As a continuation of my previous post (check it out if you haven’t already. Go ahead, I’ll wait), I am looking for some feedback on ways to improve my writing style in my novel. Tonights bit is on action (in my case, fight) scenes. How do you prefer to handle them? Do you go inside the person’s head, explaining their every move? Do you go super high-level, showing the effects of everything on the battle around them?
This is something I have struggled with, personally. I have read tons of books with great fight sequences, some using the first-person narrative, others with the more withdrawn viewpoint. I think that there are ways to write them all and have them be wonderful, so I guess the question then changes: What type of fight sequence gets your heart pumping the most? Obviously, this is largely personal, but thats what this is all about. I want to write a book that hits people on a personal level, that gets them emotionally invested in the book.
As far as writing is concerned, a play-by-play is a bit easier. You can picture characters’ movements, have enemies react accordingly, etc. But is that what gets people most excited, most bought in? Do you want to feel like the fight is part of something larger than this one orc/goblin/spy/zombie/what-have-you? Let me know your thoughts, what types of fight sequences you have enjoyed in the past.
In most fantasy novels, the fights make up a large part of the Excite-factor, and it is pretty important that your fights don’t feel too one-dimensional otherwise the book will feel pretty boring. Let me know your thoughts, and I will definitely keep them in mind as I move forward.
As a quick update, I should say I am at 11k words as of today (a little over 20%). I’m a little behind, but I plan on making up a lot of ground this weekend. For all my fellow WriMos out there, keep on truckin! We can do this!
Hi guys! I know, its been forever since I posted. but, heres the thing. NaNoWriMo is going on now (thats National Novel Writing Month, for those unaware), and I decided to jump on the novel-writing bandwagon. I’ve been planning on writing this book for a while, and even started a while back, but I never got the traction I needed to get it off the ground. NaNoWriMo is about writing 50k words (about 200 novel-sized pages) in one month. Thats 1660ish words per day. Which is quite a challenge, but I think the concrete-ness of it makes it easier for my brain to grasp.
So thats it. I’m going to have a book written (or mostly, it might go a little over, or under, depending) by the end of the month. After that will come some editing, revising, and some more editing, until I get something I would feel comfortable with all my friends and family reading.
In the meantime, I feel like I need to write something other than the novel, to keep my sane, remind myself that I’m not a character in a made-up land named Feldoun. So I am going to also be writing some short posts here, about the book and the process. I would really appreciate comments too, since most of my musings will be real questions that I would like to get input on. So, without further ado, here is my first post.
I am having a difficult time making the characters believable. I think one of the best ways I have seen an author introduce characters is by throwing them immediately into a conflict, situation, or something where you get to see some of their character. The problem then is, how do you adequately describe a character’s physical appearance when they’re in the middle of an argument. It has been difficult, and I’ve tried to slip stuff like “His blue eyes glittered dangerously” and such in there to get it done, but thats pretty hard to describe their hair, face, clothes, body build, etc. Thats my first hurdle, one that I’m still working out.
The novel itself is coming along well. I have written one pretty good action scene, and I think it turned out pretty interesting. I’m trying to give the characters some depth now, as we lead into the main plot of the story. Giving characters a past, some stuff that they are known for, has been pretty fun. Again, the balance is hard, and I don’t want to go off rambling about this long-lost exploit of a character we dont really care about.
Let me know what you guys think, or if you’ve encountered any ways that you really enjoyed that an author introduced a character. Tomorrow, I will probably talk about action scenes, since there are going to be a few of those coming up pretty soon!
Why not Minot?
This was a question we asked ourselves last fall. We had heard about flooding in Minot, and were considering where to go for our spring break this year. We wanted something unique, something students could be drawn to. A special experience to give back to a community desperately in need.
And there was a need. After communicating with Lutheran Disaster Response,I knew this was where I wanted to go.
fast forward. I’m the team lead for the trip, and we’re getting ready to leave. I’m looking at a crazy bunch of people from all over the world (seriously). 29 crazy people, ready and willing to do something special, something meaningful with their spring break. I didn’t even know half these people a week ago! Tons of crazy stories, weaving together to end up in this small parking lot with (for many) a group of complete strangers.
There’s something about riding in a van with 6 other people that forces you to get to know them. After the first day (a mere 4 hours of driving), people were joking and having a blast at Laser Quest in Spokane. After the second day (8 hours on the road), people are acting like they’ve been friends for months. By the time we reach our destination, it’s hard to believe there was a time that we didn’t know these people.
