What do I get out of it?

As a creative person, I am driven to make stuff. Most of the time, the stuff I create is just for me, something to scratch the itch. I am usually happy with my creations; most go unfinished, however. A lot of times, there are things I do to express an emotion or try out an idea, and once I have done that, I move on to the next thing (an expression of Attention deficit disorder). But it works for me. Creating things like writing, I need a little more, I need to share some things, and I want feedback on my ideas. Not that I am seeking attention, quite the opposite to be honest, I am very introverted (The pandemic was the best thing that ever happened to me, aside from all the death and dying stuff), and for the most part have to be poked and prodded to be social.

That’s where the paradox lies, where I am not looking for attention but want feedback on my creativity, but don’t want to have to be social about it. I am terrible about self-promotion. So, what do I get out of it? There is nothing better than hearing how a story I wrote made an impact on someone. If I frightened you, or made you think about a crazy idea I had, is a sense of fulfillment that is unequaled. When I write, I aspire to write something that will make the reader just think about my story a week or month later or even want to read it again.

I did get some very satisfying writing done this weekend. Wow, I am on Chapter 28 of Emergence Ascended, and I am really happy with it so far. As far as recording Emergence Collective, I had technical issues that prevented that from happening and that is disappointing. I am starting to feel confident, my narration skills are approaching “decent”, my editing is fair. Thanks for taking the time to read! Feel free to leave a like or comment, I enjoy the conversations! You can also email me at hello@hand-printsofdarkness.com

Audible update

Chapter 7 is recorded. As a bonus I recorded a sneak peek episode of Emergence Ascended.

Check it out on Spotify!

Painted into a corner

I had a productive weekend creatively. Chapter 4 of Emergence collective is recorded, and I got Chapter 24 of Emergence Ascended sort of almost finished, maybe. Yeah, I am a little undecided since it seems that I painted myself into a narrative corner plot-wise. I am stuck with a decision that will steer the story on two different paths. The two storylines converge in this chapter.

One of the issues and how I managed to do it is I am a seat-of-the-pants kind of writer where I do not outline the entire story. I have a plan about how I want it to end, and I wander with the story as I navigate my way to the ending. By wander, I mean that as I am writing a scene, even I do not know what is going to happen next. Sometimes I have epiphanies and inspirations that feel right but create other issues that I have to reconcile with the overall storyline. Like I did Saturday, On the one hand, I am very happy with my latest bout of inspiration (It makes sense for those characters), but it has created a timing issue with the plot and a sticky situation that I have to think about and finesse my way out of.

Yes, I know I am being vague about it, but I am hoping that you might be curious enough to grab yourself a copy once it is finished. Anyway, I will ponder this for a bit, and maybe I will come up with an elegant solution. On the optimistic side of the coin, I do enjoy a challenge; without them, we only stagnate and do not grow.

Thanks for reading!

Saturday quick post

I’m feeling great today. All the holiday stuff is past us, and I get to get back into writing. Unfortunately, I won’t get a chance to do any recording tomorrow, but I’m not abandoning that project. I finished a chapter and a half today, so at least there is that. I really wanted to keep going, but Adulting takes precedence ya know? I am excited about this part of the book, and it’s hard to tear myself away. The second act of the story is my favorite part to write. I’ve established all the setup stuff, all the important characters are doing their thing, and the plot is plotting. now I get to play with the pieces of the story. I’m already excited for people to read it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Obligatory New Year post!

I’m back! It’s a new year, and I suppose I will jump on the bandwagon for the year-end/new year transitional post. As far as the blog goes, it is less than a year at this point, but it was successful for a lot of personal reasons. Though the daily stats may not look at all successful, for me it’s not about the numbers of anonymous readers, but the few people that I have met through this blog has made it feel quite successful.

Those stats, on the surface, look amazing, but the truth is that I got suckered into one of those click-through sites. So the amazing number are really a verisimilitude of success. As I was saying, numbers are just numbers. I have met some amazing people from all over the world through my blog and WordPress. I have learned a lot this year about the community of creatives and intellectuals alike.

So do I have new years goals for my blog? My only real goal is to keep at it and try to keep a reliable schedule. I am looking forward to adding a lot more short stories and other writing. Hopefully, I will sell a book or two. I also look forward to meeting more people and get to know the ones I have already met, more. I am always happy to have conversations about just about anything, so if you don’t feel like commenting publically, you can send a message to hello@hand-printsofdarkness.com Thanks for stopping by! Happy Newyear!

Quantum Mechanics… If you’re not confused by it, you don’t understand it.

A deep goal of theoretical physics is to unify the fundamental forces of nature, gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces into the theory of everything (TOE).

