So I've been assembling a fantasy novel in my head for the last few months. I'm cannibalizing some of the deep background for various D&D and Warhammer games I've run, tossing in some character work I've done for other games, and using that simplest of storytelling frameworks, The Road Trip.
Hey, it worked for old J.R.R., right?
I'm also going to try and aggressively attend various local events, including seminars and writing sessions at local libraries and community colleges, and a kick-off online writing session at exactly midnight tonight. As I go, I'll keep some basic notes and an online word count here so I can examine some of the writing process in retrospect.
Check back here from time to time to see how I'm doing!
NaNoWriMo Day 0/30
Word Count: 0 / 0%
Monday, October 31, 2011
Write Everyday Project, On Hold for NaNoWriMo
So, starting tomorrow, I'll be participating in National Novel Writing Month. That's where you try to write a novel of 50,000+ words from scratch in the month of November. As such, all my writing will be devoted to that until December. We will be writing everyday, of course, just not on this blog. Normal service should resume in and around December 1st or so, and in the meantime, I'll be posting my progress (or lack of same) at NaNoWriMo here as I go.
Wish me luck...I'll need it.
Wish me luck...I'll need it.
Write Everyday Project #28, Weekend TV
Though it was a pretty busy weekend for me overall, I still managed to get some TV watching in Friday night and Sunday night, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on what I saw.
Boss - Episode 2 was Friday, and I caught it on the repeat on Starz West after catching the decent but not extraordinary Angelina Jolie action flick Salt. Boss, episode 2, had a smidge more nudity and the politics was deeper since they weren't fooling around introducing everyone this time. The trap the Mayor sets for the Governor is well done, and the subplot about Tom's medical condition continues apace. The details of his relationship with his daughter and wife are delved into as well. I'm not enthralled by the show, but I'll probably try and catch episode 3 as well, when I get the chance.
Amazing Race XIX - The nineteenth season (they do two a year, with only one the first year, meaning the show's been on for 10 years now) of my favorite reality show chugs on, and while I'm still enjoying it, I'm not as enthused as I used to be. Partially it's because the show has changed surprisingly little over ten years, and partially because I've been watching Amazing Race: Australia online via YouTube and the two shows get mingled in my head, leading to a certain amount of confusion. Still, The Amazing Race remains my favorite reality show, if "reality" is the proper word for a competition that involves doing things no regular tourist could ever manage on their own, and I'm glad it's still on the air.
The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs - They went all out with the casting this year. I've heard of six out of the ten chefs competing to become an Iron Chef. That's a huge number, since in previous seasons I'd usually only have heard of one of the chefs, and sometimes not even that. Mind you, this year that's because they're mining heavily from their own shows for the chefs. Three of them are Chopped judges (Guarnaschelli, Samuelsson, and m'man Zakarian,) six others from other Food Network and Cooking Network shows like Worst Cooks in America (Irvine, Burrell, MacMillan) and some of the daytime shows on Food and Cooking that I don't watch. Indeed, there's only one chef on The Next Iron Chef this season who doesn't have her own show, Elizabeth Faulkner, and even she's been a challenger on regular Iron Chef. So this is like Like Chopped All-Stars taken to an even higher level. And I'm okay with that.
Boss - Episode 2 was Friday, and I caught it on the repeat on Starz West after catching the decent but not extraordinary Angelina Jolie action flick Salt. Boss, episode 2, had a smidge more nudity and the politics was deeper since they weren't fooling around introducing everyone this time. The trap the Mayor sets for the Governor is well done, and the subplot about Tom's medical condition continues apace. The details of his relationship with his daughter and wife are delved into as well. I'm not enthralled by the show, but I'll probably try and catch episode 3 as well, when I get the chance.
Amazing Race XIX - The nineteenth season (they do two a year, with only one the first year, meaning the show's been on for 10 years now) of my favorite reality show chugs on, and while I'm still enjoying it, I'm not as enthused as I used to be. Partially it's because the show has changed surprisingly little over ten years, and partially because I've been watching Amazing Race: Australia online via YouTube and the two shows get mingled in my head, leading to a certain amount of confusion. Still, The Amazing Race remains my favorite reality show, if "reality" is the proper word for a competition that involves doing things no regular tourist could ever manage on their own, and I'm glad it's still on the air.