At long last…
When we finally arrived in Minot, the reality started to sink in. We weren’t just here to have fun. We were here to help people who really needed it. Jason Skjervim (the CRU leader at Minot State) gave us a briefing before we went out. 4,000+ homes destroyed. 12,000+ people displaced. Some homes have been completely abandoned, their owners too distraught or uncaring to even attempt to return. “it will be worse than you even imagined,” he says, and I now know it to be true.
The harsh reality
We saw a house with its back porch in the front yard, lodged on top of the fence and between two trees. A basement wall completely caved in, and the basement covered in a foot or more of mud. A man who we were helping tells us his heart-breaking story, how he finished remodeling his house mere months before the flood hit. Now, he has two loans to pay off, and no house to live in.
The sad thing is, these are not unique stories. The fact of the matter is, they are terribly, awfully common. My heart is so happy knowing we could help some people, but it is broken for those who are not so fortunate. The family that can’t come home to their “safe refuge”, because it is still coated in mud and grime. Or needs insulation, or sheetrock. The elderly couple who can’t clean the mud from their basement, and don’t have 30 college students to help them. Knowing that, no matter what I do, I won’t be able to fix it bothers me.
Community: A New Hope
The people of Minot are very unique. The flood seems to have washed away more than people’s homes. It washed away all those not willing to come together and work alongside one another. What is left is a sincere, loving community hell-bent on making good of a crappy situation.
Neighbors genuinely care about the well-being of each other. What probably surprised me the most was their appreciation for our work on houses that weren’t theirs. We would be working, and neighbors would bring us sodas, food, or just come to say thanks. The people who remain are in this together; anyone that helps their neighbor is helping the city of Minot as a whole, and therefore helping them. The selflessness and love displayed by them was incredible.
Community in our midst
It would be difficult to go through such intense experiences and not grow closer to those who are with you. In the last week, we have gone from strangers, to trusted friends. People willing to talk about their struggles in their spiritual lives. People experiencing authentic, loving community for the first time in their lives.
It has been a crazy experience for all of us. There is one thing we can all agree on, no matter where we’re coming from: This trip was worth it. And it’s not even over yet.
(EDITED: I added a higher res picture of the map so you can read it better)
So, a couple days ago I was talking with a friend of mine (Check him out at Reyshawnbobo.com) about how I’ve always wanted to write a fantasy novel. To which he responded “What are you waiting for?” Nothing, I guess.
So I decided to start. Here is a map of what the world is going to look like:
It is still a work in progress. But, its about to the point where I can start writing.
I am really excited! I’m talking with several friends about how the world should be built, and I think (read: hope) it turns out well.
I will update every once in a while about how its going, or if something particularly cool is being added.
Just to give you a little tidbit (subject to shift a bit): The magical races (dwarves, elves, halflings) are in decline. Goblins, orcs, and giants are becoming more bold every day with their attacks. And the humans cannot stop squabbling for long enough to do anything about it.
So, if you hadn’t noticed, Innistrad came out a little while ago, and MTG worlds just happened. In light of that, I want to take a look at how Innistrad influenced the way MTG is heading. Now, I’m looking at this from the standpoint of the casual gamer rather than the hardcore pros, so keep that in mind as you read this.
Basically, there are two viewpoints to look at Innistrad from: The drafter and the constructed deck builder. First, lets look at drafting Innistrad.
Drafting Innistrad
I have yet to actually draft Innistrad. However, I have been able to deduce a lot about how drafting Innistrad is.
First and foremost are the new flip cards. These cards caught a lot of flack from people when Innistrad was spoiled. “How on earth are we supposed to draft when they can see the card and know what I’m taking?” I’ll admit, this was the first avenue my mind went down regarding these special cards.
However, I soon realized what we were saying: “I don’t want them to know what colors I’m in.” Isn’t this the whole strategy behind signaling? (the answer is yes, if you were wondering). You strongly let them know what colors you are in to tell them to leave it alone, because they won’t be getting anything good from you in those colors. What better way to let them know to stay away from green than first-picking Garruk Relentless? Obviously you will draw some hate, but some will just give up.
The set can be strongly tribal. green/white humans can be a monster if you put it together, and zombies can be quite the beating too. But the strength of this set is in its ability to have a non-tribal deck work too. Looking at red, you have strong cards like Rage Thrower, Pitchburn Devils, Into the Maw, none of which are tribal. Sure, red/black tribal vamps can be strong-sauce, but is that something you set out trying to force? Absolutely not. And the strength of this set comes in the ability to put together awesome tribal decks, or put together a deck of awesome stand-alone cards.
All in all, this set is pretty awesome. I’m still working on acknowledging that the blue mill deck is viable (I know, I know, call me stupid but I thought milling was supposed to deck THEM, not yourself), but this set has a very unique set of cards that look like a blast to draft.
