Sidney Blaylock Jr.'s Blog, page 7

The Olympics

Image Source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/07/allyson-felix-olympic-medal-record-track-and-field-us-team

After struggling to decide what to write about today (I didn’t watch any movies over the weekend), I decided to write about what I did watch: The Olympics. This will probably be unpopular blog choice because I was shocked by the results of AVForums Poll that had a whopping majority (56%) pick the I didn’t watch ANY coverage (not even the highlights). Now, those two options were together and I would have loved it if the poll had separated them out so as to see the hardcore “haters” of the Olympics vs those who might have not watched for other reasons. Still, that particular poll, while not scientific in the least, was still eye-opening to me because, like the World Cup, or other “world wide” sporting events like the Tour de France (The Super Bowl for American football doesn’t really count for this category although we Americans like to think that it does because it matters so much to us), I would have thought that The Olympics was a universally loved event. Apparently, if the results of one non-scientific poll can be believed and extrapolated, I’ve got that all wrong and I just find that surprising.

Pageantry: The Opening and Closing Ceremonies

For me, I really like the “pageantry” of the Olympics. Two of my favorite “events” in the Olympics don’t even happen during the competition. I really like the opening and closing ceremonies because it highlights the culture of the diverse athletes from all over the world. I love to watch the athletes parade in their stylish clothing, I love watching the Olympic Flame being brought in and being lit, and I love watching the opening ceremonies with the host country interpreting the spirit of the Olympic Games through their own cultural lens. In similar fashion, after the competition is over, I like seeing the closing ceremonies for much the same reasons.

I also love to see how technology gets integrated into the ceremonies: loved the drones back when China did it a few years ago, and I loved them again when Japan upped the ante this year. While I can’t know this, I feel certain that (for the next few Olympics, at least) drone routines will be hot tech that will get more and utilized and complex in opening/closing ceremonies as we push deeper into the 21st Century.

Athletics: Firsts, Lasts, and the Thrill of Competition

I think what I liked most about this Olympics were the number of firsts that I saw where countries or individuals or ethnic groups got their first medals in certain events. I won’t go through the list/statistics, but one that really stood out was the fact that both San Marino, a very small European nation, along with Turkmenistan both won medals for the first time. I love those type of accomplishments, where countries can find success just by winning a medal, and not by having a huge haul or the most number of golds, or anything like that.

Track and Field

While I don’t love every sport, nor is there enough time/bandwidth to follow all the events, I have to say that I’m mostly a Track and Field person. Makes sense–I love to run (esp. as a kid), but even though my school had a Track team (no football–American–though they did have a Soccer Team–aka European football), I never felt the need to try out for any of the various sports (soccer or track). I feel that I’ve always been fast, but I had to learn to run for distance in order to pass our school’s Physical Education class requirement.

I did really well running long distance and I’ve been tempted several times to try training for things like a half-marathon or shorter just to see if I might like it as my body still seems to be fit enough to be respectable. However, like High School, I’ve just never really put a whole lot of effort into finding out how to get started in local programs. So, l tend to live vicariously through the Track and Field athletes.

I particularly enjoyed Allyson Feelix’s run as I followed her career since she started (and the Nike drama as well). I feel like her 11 medals (especially coming in these her last Olympics) were particularly powerful and an inspiration. Should I ever find any time to do any running, I would most definitely use her as an inspiration. I also enjoyed all of the women’s races, especially the hurdles. Seeing Sydney Mclaughlin get the world record to get the win in her event and then watching both the men’s and women’s relay. There were tons of other events that all through the events that I really love.

I know that many apparently didn’t really care for the Olympics (again, based on 1 poll), but I’m personally sad that its over. Can’t wait until the Winter Olympics and the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric SpecPurchase  HawkeMoon  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase  Dragonhawk  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  WarLight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Ship of Shadows  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Faerie Knight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindleCurrently Working On (August 2021):Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed.The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In ProgressProject Runner (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a Rough draft: Completed, Write a First Draft: In Progress (600 words), Hard Deadline: August 31st, 2021 (Special Issue)

Almost . . . Unhallowed

Image Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/469007748667058820/ (Kimberly Elise from “Hannah’s Law”)

So, this is technically a Writing Update blog entry, but unfortunately, it isn’t good news, so I thought I’d share my process of what I do when a Rejection Letter comes in for one of my stories so as to 1) vent a little without actually venting (I’ll explain what I mean by that later) and 2) hopefully help other writers who might be getting rejection letters and not continuing the submission process.

First, let me cover “venting without venting.” The rejection letter doesn’t include any real feedback as to why the market didn’t take it. Now, I know markets are busy and it’s my job as a writer to write a compelling story and a rejection means that I didn’t do that (at least enough) for that market, but realistically, without feedback, you’re flying blind as a writer. What complicates matters is that (also realistically) you only get one shot at a particular market for a particular story. I can’t grow as a writer if I don’t know where I went wrong with the story for a market (esp. if I’m getting the same feedback from multiple markets). However, it considered “wrong” to ask for feedback/fire off an angry reply if you feel a rejection is unfair.

So, by explaining the process, I’m trying to take the sting out of it a little as Unhallowed has everything that the markets say they want–a character who changes over the course of the story and who has clear motivations, a unique setting, interaction with other characters, not something that is another pastiche of another media property (a la Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, etc.). So, even a published writer like myself, still has to work through the way the writing market works.

Read the Rejection Letter

So, as I alluded to above, I’m one of those who reads the rejection letters. Most of the time it does no good as the feedback is either way too general, or way too specific to that market. And that’s if you get feedback at all as I mentioned above. Also, a lot of times you’ll get conflicting feedback. I literally got feedback once where the first feedback said I need more “x” and I changed “x” and then the next feedback said that there was too much “x” and that “x” needed to be dialed back. This set of advice came one after the other. So, reading the rejection letter can often be a lesson in futility.