The Theory of Everything, namely M-theory, string theory, and quantum field theory (and interactions with geometry and topology) is a tasty cosmic stew that to me are topics that are too tempting to not be used as a backbone or structure in the subtext of my story.  String theory specifically has been calling my name for a number of years now, and despite the controversial nature of the theory I am on “Team String”. Lucky for me I don’t have to back anything up that is to say with a “Ph.D.” or citations to peer-reviewed articles, because, hey I write Fiction! One of the issues I have with science fiction (more to the point the uber-nerd readers) is a suspension of disbelief gets lost in the mire of “I know more than the author of the story I am picking apart” (Come on I am not writing a dissertation, just a fun story, just go with it). That little thing has cautioned me to do my research, lest I get flamed somewhere on the internet. But it also gets in the way of artistic license…. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah String theory.  Essentially it is the idea of vibrational frequencies (the strings) that make up all matter and energy in the universe. Man, that is good stuff. How could one not use that in a science fiction book? It’s the ultimate tool to describe why the magic in my stories has a connection to reality.

I know that this may not entice anyone to read my next book, but hopefully, if you read “Emergence Collective” with this in the back of your mind it might make it a little more interesting. (and not to mention prepare you for the next one) I have written in previous blog posts that I create a rule set for each story, that helps maintain the continuity, of a concept or even the behavior of the characters. The theory of everything, M theory, quantum field theory, and String theory is my basic rule sets for my WIP. Don’t worry, you really do not have to understand any of it to enjoy my stories which are pure and utter fantasy. If you are the uber-nerd, I will go toe to toe about why my rule sets do or don’t work. I would enjoy that conversation.

Deleted scenes

I enjoyed a long weekend; the “labor day” holiday here in the US, it is a holiday for the workman. Because, well, we all deserve a day off, right? I spent a lot of time making stuff with my laser. Honestly trying to build inventory to sell at craft fairs and such.

MC escher

Book box

LOTR

I should have been writing. I am not sure if I am procrastinating or not. I have reached a part in the story that kind of has me stumped. Trying to weave two parts of the storyline together. This happened once before in Emergence collective. I had written a chapter that sort of painted me into a corner plot-wise. The chapter was That Barney, after discovering he had the power to control some aspects of reality, decided to trim some fat from his entourage (He is a military commander, and he had been in Eastern Washington investigating a strange anomaly with a detachment of troops) So he manifested a gun and killed them all. Needless to say, this sent the direction of the story in an awkward place, I had to go into why he did, and deal with the ramifications of that action. Honestly it changed the tone of the story a created plot problems that I could not resolve. Ultimately, I scrapped about 4 thousand words and re wrote it. (You should check it out if you haven’t read it!)

I am in a similar position now, where the story has taken off in a direction that I need to steer back into the direction I had originally intended. (For me the stories write themselves and I feel like a bystander most of the time) So I have been procrastinating, pretending to think about the story issues, but also enjoying a hobby. I love to make stuff. I know, I know, I should be writing.

No good deed goes unpunished

I never voiced this out loud, but in my head, I called it. “I’m going to give this guy a chance, a boost to start his career, and he is gonna kill my character tonight.” Aaaaaaaaand it happened. my character in D&D was ambushed by a mind flayer. I think he felt bad since we spent a lot of time trying to resurrect the character without too much “divine intervention.” The Friday game went as I expected. We did, however, despite the game of pretending, get an opportunity to go over some mental notes on the narration for “Emergence collective” foo Audible. I have all the recording equipment ordered and on its way. Things are right on track to begin recording, and I couldn’t be happier. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had a great writing session this weekend so things all around are going smoothly. (Now if I can just figure out how to get these two characters to meet) but that’s my problem)). Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog!

New experiences.

Just a quick post on Saturday. This whole writing thing keeps bringing new rewards. I wrote a particularly satisfying chapter today. As I feel I am still new to the writing thing, I know that the struggle is real, but I think that those feelings of futility and creative struggles have a tendency to overshadow some of the personal revelations and rewards that one can get from writing. One thing is that I write because of the compulsion to let out my creative impulse. But that sounds sterile and somewhat clinical, I find genuine enjoyment in writing. While it is not really a new experience, today I felt a profound enjoyment as the words flowed, and there was a full circle moment in the plot and a definite connection to the first book that was quite gratifying. Thanks for visiting!

Friday, what took you so long?

Wow, this week seemed to last forever. Im looking forward to recharging my mental batteries. I have a D&D session tonight, Im excited about (going to hunt some rust monsters that are currently plaguing the town). Its fun to play make-believe, and I think it keeps one creative. I plan on getting a lot of writing tomorrow, since I haven’t had the chance to write all week. Not a bad thing though. Ive been “writing” in my head the whole time, going over the overall story and planning how to connect some storylines together. The Audible project is full steam ahead. I have recording equipment picked out, and I have lots of notes to go over with the narrator.

Thanks for stopping by!