Innistrad in Constructed
First, I just want you to know I am slightly biased in my love of Innistrad. I built a wonderful vampire deck around Olivia Voldaren (if you haven’t seen it, check it out. Now. I’ll wait). I LOVE tribal decks, and this set is tribal heaven. But, that being said, lets look at how the cards actually influenced gameplay.
At Worlds, three of Channel Fireball’s players got into the top 8. They were playing Tempered Steel. Pretty standard, nothing really that big from Innistrad that changed it it. They added two Moorland Haunts. They were all knocked out pretty early on though.
The other decks were Wolfrun, Geist Aggro, Mono Red, and Green/White Tokens. Of those, Wolfrun, Geist Aggro, and Green/White Tokens were majorly impacted by Innistrad.
In the Green-White Tokens deck, Avacyn’s Pilgrim, Geist-Honored Monk, Garruk Relentless, and Gavony Township make this deck what it is.
Geist Aggro featured Geist of Saint Traft, Fiend Hunter, Doomed Travelers, and Moorland Haunts. Obviously, this deck was heavily influenced by Innistrad.
Wolfrun was not really anything that special. If was basically the typical red/green ramp decks, with a Kessig Wolf Run thrown in. It either pumped out a titan turn 4, or swung for a ton of poison with Inkmoth Nexus.
The cards in these decks are cards that (normal) people are building decks around. Gavony Township is awesome, and I would love to throw it into my white weenie deck. After seeing that these decks performed so well at worlds, it is pretty easy to see how well Innistrad influenced magic.
But What Am I Excited About?
These are some of the most interesting and fun cards from Innistrad (none of which were mentioned before, because that would be boring).
First, Heartless Summoning. Makes you look at Myr Superion a bit closer, doesn’t it? There are crazy things you can do with this card.
Skaab Ruinator. Look at this card. In a pod deck, you can get him off almost anything, without having to mill, exile, etc. Ridiculously fun looking.
Army of the Damned, Endless Ranks of the Dead… Thats all I’m going to say.
Invisible Stalker. I just want to break him so bad!
And Finally…
So, there you have it. My complete (if not coherent) thoughts on Innistrad. I would love to hear what anyone else out in the tubez thinks.
Yep, I rezurrected my blog. And with a new spiffy look too.
Basically, heres the gist of it. Last time, I felt like I had to have good content, when I actually started it so I could process random crap (that doesn’t usually make for good content).
I like learning about God, Technology, Magic the Gathering, Video Games, Sci-Fi/Fantasy books, and other random stuff. I will be posting about all these things at one point or another.
So, now I pledge to post more stuff, on various topics. You can read it if you want. Or don’t. Thats fine too.
All my friends from the Tri Cities have been playing Magic for a long time. I don’t know how I have avoided it for so long. But I attended my first Magic gathering (haha) a couple weeks ago, and I have become hooked on the intricacies of the game.
I know what you’re thinking: “Man, Mat sure has gone off the deep end of the nerd pool now.” And it’s true. I think Magic is the most nerdy card game anyone can play. Nonetheless, I am hooked.
I went originally planning to just watch “those nerds” play their little nerdy game. I soon became fascinated with the concept of the game. There are so many different strategies to a game that you can take, based solely on the cards that you draw or the deck that you build.
I played my first draft two and a half weeks ago. It was really fun. I also got annihilated. I didn’t win a single game. That was a wonderful use of my time and $10 worth of cards. My second time playing was this week. A good friend of mine helped me set up a pretty sweet vampire deck that was super-heavy on removal (to any who understand what I am talking about), and I ended up going 8-2 and winning 5 packs worth of cards. This just goes to show, if you have a decent deck and know the strategy behind that deck, anyone can win.
I really enjoy playing this game, despite the connotations that come with it. I hope to be able to continue to play it in the future. Its a great way to get together and mess around with some old friends, as well as meet some new ones. The group of people I play with are very understanding, and willing to help me learn all the complexities of the game. On a whole, I really enjoy it and hope to be able to play more in the future.
So, I have been doing this for a while, but I thought I might share my knowledge with those less… knowledged.
If you want to make an iTunes-recognized ringtone (for iPhones, namely) then there are just a few quick steps that will save you from having to pay ridiculous costs for a 40 second song clip.
So, what you need to do is first pick the song you want to make a ringtone out of. Once you’ve got this figured out, listen to the song and find a clip that is 40 seconds or less that you would like to be your ringtone. Once you find that, figure out the ball-park start and stop times of that clip (you can fine-tune it later). Now, right-click on the song, and select “Get info”. This will bring up a window that has various tabs about the song. Click on the “Options” tab. You will then see two fields about half-way down, that have a checkbox and that say “Start Time” and “Stop Time”. You will want to click these two checkboxes, and in the text fields put in the approximate time that your desired clip goes from and to. Then click “Ok”.