However, there are have been two times where the feedback was both detailed and actionable. While I can’t remember the first story, I’m pretty sure the second story was Dragonhawk. In both cases, the feedback was written in such a way (and enough detail–just a paragraph or two) to give me indications of why things in the story for readers were not actually working like I thought they were. I was able to make changes and see publication for the story. Now, I understand that not every market has time to do this (for unsolicited stories), this is where I start to try to figure out if I’ve done something wrong in the draft that I wasn’t aware of during the writing process.

Look at Duotrope’s Weekly Market Email

I subscribe to Duotrope (which I mentioned before) which has become the de facto “Writer’s Market” online (along with other online “market” sites like “The Submission Grinder” (I put “writer’s market” in quotes because older writers will know that there used to be a book called Writer’s Market where all this information was gathered, but it has long been superseded by web market guides–at least, for me).

While I look at the market email every week, this is where I start my quest for markets that I might be able to send my story to now that it’s “free” (available for submission). I’m looking for more established markets that have recently opened or are still in their “open” submission window. While I will consider “new” (unestablished/underestablished) markets, I’m really looking for more dependable markets as new markets can be unreliable in terms of their response times and/or staying around (one “new” market that I sent a story to on Christmas Day 2-3 years ago has already shut down).

If I find one that looks like it will work, I’ll skim the guidelines, go to the website and skim some of the stories and look over the masthead, and then I’ll make any changes requested by the guidelines (things like single space vs double space and the like). I’ll then send it off via whatever is requested by the guidelines.

Folder of Writer’s Guidelines

If there’s nothing that has caught my eye, then I’ll pull out my folder where I’ve saved guidelines from markets that I’ve submitted to in the past. While I do have a “semi-order” that I submit to in terms of markets, I have to keep them fairly fluid as markets open and close with frightening regularity, so one that might be “next” on my list might be closed (or three that might be “next” might have closed), so then I have to adjust where I’m sending the story next.

I used to look to revise the story before I sent it out again, but I have switched to a “yearly” revision strategy where I look over the story once a year to integrate feedback and look at it with new eyes. I hope that this will aid me in both making the story stronger, but also, not using the “revising” stage as a “procrastinating” stage to keep me from putting the story back on the market and avoiding rejection. Generally, I spend the weekend doing this and I try my best to send the story back out by Sunday (or Monday at the latest). That way I’m not simmering over the rejection, but trying to figure out which market is “best” for my story based on where I’ve not sent it.

Well, that’s all I have for today. I wanted to talk about my submission process once a story, in this case, Unhallowed comes back. You pretty much have an idea of what I will be doing over this weekend, in addition to getting ready to for the start of classes later this month.

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric SpecPurchase  HawkeMoon  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase  Dragonhawk  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  WarLight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Ship of Shadows  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Faerie Knight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindleCurrently Working On (August 2021):Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed.The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In ProgressProject Runner (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a Rough draft: Completed, Write a First Draft: In Progress (600 words), Hard Deadline: August 31st, 2021 (Special Issue)

PC Players That Cheat Have Ruined Crossplay

Image Source: https://www.downsights.com/cheaters-rampant-call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war/

After not really having anything that I wanted to write about today, but having just played a thoroughly crapfest set of games on Call of Duty Cold War, I’m fired up and ready to go! . Let’s talk about cheaters in CoD. Trust Micro$soft to try to turn “pig’s swill” into wine and make us all drink it whether we wanted to do so or not. Yes, I’m talking about that much bally-hooed feature “cross play” that Micro$soft all swore that we “needed” and that backwards Sony wasn’t letting us have.

Well, I can tell you this: today I’m turning off cross play from this and all future CoD games until Activision stops “banning” accounts (where PCs can just make new ones) and starts implementing actual measures inside their code and UI to counter cheaters. If Activision can’t be bothered to engineer their games to resist cheaters, then they shouldn’t come asking for more money from their consumers for skins, guns, Battle Passes, etc. It’s amazing to me that they want to be inside my wallet, but don’t want to provide a game experience that justifies the original asking price, let alone all the extra money they want for their Battle Pass nonsense.

There’s Even a Reddit Thread

You know the situation is dire when there’s even a Reddit thread for this issue (in fact, the title of this post is the title of the thread!)!

Here is the thread, if you’re interested in some (initially measured and erudite) reading from other gamers about this issue:

https://www.reddit.com/r/blackopscoldwar/comments/niyns0/pc_players_that_cheat_have_ruined_crossplay/.

This posting shows some really mature thinking on this fact (at least, initially–towards the bottom, you can see those who feel threatened that cross play is being examined and want to tamp down on any perceived threat to their beloved “cross play” so that they don’t have to buy the same system or multiple systems to play with their friends.

Many of these “individuals” use anecdotal evidence to mention the number of games they’ve played and the fact that they’ve seen very little evidence of cheating, yet, in two games, that lasted less than the full 10 minutes (Team Deathmatch), I saw at least 4-5 instances, and 2 I saved to my PS5 SSD to slow down and show my mother what was happening.

One poster at the bottom claims that another poster couldn’t see an “aimbot” on the killcam. Well, to that wonderful poster, I have proof sitting on my SSD. We were playing on the “Nuketown” map and I’d thrown a smoke grenade. You can see that I’m obscured (no thermal sight for my enemy, let’s call him “Mr. Sniper.”). Mr. Sniper knows I’m there as he pulls back and scopes in (so they were running some version of the “ESP” cheat as well–as the other video shows) and he tracks me to the right of the screen as I move beside the house along the wooden fence. Now, the smoke is still going and he still can’t see, but unerringly his reticle follows my rightward move to the fence. I stop, not quite in the middle, but near the edge of the fence. Mr. Sniper’s reticle follows me, lights on me for a second and continues right and moment before swinging back back to the left where I am and he fires.

