C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 196

So Far this Week: 25 November 2013

So far this week I've managed to:

Release one fantasy short story:

Upload a science fiction novella, in both large- and normal-print versions, to the print-on-demand platform CreateSpace - which means it will be available from Amazon later this week, and other outlets in the near future

Rejig the Simpson Anthologies page so it's more up-to-date and has the most recent, complete offerings on top.This is more than I've managed in a while, so I'm pretty pleased with progress so far.

New Release: Death Comes in Bone

Death Comes in Bone has just been released to Amazon, Smashwords, OmniLit, Kobo and Drivethrufiction. Of these, Smashwords and OmniLit are now live; the others will follow over the next few days.

Progress Report: Week 4 November 2013

Better this week. Slowly recovering from the flu, slowly organising time so I can get the writing I need to get done, done. Still working my way through a beta read, but I was told it was less urgent, so I’ve slowed. I only skipped one class this week, due to not feeling well. And, as you can see, I’ve started working my way through the outstanding tiers. I probably won’t be where I hoped to be at the end of the year, but I’ll come close. I’m still on track for writing, publishing or revising 1,000,000 words this year, and most of my earlier work is out. Next year, I expect my tempo to slow as I wrap my head around producing more completely new, written-from-scratch projects. Two of those are currently under way and on track, and there are more in the pipeline, but who knows what the new year will bring. Hey, right now, I don’t even know what the day job will bring—but, if I knew it all, life would be pretty boring, right? Right? For those of you who write, I hope this is helpful—and, for those of you who read, I hope I can write something you’ll enjoy. Have a great week all.
OverviewNew words produced: 6,632Old words revised: 33,878Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0 (1-3 variations)Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms)Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Tier 1 Tasks
SciFanNovel1A—Freeman’s Choice: Edited chapters 1-14
Extra Tasks
Added 3,000 words to Annual14.Added 2,000 words to Annual13
Publishing TasksAdministrative tasks such as working on a new database, tracking sales and titles undertaken and completed.New ArrivalsThe following ideas arrived this week:

Poem198—Truth, the Tale, the Teller, the Told: about how stories change in representationPoem199—Spring-Time Trees: a haiku about leaves in spring.Poem200—The Importance of Silence: an exploration of silence and sleepPoem201—Together, the Further we Fly: about cooperation and changePoem202—If you Hear me Calling: about making your way through lifePoem203—Flowers in the Wind: about flowers… in the wind.Poem204—Chances, Choices and Life: about life decisionsPoem205—The Way of the Throne: loss in a time of victoryPoem206—I Wait for the Dawn: about a werewolfPoem207—Everyone wants to be a Movie Star: about different personalities and the spotlightPoem208—Hunting Hawk: about a hunting hawkPoem209—What’s Wrong with Modern Man?: a question on personalities of modern peoplePoem210—With the Birds Gone: on global warming and disaster;Poem211—A Note on Success and Failure: musings on success and failure;Poem212—The Dragon’s Revenge: about a dragon’s revenge;Poem213—With our Hopes O’er Sea and Star: musings on explorations both historic and futuristicShortStory128—Mr Teddy’s Secret:flash fiction about a little girl and her teddy bearShortStory129—The Battle for our Dreams and Nightmares: flash fiction about a war undertaken while we sleepShortStory130—The Red Horizon’s Last Flight: flash fiction steampunk set in AustraliaShortStory131—When Hell Froze Over:flash science fiction about a colonyShortStory132—The Dinabranki Defeat:flash science fiction about an alien ‘invasion’.ShortStory 133—Hunters in the Dusk: flash urban paranormal fiction about things that hunt come nightfallShortStory134—Pixie Dust and Unicorns:flash urban paranormal crime noir fiction about pixies and unicornsShortStory135—Pixie Dust Drug Bust: flash urban paranormal crime noir fiction about a drug bust involving pixie dust;ShortStory136—Never Irritate a Pixie:flash urban paranormal crime noir fiction about why you should never upset a pixie

Carlie Simonsen on Writing for the Youngers

  As Carlie Simonsen, I originally wrote this piece for the Dark Side Down Under website, six months ago, and we’ve asked her to repeat it here. Carlie writes mostly speculative and paranormal fiction for Younger readers, and very rarely hint at romance. She also writes science fiction ( Dear Tiger, Rocky to the Rescue ), fantasy ( Assassin, Not ), contemporary ‘reality’ with a twist ( Long Hair, Tag Man One, The Dog’s Way ), science-fiction-fantasy blends ( Spit ), and contemporary reality with no twist ( Legacy of Dreams, All Alone ).