Now, you can play the song and it will only play that select portion of the song. You can do this repeatedly (using decimals like “0:36.3” to get it just right) until you get exactly the clip you want.
Once you have the portion of the song playing that you want as your ringtone, right-click on the song again. This time, select “Create AAC version”. This will create a version of the song that is only the part that you want it to play. Once that shows up (it should pop up right below the original song, after a few seconds), right-click on the new, AAC version of the song (you can tell them apart because one is only 40 seconds or less), and say “Show in Windows Explorer”. This will show you the file’s location.
Once this window pops up, you can see the AAC version of the song. All you have to do now is change the file extension type from “.m4a” to “.m4r”. Now, double-click the file to open it in iTunes (iTunes will recognize it as a different file), and it will show up in your ringtones.
Once this is done, you should go back and change the original song to play the entire song (do this by un-checking the “Start time” and “Stop time” checkboxes), and delete the AAC version of the song in iTunes (iTunes will still think that the AAC version exists, even though we edited it to be a ringtone now). If you don’t delete the AAC version from your iTunes, nothing bad will happen, but iTunes won’t be able to find the file anymore, so you might as well delete it.
Thats it. Its relatively simple, once you get the hang of it. This does, however, rely on the fact that you have a computer running Windows. But, oh well.
I have come to understand that I am an introvert. I enjoy spending quality time with small groups of people. One-on-one time is best, if I am spending time with someone at all. What has really brought this to my attention is the fact that my wife, and most of her family, is exactly the opposite.
Don’t get me wrong; I really enjoy spending time with my wife’s family (in fact, my brother-in-law just came up to me, read what I am writing, and said “So, you hate us?”). I like everyone in my wife’s family, even her extended family. They are a really fun bunch, and I would probably be friends with them even if I wasn’t related to them.
Its the large family gatherings that really bog me down. Coming from a family of four who rarely had larger family gatherings, I got really accustomed to spending time in small groups. I have a small group of core friends. To me, a good quality discussion is more of a debate between me and someone else. My wife’s family is having a gathering as I write this up. I just can’t come to grips with how to handle a situation like that. They are so exhausting. Everyone trying to get their two-cents in on a discussion, and everyone having a different idea of how the evening should go. I am just along for the ride, and it terrifies and exhausts me.
I find a kindred spirit in my father-in-law. During events such as these, he finds his “place,” and sets up camp there. If someone wants to talk to him, they will come and have a conversation with him. If not, he can sit and simply absorb the events without fear or frustration. I am learning to emulate him even as I write this now. Hopefully, with time, I will be able to deal with the large family gatherings that come with marrying into such a large and loving family. Until that time, I will sit. And write.
I am getting really excited about the new Wheel of Time book, titled “the Towers of Midnight”. Seriously, the ending of this series has been something I have been looking forward to since I was in middle school. It is a series that I have re-read with every release of a new book, and several times in between.
I am currently listening to the audio-books, rather than re-reading the series. I’ve found I catch many more interesting tidbits when I am forced to listen to every line from the book. I often find myself skipping chunks of text otherwise, wanting to get to the “good parts,” when I might actually be missing something crucial.
All in all, I would say I have read the series over 15 times. With each and every re-read, I realize something new about the intricacies and plot twists that Robert Jordan has woven into the wonderful canvas that is the world of the Wheel of Time. I am continually amazed at how well RJ throws little nuggets of surprise into the story. During my most recent re-listen, I realized a darkfriend that shows up in the Eye of the World, actually has a reappearance in the Crown of Swords. I TOTALLY missed this every time I read the books. RJ truly was a master at what he did.
Sadly, the master is no longer with us. RJ died of cardiac amyloidosis before he was able to complete his masterpiece. I am confident, however, in RJ’s wife’s choice of Brandon Sanderson as the fill-in author. With the completion of “the Gathering Storm”, Sanderson definitely showed his ability to fulfill the expectations of the series. He did not try to emulate the writing style of RJ, which is probably for the best. RJ was, however, a major influence in Sanderson’s writing style, and thus the two fit together fairly well.
I have full confidence in Sanderson’s ability to complete the series. Whether or not everyone will be happy with the ending still remains to be seen. As for myself, I will be saddened with the ending of this incredible series. It has meant so much to me for so long, it has acquired a special place on my bookshelf, and I have little doubt I will continue to re-read for years to come.
Mat Adelmund's Blog 