The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs - They went all out with the casting this year. I've heard of six out of the ten chefs competing to become an Iron Chef. That's a huge number, since in previous seasons I'd usually only have heard of one of the chefs, and sometimes not even that. Mind you, this year that's because they're mining heavily from their own shows for the chefs. Three of them are Chopped judges (Guarnaschelli, Samuelsson, and m'man Zakarian,) six others from other Food Network and Cooking Network shows like Worst Cooks in America (Irvine, Burrell, MacMillan) and some of the daytime shows on Food and Cooking that I don't watch. Indeed, there's only one chef on The Next Iron Chef this season who doesn't have her own show, Elizabeth Faulkner, and even she's been a challenger on regular Iron Chef. So this is like Like Chopped All-Stars taken to an even higher level. And I'm okay with that.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Write Everyday Project #27, "Boss" Review
(Spoiler Free Version)
I caught the first episode of Boss on Starz. That's the new drama starring Kelsey Grammer as the mayor of Chicago. It has promise, even if I saw most of the plot twists coming. It doesn't portray a very flattering view of the government of Chicago, but then again the Machine does have a deserved image problem. Between this and The Chicago Code it seems as if Hollywood, or at least TV producers, have finally noticed the dramatic value of a corrupt major city.
The Chicago Code was filmed from the point of view of a bunch of plucky outsiders fighting against the corruption, and didn't last a season. Boss, on the other hand, places the protagonist at the heart of the corruption, and endeavors to show not only that power corrupts, but that the corruption is itself a form of power. That's a more interesting story, and one that has been done quite this way, as far as I know.
Another advantage that Boss has over the now departed Chicago Code is that by airing on Starz, they can have swearing and nudity. The nudity wasn't strictly speaking necessary, as the same plot information could have been conveyed with greater subtlety, and indeed had been done so by the scene immediately prior. But this is Starz, and if you've ever seen the Spartacus shows, then you know that Starz is all about the gratuitous nudity. Compared to most Starz shows, though, the nudity in Boss was positively puritanical, and since it happened to cater to my particular sexual demographic I can't find myself getting particularly worked up about it. Did it have to be there? No. Did I mind that it was? Nope.
I will say that Grammer does an excellent job with the role. There's nothing of Frasier in his performance. His Mayor Tom Kaine is done in the Daley style, with great speeches to the public followed by ruthless arrogance behind closed doors. He'd make a decent villain for a lesser show, but having him as the main protagonist is a stroke of genius. Darth Vader was always more interesting than Luke Skywalker, after all.
Overall, I like the show. I hope things get a little less predictable for me, but I'm certainly willing to let that slide in favor of Grammer's performance. If you like drama, and especially if you're from the Chicagoland area, you should give Boss a try.
(Spoiler Version follows. If you haven't seen the show yet and plan to, punch out now and come back later.)
I caught the first episode of Boss on Starz. That's the new drama starring Kelsey Grammer as the mayor of Chicago. It has promise, even if I saw most of the plot twists coming. It doesn't portray a very flattering view of the government of Chicago, but then again the Machine does have a deserved image problem. Between this and The Chicago Code it seems as if Hollywood, or at least TV producers, have finally noticed the dramatic value of a corrupt major city.
The Chicago Code was filmed from the point of view of a bunch of plucky outsiders fighting against the corruption, and didn't last a season. Boss, on the other hand, places the protagonist at the heart of the corruption, and endeavors to show not only that power corrupts, but that the corruption is itself a form of power. That's a more interesting story, and one that has been done quite this way, as far as I know.
Another advantage that Boss has over the now departed Chicago Code is that by airing on Starz, they can have swearing and nudity. The nudity wasn't strictly speaking necessary, as the same plot information could have been conveyed with greater subtlety, and indeed had been done so by the scene immediately prior. But this is Starz, and if you've ever seen the Spartacus shows, then you know that Starz is all about the gratuitous nudity. Compared to most Starz shows, though, the nudity in Boss was positively puritanical, and since it happened to cater to my particular sexual demographic I can't find myself getting particularly worked up about it. Did it have to be there? No. Did I mind that it was? Nope.
I will say that Grammer does an excellent job with the role. There's nothing of Frasier in his performance. His Mayor Tom Kaine is done in the Daley style, with great speeches to the public followed by ruthless arrogance behind closed doors. He'd make a decent villain for a lesser show, but having him as the main protagonist is a stroke of genius. Darth Vader was always more interesting than Luke Skywalker, after all.
Overall, I like the show. I hope things get a little less predictable for me, but I'm certainly willing to let that slide in favor of Grammer's performance. If you like drama, and especially if you're from the Chicagoland area, you should give Boss a try.
(Spoiler Version follows. If you haven't seen the show yet and plan to, punch out now and come back later.)
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Write Everyday Project #26, Papa's Pineapple Bread (Cooking III)
So named because my niece Julia calls my father (her grandfather) "Papa" and one of his signature dishes "Papa Bread," here's a recipe for pineapple muffins that's popular in my family.