Do I survive? No, of course not. But what is so amazing to me is that I really should have named him “Mr See Unnerringly Through Smoke Sniper” because he did all of this amazing targeting WITHOUT ONCE SEEING MY CHARACTER AT ALL THROUGH THE SMOKE GRENADE. No, the smoke didn’t dissipate. No, it didn’t swirl, revealing my character at any point. ALL THIS WAS DONE WITHOUT EVER SEEING MY CHARACTER ON THE SCREEN–NOT ONE PIXEL.

And my eyes weren’t the only ones to see it–I made sure to rewind that clip 3-4 different times for my mother after showing her this the first–just for emphasis!

Not the Most Egregious Clip

And this wasn’t even the most egregious clip!

To those in the Reddit thread who claim that there are no cheaters, then just take a gander at this little list of features that one website hawks (I’ve highlighted the ones that I’ve seen in action in the game, but this isn’t a complete list from the website even though any one of these features is enough to completely ruin the game):

Black Ops Cold War Hack FeaturesINSTANT KILL AIMBOTInstant Kill Aimbot: Takes the enemy out super fastMovement Prediction: Bullet hits dead center even with player movementFrame Compensation: Frame rate doesn’t matterAim Point: This shows a point on the PC screen for aimingAuto Switch: Change to the next enemy playerHuman Aim: Makes you look like a human and not a botVisibility Checks: This shows when the enemy can and can’t be hitPenetration Checks: Let’s you know if bullets can go through an objectMax Distance: Shows you the enemy anytime they can be hitRandom Bone: Allows the aimbot to change player bone hit ratiosADVANCED ESPCustom ESP Colors(Visible/not Visible for Players, Zombies, Items, Explosives, Vehicles, Dropped Weapons)Custom ESP FontESP Font ShadowCustom Fade Level for Players/Zombies and Objects(Items, Explosives, Vehicles, Dropped Weapons)NameDistanceSkeletonHeaddotHealth (Bar or Text)Bounding Boxes (2D, 2D on the head, 3D)LineHeadDotItemsDropped WeaponsZombiesVehiclesExplosives2D Radar (Players/Zombies, Objects or Both)Ignore FriendliesCHEAT RADARRadar: See the enemy on our radar with dotsEnemy: Show on the radar in redMoveable: Move the radar anywhere on the screenSizeable: Adjust the size of the radarJust Change Your Settings, Already!

So, it is possible to toggle the settings on CoD Cold War so that you can play “console only,” so what’s the problem? Just play it on your console of choice and then you never have to deal with cheaters, right?

Well, I don’t know how it is on the “other system,” but on Playstation, not only does it take longer to find a game (which I’m totally cool with, by the way), the games are of such low quality that it isn’t fun. I routinely find myself at a distinct disadvantage in terms of servers/ping. I’m not sure if the console only version simply is Peer-to-Peer with NO connection to Activision servers, or if I’m being matched with players in Europe/Asia/Australia in order to find a game, but I can show you empirically (CoD Cold War has a nice “bar graph” of your score output on recent games and I can SHOW YOU the graph of where I was BEFORE/AFTER I turned on Playstation only. Since turning off cross play, I’ve flatlined at about 200 pts. per minute (where before, I could easily average 400-500, and would often (about 1 in every 10 games or so, hit 700-900 pts. per minute). In other words, I went from getting the maximum kill streak (for me) of the War Machine about 1 in every 7 or 8 games, to barely getting the lowest (for me) kill streak of the UAV (and that’s a struggle)–there were 3 games in a row where I wasn’t even going to earn that. So, my point is, switching to a console only lobby isn’t really an option.

Either you put up with the ever-increasing number of cheaters in cross play, or you “dip out” and move to non-cross play lobbies and get “punished” for it by lobbies that have horrible connections and take any fairness out of the equation for their players.

What’s even worse is the fact that people are praising Microsoft for Crossplay and excoriating Sony for being resistant to it. How’s this for a little resistance from your “Friendly Neighborhood Gaming Company Who Wants You To Believe Everything Their Marketing Department Says”: Defiance Could Have Had Crossplay but Microsoft Said No.

Games are supposed to be for fun. When you cheat, you take the fun out it for others (and yourself). How can you ever hope to get better if you don’t want to lose? I took a beating in chess when we formed a chess club in high school, yet I got good enough to win against a ranked chess player by learning through the losses. It’s about having enough self-respect in yourself (and self-confidence) that you can learn and get better, instead of trying to pretend like you’re dominating and having fun. Wouldn’t it be better if you were good enough to hold your own against cheaters without having to resort to cheating yourself?

And yet, these are the paragons of “virtue” who cry when others want an “easier” mode in the “SoulsBorn” genre (Demon Souls, Bloodborne, etc.) because they’re perfectly willing to deny others any fun experiences, but they themselves aren’t capable of dealing with it when others are able to best them through hardwork and determination.

So, gamers, I ask you, which is it? Stop cheating and “get good,” on games where people can be better than you or stop telling others to “get good” on the games that you happen to like and that you think are “challenging?”

Sorry, but you can’t have it both ways.

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric SpecPurchase  HawkeMoon  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase  Dragonhawk  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  WarLight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Ship of Shadows  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Faerie Knight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindleCurrently Working On (August 2021):Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed.The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In ProgressProject Runner (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a Rough draft: Completed, Write a First Draft: In Progress (600 words), Hard Deadline: August 31st, 2021 (Special Issue)

YouTube Tuesday on a Wednesday

Image Source: http://edu.d2d-7986.branch.development.devtodev.com/articles/197/10-youtube-kanalov-pro-geymdizayn

Sorry about not posting for the previous two days, but I’ve been feeling under the weather. Nothing Covid related, nor anything like that, I’ve just been very fatigued for the most of the weekend and early this week. It’s probably related to the vaccine (again, not Covid Vaccine) that I had to take for MTSU to register me this semester, but that’s just a guess. Needless to say, I’m finally feeling a bit better today, so on with yesterday’s blog–a day late!