So, people ask me why I write for a younger audience, and what they need to do in order to write successfully for that age group. Over the years, I’ve come up with the following tips, or rules:

The first rule is DON’T WRITE DOWN: No one likes being talked down to, or having it all explained as if they are too stupid to work it out for themselves. Just write the story. Write to entertain. Youngers are *young*; they’re not morons, and they’re far from stupid. Don’t treat them as either.
Secondly: LEAVE OUT THE LECTURE: A story should never be a lecture. Sure, you might have some points you want to get across, but you’re a story teller first, and, for that, the story MUST come first. You’re not there to preach, or ram a few good points down anyone’s throat. You’re there to tell a story. The hardest hurdle to get over when I started in this genre was to get my head around this simple point. Editors wanted stories ‘with meaning’, stories that ‘had a moral’ or ‘a point’, or they wanted it to be wrapped in humour, or ‘e: all of the above’. Forget that. Write the story. If Youngers are your audience, then write a story they’ll enjoy, just the same as you would, if you were writing a story for an adult audience.
Third: FORGET THE MARKET: Think of the story you want to write and the audience you want to write it for. Some might think that a story that doesn’t ‘fit’ a market isn’t worth writing, or that the audience *is* the market, but this isn’t the case. What a publisher asks for isn’t necessarily what the audience wants to read. The story is king, and, as with every other genre, you can stifle it by trying to make it fit into a box (or set of guidelines) it was never made to go in. Worse, it can make it very difficult to write anything. Remember, you can independently publish. If a publisher doesn’t want to take a chance on your work because the content doesn’t match their perception of the market OR because your work simply doesn’t suit the style and flavour of the lines they have established, don’t try to jam your story into a shape it was never meant to be. Chances are it won’t be worth reading, or it will come across as forced.
Fourth: KEEP IT SIMPLE: And I don’t mean the story; I mean the sentence structure and words. Remember, Youngers don’t have the word experience of an adult (although a few would give the “grown-ups” a run for their money). In terms of writing for Youngers this means keeping the following in mind:
The nuts and bolts of your work need to have a simple but clear structure. Shorter sentences work best, but varying the length of sentences is still important for a smooth flow. Use words that don’t require a PhD to understand (another good rule that applies to books for Olders).
·         Use words Youngers are likely to encounter in everyday life, over words they’re going to need a dictionary or an Older for. Every time your reader has to stop and check something out, they are pulled out of your story. You don’t want this, no matter what age you write for.
Fifth: SUBJECT SUITABILITY: Yes, I know I said the story is king, but you are writing for Youngers. Some stories are best told to an older age group. If you wouldn’t talk about it to your own children, or you wouldn’t feel comfortable reading it out loud to a Younger audience with an adult (teacher, parent, person off the street) looking over your shoulder, then you might want to re-think who you are writing for: perhaps, that story is not a Younger tale, but something for the Olders. Having said all that, you can see that some of the subjects I write about touch on “issues” such as being in a wheelchair and losing your original hopes and dreams ( Legacy of Dreams ), being away from your parents and not fitting in ( Dear Tiger ), and some are mostly story with only a little bit of controversy, such as law enforcement and gun control in a semi-war setting ( Spit ), or facing down fear to save your family and move house ( Rocky to the Rescue ).
Sixth: RELINQUISH REALITY: Okay, not all of reality, just a little bit—just enough for your story to live and breathe. It’s like writing a story where the world isn’t quite what it seems, where the unlikely *can* reasonably happen. For instance, where you can use your hair as an effective weapon in karate ( Long Hair ), or a Younger can climb into the cockpit of the latest fighter jet and fly it away from a bunch of bad guys trying to steal it ( TagMan One ). You’re telling a story. Always remember that.
Now get out there and write.
And all the best of luck
 
