and over the rocks leading down the mountainside.
If the PCs want to double check the dogs’ decision they must make an Air (Senses) TH3 test against Karymnos’ Air (Stealth) TH1 test in order to notice that something has disturbed the rocks and nearby shrubbery. Otherwise they can follow the dogs. (Go to Part C: Rendezvous)
If they are not using the dogs , the PCs must make six Air (Senses) TH3 tests while following the trail. Success means they note some tangible sign that he has passed along the trail be it a distinctive hoof mark, a scrap of cloth from a woman’s dress, evidence that someone ‘had to go’ in the bushes not far from the trail, a discarded food scrap etc. Once they reach the rocky outcrop at mid-afternoon, have them make another Air (Senses) TH3 test against Karymnos’ Air (Stealth) in order to pick up and keep the hunter’s trail. (Karymnos had a TH1 to leave the trail successfully at this point due to the rocky nature of both the trail and the ground beyond it.) If the PCs fail to pick up the trail at this point, they come across a hunter’s camp further on and learn that no-one has passed that way for the last two days – the hunters can help put them back on the trail if they need it, or the PCs can back track, making tests until they pick up the trail again. When they find it, continue with Part C: Rendezvous.

NOTE: This adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.

Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.

NEW RELEASE: This Year’s Star Fish

This Year's Star Fish has just been released on Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle, and DriveThruFiction, as well as for distribution via Draft2Digital. This fantasy short follows the theme of pursuing a dream.


Every year the fish come down from the stars, and every year Faulknor hopes they come for him. Well, this year he’s tired of waiting; this year it’s his turn to do the seeking. This year, he’s going to catch himself the fish of his dreams. This year, he’s coming for them… just as soon as he’s finished with the assassin, and the elf with its human and orc sidekicks. Yeah, after that he’s going to find himself a fish.

Progress Report: Week 2, June 2017

Last week, work continued on Babes in London and Freeman’s Choice . I also got into some editing and formatting for Ellie Moonwater’s July release. All in all, it was a pretty busy week, and I didn’t get to spend a lot of time on any new writing. I’ve noticed my fitness and language study have gone by the wayside, so I have to get those back on track—which is one of the reasons I’m posting this report late, as I started this Sunday. I’m discovering that getting stuff done isn’t difficult, but getting a bunch of different bits of stuff done across the board is harder. Languages and exercise are a daily commitment, as it writing, and the other everyday chores. It’s not easy to fit them all in and have a reasonable balance of life. That’s the tricky part. I should be somewhere close by the time the last semester of university kicks in. Hopefully, this time, I’ll be able to maintain it despite the uni commitments.
June ProgressNew words produced: 2,197Outlines and Notes: 0Works completed: 0Works edited: 2Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 14,436University Prep and Assignments: N/AWriting NewsLast week I set down four major goals to complete this week. The first was to finish the first edit of Freeman’s Choice . The second was to finish Wheelchair Mermaid, until I remembered I had to finalise the second release for July—one of Ellie Moonwater’s novellas. The third was to reach the point in Babes in London where I was adding new words to the module.
Well, on Tuesday I completed the first edit of Freeman’s Choice , a novel that blends science fiction and fantasy. On Wednesday, I finished the edit of Ellie Moonwater’s The Contract and moved into the formatting stage for CreateSpace. Babes reached the appropriate point, but then I had to do some refamiliarising before new writing could commence.
June-July Challenge: Babes in LondonWork continues—and it wouldn’t if you hadn’t asked, because this project is huge. I am enjoying it, though, even though it’s just a fan piece and will never be officially recognised. It’s fun.
Changes made this week, include:
Act 3, Scene 2A: fixed a gender incontinuity in an NPC, and clarified a couple of points;Act 3, Scene 2B: edits and minor clarifications;Act 3, Scene 3A: edits, and added a description of the environment where the fight with the beby takes place;Act 3, Scene 3B: edits, added a description of the battle environment and effects, and NPC actions;Act 3, All Scenes: added in social media aspects;