Today, I’m going to focus on a channel that I subscribe to called AI and Games.

Image Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt1XmiDwxhYUnder the Hood

Most people think of video games as really advanced CG versions of movies. They only see 1) graphics and 2) sound. They see video games as movies, for the most part. The graphics = the visual image and the sound = dialogue, sound effects, music, etc. If the people are really savvy, they might also note the interactive aspect of games, so a 3rd tenant of this would be 3) interactivity.

However, games are more analogous to cars in many respects. The graphics and sound are very much like the outside body of the car while computer code runs underneath (much like an engine) and the computer code creates AI that makes the enemies in various games seem life-like.

The Magic Shot

I found this website through the video below in which the creator discussed one of the AI parameters in a game that I have played (and finished and 100% completed), Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands. I had intended to write a “conference paper” for this video game (a paper for a conference that detailed some scholarly aspect that I noticed about the game), but I never got around to it with class work and teaching (although I may revisit this later on as I still have the idea for it and think that it would be very interesting to explore).

However, what this video brought to the forefront were the ways in which the game “cheats.” Now, most video games cheat in some respect so as to increase tension, or make up for the deficit in human vs AI intelligence, but this particular YouTuber illustrated how the game cheats in your (the player’s favor) in order for the player to have a good time playing the game.

Basically, in order for the AI companions to feel like they are useful and supportive, the game allows them to do things that would be impossible in real life, one of which is the “magic shot” in which the player can mark targets for the team and the teammates will “always” hit them (so long as they have an unobstructed shot). The teammates don’t even really “fire,” but rather the AI just enters the “death” state to simulate them firing and you (the player) being part of a crack squad.

Willing Suspension of Disbelief

Now, I’d seen all the behaviors listed in the above video, but I used my “willing suspension of disbelief” to ignore all but the most egregious cheating (teleporting into a helicopter in mid-air by my teammates after I had taken off without them), but this video reminded me, “yes, there’s code/AI running under the hood and the designers are making conscious choices that affect my playing and enjoyment of the game–which is a CORE tenant of Rhetoric and more specifically, Procedural Rhetoric which looks at the “system’s beneath” to see what those systems are doing and how they are communicating with the rest of the code and the user at large.

While I would definitely need to supplement his videos with scholarly articles, this channel is a gold mine for ideas in looking at procedural rhetoric and how games (and by extension, game designers) fulfill their mission of creating experiences that evoke an emotional response in players.

I most definitely intend to reference at least one or two of these videos for my dissertation and find them intriguing to see how the AI works “beneath” the surface to foster/engender certain emotional responses in us (the players). I think this channel is both fun to watch and makes one think more deeply about the topic of video games and I highly recommend this channel to anyone interested in “how the sausage is made” when it comes to video games.

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric SpecPurchase  HawkeMoon  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase  Dragonhawk  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  WarLight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Ship of Shadows  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Faerie Knight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindleCurrently Working On (July 2021):Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed.The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In Progress

Thursday Potpourri

Potpourri

Like YouTuesday, I’m using Thursdays as a prompt to help me get out a blog post each weekday, which I used to do with a fair amount of regularity, I’m using this day (for now) as a “pick-up” day where I talk about 2-3 topics that I’m interested in for various topics. I won’t do this every Thursday, but those weeks were I don’t have a specific topic that want to cover, I’ll probably bring out the Potpourri to just touch on the high points. Once school starts, this may move to Fridays (going in to the weekend), but for now, Thursdays are the day.

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

For the 2nd time this year, I’m working on updating my curriculum vitae (cv). I usually only work on it once per year to update it with all of the activities, changes in study/employment, etc., so as to keep it current so that I don’t have to do a massive update whenever I need it for something. The last one, I thought was good, but the “working group” I’m a part of had some insightful comments and working to revise the cv based on their suggestions. I found a template that I like and I’m trying to move the information over the template. My only concern is that the template has “blue” headings as text. I don’t know how that’s going to go over with the working group, but I this template is pretty “user-friendly” so I should be able to make the text the traditional black if I need to do so.

EA Play 2021

As I’m writing this blog, I have the new EA presentation of their games for this year. “E3” this year was very much a disappointment. The Ubisoft presentation was mixed, although I thought they were mostly good with more good experiences and games than anyone else (including Micro$soft who did their traditional non-gameplay hypefest–Starfield, I’m looking at you). So far, I hate to say it, but I think EA is continuing the stream of disappointments. I’ll probably talk more about individual games, but they just showed Grid Legends today, but I’ll have to see gameplay and not trailers and developers talking about it. The other games looked like I expected, except the final game which looks good, but I was never into that game series any way (I bought it and played it, but didn’t like that it didn’t give me enough ammo–I’m being intentionally vague for spoilers, but I’ll probably talk about it more later on when it’s more of a “thing”). No real gameplay except on games already released and little snippets for games to be released in the near term. I know EA’s presentations aren’t for me, the gamer anymore, but for their shareholders, but as a gamer, I doubt I’ll be purchasing any of their games this year based on what I’ve seen so far.

It Chapter 2

So, I started It Chapter 2, but I haven’t gotten very far. I’m only the first 30 -45 minutes in, maybe a little farther. So far, I don’t like it nearly as much as Chapter 1, but I will reserve judgment until I’ve seen the entire movie. I’m not sure how much I’m going to like it as the adult characters don’t have the same “charm” as the child characters. Not to say that the adult actors aren’t good–they most certainly are good and they do their characters credit. It’s just that the characters seem to be more active and more engaging when the kids are on the screen. They intercut the kids and adults early in the movie and I find that I’m always wanting to see more of the kids and minimize the adults. Again, I’ll reserve judgment and do a review/mini-review of it.