More About Carlie Simonsen:
As Carlie Simonsen I have independently published fourteen chapter books for Youngers, and am working on my fifteenth. I started writing in the genre in response to a number of publisher calls for submissions. Unfortunately, I soon learned I couldn’t write ‘funny’ to save myself, and took the hint from a few good-hearted editors that my work just wasn’t going to ‘fit’ an established market, although they encouraged me to keep trying. The result is a number of quirky stories that I hope are entertaining even though they touch on issues such as children left alone after a supermarket bombing ( AllAlone ), bullying in—and out of—the playground (The Dog’s Way and Yard Boss ), pursuing the most unlikely dreams through hard work and effort ( Long Hair ), and doing the right thing even when it means change ( Assassin, Not ).

Adventure Edition: Babes in London, Act 3 - Little Girls Found, Scene 2

You can find the links to each of the preceding episodes of the Babes in London adventure sequence HERE.

To play or run this game you will need the following:

PLAYERS: Fireborn Player's Handbook ;
GAME MASTERS: Fireborn Gamemaster's Handbook ;

This is a piece of fan fiction. It is NOT endorsed or acknowledged by Fantasy Flight Games; it is IN NO WAY official; it DOES NOT indicate any form of relationship between myself and Fantasy Flight Games; and I DO NOT CLAIM any of the setting specific material or setting specific concepts as my own.

Warning: Due to a lack of playtesters, this section has yet to be tested. GMs may need to adjust opponents to suit the level of your PCs.

PLAYERS SHOULD NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT  
      







Scene 2: Follow-Up (LN7)





