L.G. Estrella's Blog, page 69
December 2, 2013
Susannah: Not Quite Legendary
I’ve got another original fiction project in the works, and this time I want to share it with all of you. Rather than just giving you guys a preview at the end, I want to share the writing process and keep all of you posted as I go from putting together the initial ideas to drafting the chapters and writing up the final version. I’d also like to hear from all of you as I go along. Writing is a great thing, and it’s even better when it’s shared.
Unlike some of my previous original stories, Susannah: Not Quite Legendary is decidedly not dark and gloomy. Instead, you can expect a fair bit of mischief and a sense of humour. It’ll be a fantasy, but not exactly the kind you’re used to. Some heroes are born. Others are made. And some have to work really, really hard at it. Here’s the basic idea:
Legends never die – they just get old and snarky.
Susannah has a problem: her grandmother. The old woman is a legend amongst legends, the bane of any monster dumb enough to cross her path, and quite possibly the most dangerous thing in the world on two legs. She’s also determined to teach Susannah everything she knows about the noble profession of monster hunting.
Sounds good, right? Nothing like learning from the best, right?
Wrong. Really, really wrong.
When Susannah isn’t being used as dragon bait (since the best way to lure a dragon out is to give it something nice, young, and virginal to chase after) or getting kicked out of a tower window (to lure out said dragon), she’s being taught things the old-fashioned way.
Want to learn how to catch knives out of the air? Simple, just stand there and have your cranky grandmother throw knives at you.
Want to become an expert swordswoman? Easy, just let your grandmother, one of the greatest swordswomen of all time, beat the absolute stuffing out of you on a regular basis.
But this year may finally be the year that Susannah gets to show her stuff. She’s sixteen and ready to lead her first hunt. And when her grandmother bites off more than even she can chew, it’s up to Susannah to save her for a change – even if the rescue involves a ridiculous amount of property damage.
When you come from a family of legendary monster hunters, growing up isn’t easy. Susannah is going to find out that as good as she is, she’s not quite legendary yet.
Let me know what you think. And, yes, this story is kind of a flip-side to The Last Huntress. Hooray for kick-ass grandmother’s with a penchant for kicking their granddaughters out of windows.
Read more on my blog.
Unlike some of my previous original stories, Susannah: Not Quite Legendary is decidedly not dark and gloomy. Instead, you can expect a fair bit of mischief and a sense of humour. It’ll be a fantasy, but not exactly the kind you’re used to. Some heroes are born. Others are made. And some have to work really, really hard at it. Here’s the basic idea:
Legends never die – they just get old and snarky.
Susannah has a problem: her grandmother. The old woman is a legend amongst legends, the bane of any monster dumb enough to cross her path, and quite possibly the most dangerous thing in the world on two legs. She’s also determined to teach Susannah everything she knows about the noble profession of monster hunting.
Sounds good, right? Nothing like learning from the best, right?
Wrong. Really, really wrong.
When Susannah isn’t being used as dragon bait (since the best way to lure a dragon out is to give it something nice, young, and virginal to chase after) or getting kicked out of a tower window (to lure out said dragon), she’s being taught things the old-fashioned way.
Want to learn how to catch knives out of the air? Simple, just stand there and have your cranky grandmother throw knives at you.
Want to become an expert swordswoman? Easy, just let your grandmother, one of the greatest swordswomen of all time, beat the absolute stuffing out of you on a regular basis.
But this year may finally be the year that Susannah gets to show her stuff. She’s sixteen and ready to lead her first hunt. And when her grandmother bites off more than even she can chew, it’s up to Susannah to save her for a change – even if the rescue involves a ridiculous amount of property damage.
When you come from a family of legendary monster hunters, growing up isn’t easy. Susannah is going to find out that as good as she is, she’s not quite legendary yet.
Let me know what you think. And, yes, this story is kind of a flip-side to The Last Huntress. Hooray for kick-ass grandmother’s with a penchant for kicking their granddaughters out of windows.
Read more on my blog.
November 30, 2013
Some Thoughts on Conflict
In many ways, stories are driven by conflict. A story in which everything goes exactly to plan for the main character would not only seem unrealistic – it would also seem very boring. But there are different kinds of conflict, and today I would like to focus on two: external conflict and internal conflict.
External conflict occurs when the goals or desires of one character are opposed by an external force (typically another character). The classic example of this is when the protagonist wants one thing and the antagonist wants the opposite. This occurs quite frequently in fiction because it ensures conflict. It ensures that stuff actually happens. For example, if the hero of a story wants to free their country from the tyrannical rule of an evil empire and the villain wants to ensure the continuation of that tyrannical rule, then it is all but inevitable that the two will come to blows (either in a literal sense or a figurative sense).