Well, that’s all for today! Thanks for reading!

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric SpecPurchase  HawkeMoon  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase  Dragonhawk  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  WarLight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Ship of Shadows  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Faerie Knight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindleCurrently Working On (July 2021):Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed.The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In Progress

Grid (2019) Video Game Review

Image Source: https://gamingbolt.com/grid-2019-15-things-you-need-to-know

Today I want to cover a video game that I finished earlier this month: Grid (2019). This game has that odd numbering convention in video games where they use the same name from an earlier title that the company published, but it isn’t a direct remake of the original game. It’s more of a “spiritual successor” of the first game (not a sequel, not a remake, just a nebulous re-imagining, I suppose). Not to be critical, but after EA did this with two of their “extreme sports” games in the late 2000s (Sled Storm & SSX), I’ve been wary of companies and projects when this is done as it usually means (from my experience playing those EA games) game developers want to continue the “franchise,” but are more invested in corporate buzzwords (“pillars of game design”) than actually creating a new and fresh take on the world without changing the core of what made the game fun to start with.

If it seems like I’m starting this review out negatively, there’s a reason for this. I didn’t really enjoy my time with this game (at least not enough for me to recommend it), but, while it often irked me, it didn’t have any fatal flaws that kept me from playing it and finishing it

A Real “Looker” (Great Graphics and Sound)

At first blush, this game looks really awesome! It has incredible graphics that are very detailed (at least on the car models) and very vibrant. While I don’t have a 4K display, this game makes me wish that I did because I’d love to see how it upscales on a 4K TV/monitor. The first couple of races/tracks are insanely good looking and really make you think that this one’s going to be winner.

The sound, especially if you have a sound system or sound bar, is really well done and the bass of the car going over the curb will have you jumping the first time you hear it vibrate the walls (its that deep)! The sound is localized fairly well so that you can hear cars creeping up behind you.

If you have a superb new 4K/8K TV and a sound system/sound bar, this is a game you’d use to show off the system.

Grid 2019 TrailerAll That Glitters Isn’t Gold

However, when you start racing in earnest after the initial blush of the game, that’s when the true game reveals itself. While the Grid series has always featured “rewinds” (I think, this is the first Grid game that I’ve ever finished having disliked the feel of other Grid games), I knew there was going to be trouble when I saw that they gave you 5 rewinds per race as a default. There’s a reason for this: the handling model is atrocious, even for an arcade racing game like this one.

To me, the car is both “understeery” and “oversteery” at the same time. What does that mean? Well, I watched loads of video reviews on the game before I bought it and one mentioned that he felt the car turned strangely–as if it turned on its “center axis,” and I agree. Most cars always seem to want to understeer (move into the curve) during turns and many want to oversteer (the back of the sliding outward) once the turn is completed. Usually, cars do one or the other based on the cars’ steering radius and the momentum in the corner, but cars here tend to do both, making driving a particularly “slippery” endeavor, especially in high powered cars.

Driving in Circles

In addition to wonky handling even for an arcade racer, there’s also the repetitive nature of the game. There’s only 2 modes (in single player, where I spent my time): racing and time attack. Racing is what it sounds like, you race other drivers, while time attack is when you race the clock with other drivers out on the course. Even though there are a fair number of courses and configurations, the drawn out structure of single player means that the game gets tedious quickly. Add in the 3 DLC (which I did as well), and I had my fill of it when I completed the main game with all gold trophies for the events, but continued on my quest to get all the gold trophies for the DLC events as well (ugh! ). I did so, but instead of exultation, there was only the sense of relief that I had finished and could move on to something else (finally)!

And, to add insult to injury, the designers clearly knew that the game was repetitive, but rather than shorten and tighten the experience, and lower the MRSP for the game (or wait and put the DLC in to justify the original asking price), they put in a trophy that was egregious to the max. The trophy asks you to drive the circumference of the Earth in miles. The problem is, even after doing EVERYTHING in the single player (and doing some the main races twice), I wasn’t even a 1/3rd of the way to that distance. That trophy seemed to have been put in to dissuade trophy hunters from playing the game, getting bored, and trading the game in and to limit the secondary market.

Overall Score: D+ (C if I would have stopped at the Main Game)

Rating: 2 out of 5.

This game currently sits at a 6/10 for Steam users (although Google says 85% people who played it liked it). I bought the game (and all its DLC) on PS Store sale, so I didn’t pay full price. Had I payed full price, the game would have been a D- or F. It is a good looking game, sure, but is it a “fun” game? Not to me, not by a long shot. I had fun with it during my first hours with the game (the first half of the main game). After that, I was looking to finish it as quickly as I could, made impossible by the number of races in each subgroup (2-4 generally per “subgroup”).

I should have stopped at the main game–continuing on via the DLC did add new venues, but they weren’t really different enough to change any of the strategies in the game and really, only the course layouts were significantly changed–the graphics and “tile sets”/”assets” (my wording for overall graphic elements making up any one scene) were very similar to the base game, making the new courses seem familiar rather than new and fresh. I feel that if I had stopped, I would have enjoyed the game more rather than less. I became more and more tired of the game the more I played.

This is a game that is good in small doses and would be good if it were given to you rather than purchased, but this is one that I’d say–play for a while until you get tired/bored and then move on. It is far too repetitive in my opinion to be fun for very long. Also, if you ever get a new 4K/8K display or booming sound system and really want to show it off, this game (esp. in small doses–a race or two) will really fit the bill. For me, that’s about the only good that came from it was finding a good demo showcase should I ever be lucky enough to get one of those once I’m out of school.

Have a great day!