It takes an hour or so, but in the end you find them. The dolphin-shirt-wearing dog boy is in the same café as before, and this time he has given the dog something quieter to chew. Strangely enough, you notice that the café’s curtains are drawn shortly after you arrive and the ‘OPEN’ sign flipped to ‘CLOSED’ after you enter. “What is it you had to tell me?” he asks as the shop assistant disappears into the café’s kitchen, closing the door behind them.
We think Anika’s parents have been kidnapped:LN7 take this seriously and get PCs to describe their reasoning as fully as possible. They don’t know what is special about Anika, but they do know she’s special – and, as such, they don’t want anything upsetting her. Having to explain to her that her parents have disappeared could lead to difficulties in gaining the child’s cooperation that they would rather avoid. On the other hand… When the PCs have completed their explanation, Agent Mark Ambersides, tasks them with finding the girls’ parents as soon as possible and offers a bonus of £500 if they are able to retrieve Anika’s mum and dad alive.Someone tried to kidnap Leyila’s parents:This is another piece of news that LN7 did not want to hear – and for much the same reasons that they did not want to hear that Anika’s parents were kidnapped. Again, the agent will extract as full a report as he can from PCs before tasking them with the task of finding out as much as they can about the Setites. He is evasive on what the reward for this would be, telling PCs that it depends on how important his organization considers the information.Showing Anika’s Book of Lawor Leyila’s Book of Songs: Mark’s eyes light up and he mutters: ‘Are you seeing this?’ to himself. ‘May I?’ he asks, reaching towards the book, ‘I’d just like to look.’ If PCs allow him to look, he takes his time, turning the pages slowly all his attention focused on the book in his hand. PCs have to speak to him twice in order to get his attention. He asks if they would be willing to donate the book to his organization’s library in exchange for access to the other books. (He will buy it if necessary for £1,000 and, in fact, makes the offer of purchase if PCs appear to be even the least bit hesitant.) If PCs agree to either donating or selling the book, they are granted Access to LN7’s Library Assistance.Showing the disc: “Well, I never.” Mark has not encountered the Setites before, either as a recorded cult or in the flesh, so to speak. He draws out all the information he can from the PCs encounters with the Setites and quickly comes to the conclusion that the Setites are another threat to add to LN7’s list. Looking at the disk, he mutters: “And you say you have no idea who these people are?” If PCs have not been to the library/museum or whatever, then Mark directs them to either the librarian or the archaeologist at the museum. He also obtains authorization to pay the PCs a £500 bonus for any further information they might find on the group behind the disk.Setites are behind the kidnapping of the parents: “Who?” Neither Mark or LN7 have heard of the Setites, but both are very interested in finding out who this new possible threat might be. Mark gains authorization to offer the PCs a £500 bonus for any information they can glean on this group. There is an air of suppressed urgency behind his request.Revealing the PCs draconic heritage/incarnation: “You’re sure?” Mark asks, his lips twitching. “You’re not related to werewolves?” He is fishing for proof. Faced with the PCs’ indignation, wrath, or proof behind their claim, he restrains his anxiety and excitement and states that the PCs’ heritage places them in a better position for finding the children. He is interested, however, and he is sure his company is interested as well, so, after the children are found and brought to safety he would like to meet with them again and discuss their unusual heritage. It’s possible that the people he represents will be interested in employing people of the PCs’ rare talents.Someone tried to kidnap the artist David Markovin: “The fellow that paints the unicorns?” This interests LN7 very much. They are aware of the supernatural influence behind David’s unicorn paintings, but not of what it might be. They would like more influence on the group behind the kidnap attempt so that they might find out the reason behind the attempt. In the meantime, they put a watch on the artist (an unofficial protection team). Setites are behind the kidnapping/kidnap attempt on the artist David Markovin: “I haven’t heard of this group before. What can you tell me about them?” With LN7 aware of the supernatural influence behind David’s unicorn paintings, Mark wants to find out everything he can about any group that would go to the length of kidnapping the artist. Such a group might prove a threat to LN7 and the populace of London in general. He gains authorization to offer the PCs a £500 bonus to find out more about the Setites.Revealing what happened when PCs investigated the disc at the library, museum or university:This interests Mark almost as much as hearing about the Setites as it alerts him to another resource that might not be in LN7’s libraries as well as giving him another person (librarian or archaeologist) on whose skills the group can call. He is authorized to offer further payments for any other information along these lines that they PCs are able to obtain. (£50 for all information with the possibility of bonuses depending on how its value might be perceived by the company at the time it is offered.)