However, external conflict need not always arise from two characters with opposing desires and objectives. On the contrary, it can arise even when two characters want the same thing but differ in how, when, where, and why they think that goal should be achieved.
Read more on my blog.
External conflict occurs when the goals or desires of one character are opposed by an external force (typically another character). The classic example of this is when the protagonist wants one thing and the antagonist wants the opposite. This occurs quite frequently in fiction because it ensures conflict. It ensures that stuff actually happens. For example, if the hero of a story wants to free their country from the tyrannical rule of an evil empire and the villain wants to ensure the continuation of that tyrannical rule, then it is all but inevitable that the two will come to blows (either in a literal sense or a figurative sense).
However, external conflict need not always arise from two characters with opposing desires and objectives. On the contrary, it can arise even when two characters want the same thing but differ in how, when, where, and why they think that goal should be achieved.
Read more on my blog.
November 28, 2013
The Neighbourhood Cat (+ The Possum In The Air Vent)
I’ve made references to the wildlife where I live before. There is the cockatoo that drinks pool water (the level of chlorination doesn’t seem to matter), the rabbits that frequent the oval and a local school, and the bush turkey that continues to prance around on neighbouring rooftops making the most hideous noises imaginable at the worst possible times of the day (and night).
However, there is also a cat that lives in the neighbourhood. What makes this cat interesting is that it doesn’t seem to have an owner. It has no collar, and it doesn’t seem to spend more than a few hours in the same place or at the same house.
The cat is mostly a friendly thing. It has obviously been around people before. It likes to be petted and cuddled, and it has learned when the people in my house eat breakfast and dinner so that it can drop by for leftovers (it has even learned what time I get back from walking/jogging in the morning so that it can greet me and look for some food when I get back).
Read more on my blog.
However, there is also a cat that lives in the neighbourhood. What makes this cat interesting is that it doesn’t seem to have an owner. It has no collar, and it doesn’t seem to spend more than a few hours in the same place or at the same house.
The cat is mostly a friendly thing. It has obviously been around people before. It likes to be petted and cuddled, and it has learned when the people in my house eat breakfast and dinner so that it can drop by for leftovers (it has even learned what time I get back from walking/jogging in the morning so that it can greet me and look for some food when I get back).
Read more on my blog.
November 22, 2013
Final Fantasy Series Sales Talk (The Intriguing Case of Final Fantasy XIII)
Game sales matter. If a game fails to sell, it can become very difficult to justify sequels and additional content. This is particularly true in certain circumstances:
a) The game required a very high development budget. The more a game costs to make, the more it must sell to first break even and then make a profit. Development studios that are not profitable do not tend to last very long. In contrast those that make more money for the parent company tend to be showered with more funds and attention (although this can backfire – ask Blizzard).
b) The game required a very long time to make. The more development time a game requires, the more copies it must sell. This isn’t related solely to monetary cost (although bloated development times often lead to budget blow outs). It is also a matter of opportunity cost. If your best development team is making one game, then they are not making another. A game that sells poorly after occupying the best development team has robbed the studio of the chance to use that team on another game that might have sold better.
c) The studio responsible for the game does not release many games. A studio that releases twenty games in a given time period can afford to have a few of them fail, provided the failures are outweighed by the successes. A studio that only makes one game cannot afford to have it fail. Read more on my blog…
a) The game required a very high development budget. The more a game costs to make, the more it must sell to first break even and then make a profit. Development studios that are not profitable do not tend to last very long. In contrast those that make more money for the parent company tend to be showered with more funds and attention (although this can backfire – ask Blizzard).
b) The game required a very long time to make. The more development time a game requires, the more copies it must sell. This isn’t related solely to monetary cost (although bloated development times often lead to budget blow outs). It is also a matter of opportunity cost. If your best development team is making one game, then they are not making another. A game that sells poorly after occupying the best development team has robbed the studio of the chance to use that team on another game that might have sold better.
c) The studio responsible for the game does not release many games. A studio that releases twenty games in a given time period can afford to have a few of them fail, provided the failures are outweighed by the successes. A studio that only makes one game cannot afford to have it fail. Read more on my blog…
November 19, 2013
I'm Finally on Goodreads!
After a great deal of procrastinating, I've finally set up a profile over here on Goodreads. I'm looking forward to many a lively discussion.
I also have a blog on Wordpress, but for various reasons it isn't importing properly over here (it is doing weird things to the paragraph spacing that no amount of tinkering can fix). So instead of importing, I'll be doing a bit of cutting and pasting to try and clean up the look of things.
Anyway, here's a link to my Wordpress blog.
I also have a blog on Wordpress, but for various reasons it isn't importing properly over here (it is doing weird things to the paragraph spacing that no amount of tinkering can fix). So instead of importing, I'll be doing a bit of cutting and pasting to try and clean up the look of things.
Anyway, here's a link to my Wordpress blog.