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric SpecPurchase  HawkeMoon  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase  Dragonhawk  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  WarLight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Ship of Shadows  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Faerie Knight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindleCurrently Working On (July 2021):Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed.The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In Progress

YouTuesday: Cab Ride Videos

Image Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNDYdGxsXI0

So, I thought I’d try a new feature to help me break out of the “Awwww . . . I’ve just written 250 (500, 750, 1000, 1500) words today on my dissertation. I really want to blog but I don’t want to put in another 1 hour stint at the computer today . . . I’ll just wait, get up early, and do the blog tomorrow” cycle that I’ve been in for most of the summer. This really isn’t an exaggeration–much of my thought process looks a lot like this–at least, on the days that I worked on my dissertation. On the days that I didn’t, it was more like, “Awwww, I put a fairly intensive stint yesterday of writing, I don’t really want . . .” and yes, you know how that sentence is going to end.

Since I watch a fair bit YouTube these days, I thought I’d go ahead and just highlight some of the videos, channels, content that I’m watching so as to 1) force myself to write on days that I don’t really feel like it, 2) give some support/exposure to YouTubers out there who are, like myself, doing this for the love of it (yes, unlike me they have a chance of getting paid via the “Algorithm” if they monetize their channel, but my understanding is only sponsorships and/or Patreon is really effective anymore), and 3) hopefully interest some of you all who read the blog in content that also interests me.

Today’s featured channel: RailCowGirl

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj-Xm8j6WBgKY8OG7s9r2vQ

Cab Rides: Sanity for a Covid-19 World

In 2017, I discovered the “Cab Ride” video scene. I was looking for something to put on in the background while I did work, and (at least in the beginning) it worked. However, in most cases, the scenery is so good that I find that I often miss the great scenery when I’m doing work, and will have to spend large chunks of time going back and rewinding the stream/footage in order to see the great vistas.

I started out with rail journeys–there was a channel on PlutoTV called Slow TV and it showed an 8 hour train journey. I found a channel on YouTube (YT) that had the same video (with the same journey done in all four seasons). I subscribed and watched the videos (again, in the background), and YT being YT, more and more train cab ride recommendations started rolling in.

RailCowGirl’s channel was one that I found. It actually had another name at the time, but she’s since changed it to more accurately reflect her channel’s content.

RailCowGirl: Flam RailwayAmazing Content and Amazing Views

One of the things that I love about this channel is that she publishes videos frequently and the routes that she shows on her channel are always amazing. I remember one of the first videos that I saw had her train running next to a bubbling stream with mountains all around. It was in the summer (I think–although it could have been spring), but watching the water stream along as we passed several small towns was pretty amazing.

Earlier videos seem (to me) to have been shorter runs, but later videos on the channel seem like they are much longer ones (1 hour to 3 hours). One thing that I don’t think she gets enough praise for is her livestreams. For a while during the Pandemic in 2020, it seemed like she streamed nearly every day. While I wasn’t always able to catch her streams due to work, school, or whatever, I really appreciated that she had content in the form of videos or livestreams that I could turn to if I needed a break from the “Covid Craziness” that was last year.

There were actually two livestreams running today when I visited her page to grab the link.

RailCowGirl: VossRealism and Verisimilitude

One of the things that really makes this channel shine is the fact that the videos are always of high quality. That really makes a difference. There are some cab ride channels that are using older 720p or 1080p cameras (although they are admittedly older channels), but the quality (especially when the trains are in motion) isn’t often detailed enough for me. As a video game player, I find that I’m really sensitive to resolution rather than motion. I won’t go off on the resolution vs frame rate debate that is a constant in the video game community, but I (personally) like images to be as sharp and crisp as possible and don’t need a “buttery-smooth” frame rate. For me, it is the clarity in the resolution that aids in the “immersion” faction.

The same is true for videos. While I don’t have a 4K display (unless you count this Apple MacBook Pro screen which a Retina Display and at least close to 4K if not exactly matching the specs), watching videos in as high a resolution as I can really helps me to feel like I’m there. I love the quality of the videos here!

RailCowGirl: Norway

Next time you’re feeling overloaded, you might want to slow down and give these cool videos and channel a look! Have a great day!

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric SpecPurchase  HawkeMoon  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase  Dragonhawk  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  WarLight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Ship of Shadows  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Faerie Knight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindleCurrently Working On (July 2021):Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed.The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In P

Keep It Simple

Image Source: https://summitlife.org/keep-it-simple-summit-life-today/

So, it has been about two weeks or so since I last wrote a blog entry. Am I burned out? Have I lost the desire to blog? Nope, I’ve just been doing 2 major things (and a lot of minor things) that have taken my time away from blogging. So, work has been constant this summer and where I might have had an hour or two to blog in other summers, I’m usually working in the mornings and afternoons, so this obviously means I don’t have as much time for blogging that I might under other circumstances. However, more than that I’ve been 1) reorganizing the way I write/create my stories, and 2) working on my dissertation. I’ve talked a little bit about the first point already, but I really want to tackle the second point today.

The 29 Page Introduction

So, if you’ve read the heading above, you’ll know that my Introduction is 29 pages long. Except it isn’t. You see, even for a dissertation, 29 pages is extraordinarily long. Thanks to feedback I received, I realized that I wasn’t really writing an introduction (which is what I’d been working on most of the summer), but rather I’d actually been writing the beginning of one of my chapters. Now, I’ve been working on and off on this 29 page “section” for the better part of the summer. This is the reason why many days I’ve just not had the desire to blog–after putting 250 words (minimum–it’s usually closer to 500 words) per session, there’s just not a whole lot of impetus sit down and knock out another 500-750 words for the blog–although I’m working to change that, starting this week.

Why 29 Pages?

I started out on the Introduction shortly after the TPA Conference wrapped up in late February/early March. I got pretty far by the time the Spring Semester started, but for some reason, after reading over it, and other examples of dissertations, I didn’t feel like mine was very good. So, I thought, “Right, let’s just start over and do this right.” In essence, I’d let the “inner critic” take over too soon. So, I came up with a more elaborate plan, and really dug deep into the events of last summer (summer 2020) in the United States in order to set the stage for what I was planning on covering and why it was important. This is where the 29 pages comes from.