2 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Cup White Sugar*
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
1 1/4 Cups Crushed Pineapple (Half a 20 oz can)
1/2 Teaspoon Anise
1 Tablespoon Milk
Pre-heat an oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 12 Muffin Tins. (We use Pam)
Sift together the Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Salt.
Combine Sugar, Oil, Eggs, and Crushed Pineapple. Stir well.
Slowly add the Flour mixture to the Pineapple mixture, stirring well as you do.
Add Anise. Stir well.
Add Milk. Stir well.
Fill 12 muffin tins to just under the brim of the cups.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins. Prep time 10-15 minutes. 30 minutes baking. Total time 40-45 minutes.
* = Sweeten to taste. "Papa" prefers to halve the sugar when preparing it for Julia, though this does make it kind of bland for adult eaters.
2 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Cup White Sugar*
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
1 1/4 Cups Crushed Pineapple (Half a 20 oz can)
1/2 Teaspoon Anise
1 Tablespoon Milk
Pre-heat an oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 12 Muffin Tins. (We use Pam)
Sift together the Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Salt.
Combine Sugar, Oil, Eggs, and Crushed Pineapple. Stir well.
Slowly add the Flour mixture to the Pineapple mixture, stirring well as you do.
Add Anise. Stir well.
Add Milk. Stir well.
Fill 12 muffin tins to just under the brim of the cups.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins. Prep time 10-15 minutes. 30 minutes baking. Total time 40-45 minutes.
* = Sweeten to taste. "Papa" prefers to halve the sugar when preparing it for Julia, though this does make it kind of bland for adult eaters.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Write Everyday Project #25, What Dreams May Come
Is there anything more disruptive to your morning than waking up in the middle of a dream? Okay, yes, getting interrupted by an alien invasion probably would be worse, but we're talking about relatively everyday occurances here. Sunday morning I woke up in the middle of a truly odd Doctor Who related dream, featuring the tenth and eighth doctors, which was pretty odd since I haven't seen anything but eleventh Doctor shows all this year. I rarely remember my dreams except when I'm interrupted, and even then the details remain fuzzy.
What gets me about it is how badly it throws me off. It takes minutes before I'm able to even get out of bed, and hours before I'm feeling fully up to snuff. Even after food and a shower, I'm still vaguely woozy. Breaking up that REM is a bad idea!
I do have a recurring dream, of a sort though, that I call the Unfinished Game. I often wake up feeling like I'm missing a part of a game I'm supposed to be playing. Sometimes I even make it to my PC before I remember that no, I'm not missing anything. The odd thing is, that within the dream the rules seem consistent, and when I awake I feel like I should be submitting a turn or preforming some other action, but there is, of course, no real game to play.
It can be a little disconcerting, to tell you the truth.
Still, I sometimes wish that I could remember dreams without having it ruin my morning. It'd be nice to know what my subconscious is up to in there.
What gets me about it is how badly it throws me off. It takes minutes before I'm able to even get out of bed, and hours before I'm feeling fully up to snuff. Even after food and a shower, I'm still vaguely woozy. Breaking up that REM is a bad idea!
I do have a recurring dream, of a sort though, that I call the Unfinished Game. I often wake up feeling like I'm missing a part of a game I'm supposed to be playing. Sometimes I even make it to my PC before I remember that no, I'm not missing anything. The odd thing is, that within the dream the rules seem consistent, and when I awake I feel like I should be submitting a turn or preforming some other action, but there is, of course, no real game to play.
It can be a little disconcerting, to tell you the truth.
Still, I sometimes wish that I could remember dreams without having it ruin my morning. It'd be nice to know what my subconscious is up to in there.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Write Everyday Project #24, Demographics
Did you know that Blogger tracks where people see your blog from? Check out my stats:
Now obviously most of my pageviews are from the USA, which is to be expected. I expect that if I could get an even more specialized view that I'd see 90%+ located in and around Chicago with a smattering in Dallas, Washington DC, and Wisconsin for most of the rest. And since I know at least one of my friends took a trip to Canada in the last few months, I can understand those views. But how am I getting traffic from Russia? Or Germany? Singapore? Estonia?
So yeah, if you're seeing this post, do me a favor and post a comment listing where you're from and maybe how you stumbled on this blog. I'm curious to see how this works.
Thanks!
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Now obviously most of my pageviews are from the USA, which is to be expected. I expect that if I could get an even more specialized view that I'd see 90%+ located in and around Chicago with a smattering in Dallas, Washington DC, and Wisconsin for most of the rest. And since I know at least one of my friends took a trip to Canada in the last few months, I can understand those views. But how am I getting traffic from Russia? Or Germany? Singapore? Estonia?
So yeah, if you're seeing this post, do me a favor and post a comment listing where you're from and maybe how you stumbled on this blog. I'm curious to see how this works.
Thanks!
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