ONCE THE PCS HAVE TOLD ALL THEY’RE GOING TO TELL: There is a moment of silence and Mark seems to be considering something. Finally, he leans forward and says: “Okay, up until now you’ve been on a kind of probation, but now we need you to find these girls and we need you to find them fast. And since they don’t know who you are – or who we are, there are a couple of things you really ought to know. About a year ago, a group of pedophiles tried a snatch on the pair in that park where you first met them. They failed. Two grown-ups from a particularly nasty background and they were found bailed up in the toilet block, petrified of two little girls. You need to be particularly careful when dealing with the pair; don’t frighten them and don’t make them feel the need to defend themselves. All those weird things that have been happening lately aren’t just rumor; some of them are real – and these two little girls, whether they realize it or not, are a better part of it. We think there are other elements, incredibly nasty elements, of that weirdness after them and we’d like to find them first. We think they can help us, once they’re grown, but we don’t think they’re going to get to grow up if we don’t help them first. And that includes protecting their family. You should also know that we think the girls are part of a group of about five children, but they’re the only two we’ve managed to identify so if you find any more children with them, and they seem to be friends bring them all in. And be careful. Those of us who can see such things have had visions. Something is after these kids and it isn’t friendly.” IF THE PCS HAVE TOLD MARK THAT THEY ARE REINCARNATED DRAGONS: He takes a breath and nods as though coming to a decision: “You’re dragons, so you say.” He waves down your protest. “I believe you. And because you are what you are I am authorized to tell you that these girls are dragons too. We can’t tell what brood, but we think there are about five of them and we don’t think they’ve found each other yet. That’s our job – and we may need your help on that one as well; once we get the girls back and safe. As I said, something big is after them and you need to get to them first.” DISCUSSION:Mark will assure the PCs that his company has every intention of protecting the children’s families. He won’t reveal anything more of LN7 except that they’re responsible for protecting people from the ‘worst kinds of weirdness that’s happening’. He won’t put the PCs on the pay roll. He will, if asked, tell the PCs of other organizations who know of the ‘weirdness’ and will mention the Gehenna Consortium specifically, warning the PCs of his suspicions that the Consortium only wishes to utilize the weirdness for its own profit and that it doesn’t care for the safety of the community at large, which is the focus of his company. He says that the PCs shouldn’t have any dealings with the Consortium and that if they do have any current dealings, then LN7 will overlook it if the PCs cease these dealings now. If the PCs continue to deal with the Consortium, he warns, them LN7 will no longer be able to hire them.WHERE TO NEXT?Once their conversation with Mark is over, PCs have the following options (if they have not already taken them):try to find mythological references to red boars. Go to Act 3, Scene 4 – Follow-up (Library Investigation); Act 3, Scene 4b – Follow-up (University Investigation); OR Act 3, Scene 4c – Follow-up (Museum Investigation), whichever is appropriate.try to find out what the symbol on the disc and the Red Boars means – without going to Emblae or the Fae of Haverhill. Go to Act 3, Scene 4 – Follow-up (Library Investigation); Act 3, Scene 4b – Follow-up (University Investigation); OR Act 3, Scene 4c – Follow-up (Museum Investigation), whichever is appropriate.go to Emblae (if they have played The Fire Within) to find out what the symbol on the disc and the Red Boars means – in which case the faery identifies the creatures as the Red Boars of Set and gives them the information listed on pp. 36-37;go to the Fae of Haverhill (if they have played The Fire Within) to find out what the symbol on the disc and the Red Boars means in which case PCs receive the information on p. 37contact the Gehenna Consortium if they wish to ignore Mark’s warning, go to Act 3, Scene 3 – Follow-up (Gehenna Consortium).
If PCs have completed the above options, or don’t wish to complete them, they may want to visit Tenson’s Place. In which case, go to Act 4, Scene 1 – Anika’s Refuge
Next Week: Babes in London, Act 3 - Little Girls Found, Scene 3 (Gehenna Consortium)