Where’s the Beef?

However, when I gave it to the University Writing Center (UWC), while I was given good feedback on it, one of the consultants asked, where’s the Afrofuturism part. This wasn’t a knock–just an (astute) observation! I continued to write, but alarm bells began ringing in the back of my mind and I felt like I was going on the wrong path. I decided to look at other dissertations in my area, but more specifically, ones that were published by my school and they were much shorter than what I was working on.

Pivoting for the Win

So, I’ve spent the past week, revising and rewriting my Introduction. I haven’t thrown away the 29 pages that I wrote, just copied the material to Chapter 4, so I will have a head start for that chapter. What I’ve learned from this process, however, is that I have a tendency to “over complicate” things. I seem to think that “simple” = “too simple” and therefore = “bad.” However, I know from experience that this isn’t always the case. I used to be into Role Playing Games (RPGs)–collecting them and (when I was a teenager) playing them. Aliens RPG, based on the Aliens movie was one that I managed to find (unfortunately, I gave it away along with about 25 other fairly rare RPGs). However, I remember that it was SO complex that it would have been nearly impossible to run. I may be confusing it with another RPG, but I also remember it as being “deadly” in that the rules were so lethal to characters, getting hit in combat and failing a roll would have maimed or killed characters left, right, and center.

My point with the Aliens RPG is that the game, while complex, complicated, and reflecting a fairly large amount of reality, wouldn’t have been much fun. It would have been a slog–the game was really more of a nice sourcebook than an actual game. I innately know that complicated doesn’t always mean better, but there’s always this striving for perfection in me that sometimes makes me turn the simple into the complicated.

Luckily, due to some insightful questioning by one of my friends/colleagues here at MTSU, I was able to pivot before I’d gotten too far in the weeds. I’m really going to have to work on the KISS model: Keep It Simple, Sidney!

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric SpecPurchase  HawkeMoon  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase  Dragonhawk  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  WarLight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Ship of Shadows  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Faerie Knight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindleCurrently Working On (July 2021):Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed.The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In Progress.

It Chapter One: Mini-Movie Review

Image Source: https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/stephen-kings-it-chapter-1-dvd-blu-ray-release-date-details/

Sorry that I wasn’t able to write this up and get it posted yesterday, but school stuff came up and I’m on a tight deadline. I need to have certain documents finished by the end of this week. Hopefully, since next week is a long weekend for me due to the Independence Holiday, I’ll be able to catch up on my writing, but for now, the school docs are my highest priority.

So, saying that, I’m going to do a mini-review for It that I watched over the weekend. I bought both Chapters One and Two on sale on iTunes earlier this year, but I’m just now getting around to watching them. So here’s my impression of the movie.

Stranger Things on Steroids

Now, I’ve seen the original It mini-series from the 80s and I’ve read the book. While I think the book is good (except for the ending), I remember the mini-series being just okay. I loved Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise but I thought the rest was a bit bland. However, this new version of It really upped the ante so to speak. While I don’t know if Stranger Things inspired anything in the movie, I do know that it definitely has a Stranger Things feel to it with the focus on kids struggling against the supernatural. I think that the acting on all fronts was highly believable and the scares are definitely there, even more so than in Stranger Things, much more closer to the “jump scares” variety in more traditional horror movies. That being said, like Stranger Things, the movie picks its moments. There are places where the kids band together and we see their normal lives or how they deal with the aftermath of crises, but this isn’t a “jump-scare-a-thon” where you’ll be constantly quaking.

A Horror Movie for a Non-Horror Fan

Now, before I go too deep here, I want to be sure to mention that this movie has plenty of scares and violence. If you don’t like any horror/horrific elements, this isn’t a movie to watch. However, I personally don’t really care for horror as genre. I used to like “ghost stories” and some “scary stories” as a child, but I discovered that horror (as modern writers do it) activates my “flight or flight” reaction and makes it impossible to really get invested in the story (unlike action/thrillers like Terminator 1 & 2, Alien & Aliens, etc. that have some horror elements). Horror, as modern writers/movies do it, just doesn’t work for me. It Chapter One was on the edge of what I can tolerate and still be invested in the stories and characters. Sometimes it slipped over the edge, but it was never too much, so that I called it quits, unlike other horror movies that I’ve tried to watch and finish recently (Sputnik and Life, I’m looking at you). For me, Stranger Things never crosses the line, but It Chapter One sometimes just barely crosses the line before returning back. I like it and say that it is a good one to watch if one doesn’t really like horror, but there will be times when it will probably be too intense for the non-horror fan.

Overall Rating: B+

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I really enjoyed the movie, more for the interaction with the kid characters than for the horrific elements in the story, but I thought that the horror was also well done, just a little too intense in some cases for my personal tastes, but others may feel that it doesn’t go far enough (especially, horror aficionados). Still, I definitely intend to rewatch it and I’ll also watch the second chapter in the story, even though it is supposedly not as good as the first. My mother, who doesn’t like watching horror movies at all, would NOT be a good candidate for this movie at all. I, however, felt that it was a good movie that was just a touch too scary in a couple of places, but did a really good job of establishing characters and conflicts to tell a really good story.

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric SpecPurchase  HawkeMoon  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase  Dragonhawk  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  WarLight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Ship of Shadows  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Faerie Knight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindleCurrently Working On (June 2021):Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed.The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In Progress.