I had to prioritise some publishing this week, so work on Babes wasn’t as consistent. I did, however, set aside Saturday to complete the week’s quota. I reached the end of what I had written in May 2006, and continued writing. However, I had to spend a fair amount of time going back over the setting to make sure I understood taint and the relevant rules as I started working toward completing the final scene in Act 3. Next week, the story continues.Ingress UpdatesNot much new to report. I had a very slow Ingress week as I worked towards getting my publishing schedule on track. Unfortunately, that also meant my fitness activity went right out the window, as well, so next week I’ll be back into the walking and the Ingress.PokemonGo UpdatesNew Kanto additions to the Pokedex:
Pokemon #131 (Kanto)
This chap was lurking by the road not far from a bus stop, so I captured him and added him to the collection. He was, however, in need of improvement, so I sent him off to the Professor in short order.There’s not a lot else to report. As I said, I focussed on my publishing schedule and my walking was seriously neglected. This is something I aim at fixing next week as I work towards establishing a sustainable work-life balance that will see me writing and publishing well into the future.OtherWorked my way through my started titles and roughed out a publishing schedule to see how long it would take to publish them all… too long, and the writing pace would be unsustainable. I let the initial version stew for a few days, and then worked out what looks like an achievable publishing schedule for three writing names that I could sustain as a career. Including time for Eleanor’s work, I’m down to three releases a month, but I can have weekends, family, and fitness time.

Babes in London: Act Two, Scene Three B (Anika’s House, Part 4: Flashback—Hounds of the Law: Investigation)

SCENE THREE B: HOUNDS OF THE LAW
PART A: INVESTIGATION
Let the PCs work out what to do. At the moment, they are in the alternate form most useful for this age. They can use the abilities of that form, or take on their draconic forms if they so choose. They do have dogs available to them, and a guide can be found to take them to Breytos’ house, where one of the dead man’s daughters can be found. She can give them something of her mothers that the dogs can get a scent from and the hunt can begin. The PCs are also able to move around the village asking questions. The following skills apply:
·               Research (Mental):TH1: Karymnos, Breytos’ neighbour, was a fur trader and hunter. He has not been seen since yesterday evening when he was gathering supplies for another of his hunting trips. Breytos’ wife, Brinna, was last seen locking her doors an hour after dusk. (Neither of her daughters saw her this morning, however, but assumed she had business in the village—a fact that is easily checked and found to be false.).TH3: Karymnos hunted mostly the eastern side of the mountain above the village, but traded with Marethykos village, another community on the other side of the mountain. There is a trail to the community, used only by hunters and peddlers.
·               Knowledge (Atlantean Geography):Characters aware of Atlantean geography for this age may try to work out other ways Breytos could have taken to escape the village without taking the main trail.TH1: There are numerous small trails all over the mountain. Some even lead to communities on the other side, but are mostly used by peddlers and hunters.TH3: If Breytos wanted to avoid using the main trail, and still reach a port, he would try to reach Marethykos, a village on the other side of the mountain. From there he could make his way down to the sea, and take passage from the fishing village of Kykos to any of the ports. Marethykos is two days away which means the runaways won’t reach it until tomorrow mid-morning at the earliest (tomorrow evening if they stop to rest for the night).
Other Notes: A guide can be found to lead them to the trail to Marethykos. Slender and wiry, this otherwise pretty young lady bears the scars of a lion’s strike across one shoulder and the top of an arm. If asked, she calmly informs the character that she forgot that mask cats hunt in pairs. If pressed for details a shadow crosses her face and she changes the subject to the location of the path, where she leaves them. Her name is Alyssia and she is a hunter by trade. If PCs are actively trying to gain more information from her they can make an Air (Interaction) test. The following THs reveal the following information: TH1: Alyssia knows of no other trails that the runaways could have taken as a short cut, but Karymnos was a skilled hunter and kept his secrets well.TH2: No-one has used the track for days.TH3: Karymnos’ pack-horse has a distinctive track mark. His near-fore hoofprint has an indented triangle on the inner left-hand side.

New PokemonGo Medal… and a Lapras

This week, I kicked off my walking, again. Hatching eggs in PokemonGo helps with the motivation—especially when you hatch one of these!

She’s a strong pokemon, and worth keeping. Plus, I get to use the candies to power up my first lapras (which was also my very first hatchling playing pokemongo). It was a pretty good day, and then this popped up:
I’m a simple critter at heart. This made the last 10 km of walking well worth it… never mind the practical good it does.
It was just a bit ironic that the Solstice event started the very next day…