Australan Insects: Ichneumon Wasp... I think

So, sometimes insects get inside and get stuck behind the glass and get a bit poorly. Most don't survive, but this one is one we were able to take outside in time. Clear plastic containers are a must, and you never put hand over the base, but always on the edges. Most insects (and spiders) are used to looking out for predators from above. Having a hand on the base of your clear, plastic containers kinda defeats the purpose.




He was much happier once we got him outside. I'm not sure what he'd doing here - hunting? eating? Whatever it is, it kept him busy for ages.

Flash Fiction Challenge Response - The Dinabranki Defeat

And here is the result of this week's terribleminds' flash fiction challenge - the first line is from David Novack's entry to last week's challenge. Enjoy!
 
The Dinabranki in Defeat

“Well,” Jimmy muttered, “it was clearly a mistake picking this room to piss in.”He’d give them this: they hadn’t taken the safeties off until he’d closed the door behind him—and then a volley of clicks had clattered around the room. Add the sudden presence of a large, square barrel pressed against his skull, and Jimmy had very nearly wet himself.It was clearly a mistake to have come in here at all, but Jimmy hadn’t been planning on pissing when he’d tickled the lock and slipped quickly inside. Jimmy had been planning on finding out exactly what the dinabranki were hiding behind their corporate front, what interest they had on a colony world so distant from their own. He looked over his shoulder, saw old-fashioned side arms, and well-armoured soldiers, and slowly turned. Now he knew.Taking a breath, he opened his mouth, but that was as far as he got. A large splay-fingered hand slammed into the base of this throat and pushed him against the door. The dinabranki equivalent of ‘Silence!’ rattled against his skull, the impact of the half-heard, half-felt sound setting his teeth on edge. Jimmy fought to feel past the sensation, registered the body search that took his lock-picks, his concealed rattlegun and the sonic calypso from his jacket. It also lightened his belt, shirt and boots of stun and melt grenades and the electro-blade. A quick goose in more private places relieved him of the general toolkit. Damn.‘This way.’ No sound this time, just a rough invasion of his mind that left him knock-kneed and dizzy.The hand released its grip on his throat and Jimmy followed. The mind-speak, painful as it was, had intrigued him. The rumours said they needed permission—and he wasn’t going to give it.‘It matters not.’Jimmy gagged, stumbling under a sudden sensation of vertigo. Hands steadied him, curled over his head to guide him through a door in the far wall. He figured if they mind-spoke him again, he’d black out. He didn’t want to black out. The dinabranki were showing him exactly what he’d come to see.Beyond the grubby façade of a storage room, via a concealed door and short, dark length of corridor, was the platform for the dinabranki transport line. Jimmy was trying to orient it with what he knew of the building, when his captor ‘spoke’ again—‘Get in’—and the lights went out.Jimmy came round to the sour smelling fumes of galogen. Great, now he was gonna puke. No human known could fake sleeping through that stuff. His stomach cramped, and he rolled onto his knees, losing his lunch into a quickly produced bucket. These guys had come prepared—Jimmy tried to steady his thoughts—which meant they’d known they were out to catch a human… which meant they’d known someone was going to try and do exactly what he had tried to do.His stomach quietened and he waited for the second round. There was always a second round. Jimmy used it for some more thinking.They’d been waiting for him… or someone like him. How had they known?Something scratched across the raw inside of his head and he groaned. The sensation went away. When his captor spoke again, it used speech.“You come,” it said, helping him to his feet, and turning him away from the transport. They were in a hangar-like area, except there were no aircraft, only a single opaque sheet of bronze across the far end of the room. It glistened slightly, wavering before his eyes.Jimmy wanted to protest that he wasn’t going anywhere, and definitely not near that shifting bronze curtain. His dinabranki guardian correctly interpreted his reluctance and curled its hand around his bicep, walking him forward. Matter transferral, Jimmy had heard, was better done when conscious—and it could hurt like a—The dinabranki walked him straight into the curtain, and Jimmy tensed. There was no pain, not even when the light turned to verdigris, before shifting to bronze. No pain, but the sight that greeted him as he stepped onto the dinabranki home-world, made Jimmy catch his breath. After moving him a few shuffling steps forward, his captor let go.“You are from the government, yes?” At least the dinabranki was still speaking out loud.“Yes.”“You will speak for us.” It wasn’t a question.Jimmy wanted to say he didn’t have the power to reach anyone important, that very few paid any attention to his reports. He wanted to say no one would listen, then remembered the recording device tucked behind his eyes. It saw what he saw, heard what he heard—unless, of course, the sound was solely in his mind.“I will report what I see,” he said.“Then scan everything you can see, but be quick; we are very short of time.”Jimmy did as he was told, scanning the sky to record the sheets of smoke covering it. He scanned the horizon showing the row of volcanoes erupting in concert, scanned the land between, showing the crevasse that had ripped its way through the centre of what had been the dinabranki capital, and which now boiled with sea water from the nearby ocean, which had rushed in to fill the gap—filmed the silent crowd, gathered before the gate. Done, he took a breath, choked on ash-laden air.“What happened?” he croaked.“We lost the war,” the dinabranki said. “Above the clouds is a fleet of warships. When we refused to surrender, they concentrated their fire power on five specific weak points in the world tectonics, setting off a chain of earthquakes. The volcanoes are erupting as a result. Sometime in the next 24 hours, a hot spot will erupt, and then the world will descend into another ice age. Guesses are it will take over a century before the world can support us, again. We need refuge until then.”Jimmy scanned the crowd.“I will speak for you,” he said.

Flash Fiction Challenge - Opening Line Decision Time

Last week's flash fiction challenge over at the terribleminds blog was to write a 15-words-or-less opening line. I missed that by making the mistake of putting it off until later. My bad. This week, however, the challenge is to select one of the 15-words-or-less opening lines and write a 1,000-word-or-less piece of flash fiction. Now don't getting all excited on me; I haven't finished it yet... actually, I haven't started it BUT I have, at last selected an opening line.