Having Summer Fun: The Writing Way

Image Source: https://twowritingteachers.org/2017/05/05/keep-the-learning-going/

In America, summer doesn’t actually correspond to the dates indicated by the calendar, or at least, not the “official” dates. Rather, like a story, summer in America has a traditional beginning, middle, and end, and those dates are marked by holidays. Here in America, Memorial Day, the day when we celebrate the fallen military heroes and veterans who have served in the Armed Forces, is actually our start to summer. This is mandated by federal law as the last Monday of the Month of May and is often called, “the unofficial start to summer,” especially in order news media. Independence Day, on July 4th, basically acts as a mid-point to the summer season in America, while Labor Day, the day set aside to honor the contributions of workers and laborers in the US, acts as our ending date (as most schools, K-12 along with college are back in session either before, by, or right after this holiday).

I set all that up to let you know what I’m terming as “summer” for this blog. Summer, to me, has always been one of my favorite times of year. Yes, the insects are often ferocious and the summer heat and humidity are legendary here in the southern US, but it is a time where both my body and mind truly feel alive. I have, in the past, done a fair bit of writing in the summer (my first published short story and article were written in the Tennessee summer heat). So, whenever possible, I also try to figure out strategies of maximizing my summer writing output.

And I’m back at it again this summer!

Rough Draft (1993)–Rough Drafting by Hand in a Legal Pad

My first ever published short story begin its life in a yellow legal pad at the old, decommissioned library at U.T. Knoxville one winter day during the Spring semester way back in 1993. I was taking a creative writing class and we did multiple genres: poems, plays (scripting), short stories, etc. I needed to turn in a draft in about a couple of days, but couldn’t think of anything, so I went to the building, which I’d just found about 2-3 week prior and started drafting. Anime had just become a thing and I’d seen an Americanized episode of DragonQuest (animated show?) that had an incredible magic duel between two wizards/magic-using characters and I wanted to write something similar.

So, my first draft, written in my yellow legal pad and in red ink (an affectation I had at the time), was written in a night (approximately an hour or so), with very little description, and mostly dialogue. I was probably less than 250 words in total. A couple of days later (or maybe the next day, I can’t recall), I went to the “real” library (the current one with all the glass and right angles), and typed up my story. While I added a little, here and there, especially in dialogue and description, the story itself was essentially the same that I’d wrote in my legal pad–just typed up and expanded slightly. I’d estimate it was approximately 450-500 words in total.

I turned it in and it was workshopped, and low and behold, I got an A- on it! The professor’s main objection was the “neatly tied-up” ending, which she would have preferred to be a little more ambiguous to reflect real life. I was over the moon! However, with the demands of the class and other classes and other assignments, I didn’t really do anything with the story.

But I did get an A in the class!

Rough Draft (2021 Edition)–Rough Drafting By Hand in a Journal

Although this approached worked, I went away from it, moving more and more to writing on the computer. Sometimes I wouldn’t even do a rough draft, but just start on the draft. I was moving away from writing with a journal and rough drafting altogether, but I wasn’t really happy with the quality of my drafts. It wasn’t until I started rough drafting more that I began to see the quality go up and I began to publish more often.

And that brings me to Summer 2021. I’m actually back to writing in journals (I’ve been buying them for a couple of years now, but not really using them for creative writing, more as a more compact to take class notes rather than the unwieldy legal pads which don’t seem to have the same quality and sturdiness of the ones I was able to buy in the mid 90s-mid 2000s). Over this summer, however, I’ve written in them pretty consistently most of the year, even if my creative writing output is less than I’d like.

However, over this summer, I’m actively writing in them creatively by trying to break my stories into 3 discrete parts and then, writing each one of those parts down in the notebook. I’m just handwriting them with any old pen that I have handy (I prefer pencil, but pen shows up better when I photocopy the notes to put in the project’s folder). Then, over the weekend, I’m transferring the handwritten drafts to the computer (much like I did in the summer of 93). Like my first story, I have permission to lightly edit, add in material, and shape it, but I can’t go crazy, more like an “adjustment” than straight on “revising.” I’m allowing myself two (2) notebook pages of handwritten material (front and back of the page for around 250 or so handwritten words). When typing, I’m allowing myself even more room, but I’d like a rough draft of anywhere between 750-1000 words. Nothing major, just enough to flesh out plot and dialogue with a hint of characterization.

So far, I’ve completed 2 rough drafts of stories this way (well, 3 if you count To Sail the Sea of Storms which wasn’t written in exactly this fashion, but was close enough that it could count), so far. I hope to write many more before the Labor Day holiday.

It’s 8pm. Do You Know Where Your Stories Are?

My preferred writing time in the summers (especially this summer) is 8pm. In the winter, I’m usually playing video games at this time as it is already dark, and usually has been for at least an hour or so. However, in the summer it is still light as the sun’s light is visible until around 9pm until summer solstice and then it is still light up until 8pm where I live well past the Labor Day holiday.

While it’s a bummer to stop playing early, I generally feel the most productive creatively in that general time frame of right after dinner, but sometime before bedtime (when tiredness and general fatigue from the day set in). For the past two weeks, I’ve been fairly consistent about the 8pm time slot and making sure to grab my notebook and put down 1-2 handwritten pages from a story that I want to do at random.

I would love to sit outside and draft as I would often sit out on the porch at that time period during my childhood, but the mosquitos are ferocious at that time of day and I’d spend more time dodging them than actually getting any writing done (they were pretty bad when I was a kid, but as a kid, you just shrug that off put up with the mosquito bites and the “itchies” they’d bring in order to play and have fun ).

I’d love to get to a place where I could have a gazebo or screened patio/deck area to write in the fading summer light, but I guess that’s a dream for when I can support myself as a writer/when writing actually pays the bills. For this summer, sitting inside and actually writing is a blissful experience unto itself.

It’s 8pm. Do I know where my stories are? Yes, I do. They’re getting transferred out of my head and on to the paper, and I’m back to having fun in the summer sun!

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric SpecPurchase  HawkeMoon  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase  Dragonhawk  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  WarLight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Ship of Shadows  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase  Faerie Knight  on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindleCurrently Working On (June 2021):Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed.The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In Progress.