Of the five pages worth of opening lines, there were a few that were clearly over the limit, and a number that didn't grab my creative conscious by what passes for its throat... and there were a number of opening lines that missed the throat but caught my attention.

My first pass brought the number of lines down to 20 written by:

Arwa Stone, mikepaul, Jera, Tony Taylor, Kevin George, Alecia Millar, thatcalamity, Jess, jebdarsh, JD, Julia, Brennan, Gabe K, feralbulb, Sean Tadsen, ILikeBubbles, Mikey Campling, Dave Farmer, viewfromtuesday, and David Novack.

My second pass dropped that to nine that I really liked:

mikepaul, Jera, Alecia Millar, Jess, JD, feralbulb, Sean Tadsen, ILikeBubbles, and David Novack.

The third pass took me to four:

Jera, Alecia Millar,  ILikeBubbles, and David Novack.

The fourth took me to two:

ILikeBubbles, and David Novack.

And then I had to decide. This week, if I can get my act together, I will start my flash fiction with  David Novack's beginning: "Well," Jimmy muttered, "it was clearly a mistake picking this room to piss in."

Of course, the lines that first grabbed my attention (yup, all 20 of 'em), will probably continue to haunt me. You should go check 'em out. Well done, one and all, and thank you for giving my imagination a kick.

Progress Report: Week 3 November 2013

Another week, spent mostly sleeping and studying—this time for an unexpected assessment. Writing still got done, just not as much as I’d like.OverviewNew words produced: 2,704Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0 (1-3 variations)Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms)Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Publishing TasksNilNew ArrivalsThe following ideas arrived this week:
ShortStory121—Bellberries and Chime Beetles:flash fiction about a little girl, a dragon, and a bellberryShortStory122—Not a Gentleman:flash fiction about a woman and an ungentlemanly dateShortStory123—A Pizza in Electrified Peace: flash fiction about trolls, elves, electricity and pizzaShortStory124—The Rosethorn Citadel Broadcast: flash fiction about zombies and a sanctuary… and rosesShortStory125—Samphire and the Dragon’s Pact: flash fiction about a girl, a pony and a dragonShortStory126—One Natural Span or Another: flash fiction about a death wishShortStory127—The Lady Margreath and her Lord: flash fiction about a lady, her maid and the lady’s lord

Progress Report: Week 2 November 2013

Another week of illness and change. I managed to miss two of the three usual classes this week AND take two days off. Bit of a downer, after starting the week so well.

OverviewNew words produced: 3,441Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 1 (1-4 variations)Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms)Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0 Publishing TasksCreated 1 blog posts for this blog;Created the book cover for C.M. Simpson’s Death Comes in Bone ;New ArrivalsThe following ideas arrived this week:
SciFiNovel9A: A time-travel novel with an alternate world past setting.ShortStory111—An Invitation to Fly: About an invitation to flyShortStory112—Space-Hulk Rescue: science fiction about a salvage survivorShortStory113—A New Start Endangered: science fiction about the end of a parlayShortStory114—The Wind and the Dead:a zombie flash fiction storyShortStory115—The Zombies and the Dogs of War: another zombie flash fiction storyShortStory116—The Dragon and the Sky Trolls: a science flash fiction tale involving a dragonShortStory117—No Good Deed…: a paranormal urban fantasy flash fiction about the Otherworld, the fey queen and some trollsShortStory118—Hallierd and the Dead: a flash fiction about an undead attackShortStory119—Revenge and Stardust: more flash fiction death and revenge among the starsShortStory120—The Merriweather Debate: what’s in a name… or location, for that matter?Poem188—Walk, Talk and Stay: a simple requestPoem189—Red like Leaves and Blood: about a murder scenePoem190—Sing, Willow, Sing: about the balance of lifePoem191—To Live: about ways of livingPoem192—The Dragons and the Dinosaurs: about dragons and dinosaursPoem193—I Live as a Dragon: dragon-like lifestylePoem194—Living as the World Turns: Life in generalPoem195—Wizard, Knight and Dragon: about a wizard, knight and dragonPoem196—Unbelievable: living through difficult timesPoem197—I saw your Star Fall: about providing support in difficult times