Character Interview with Xedagh Milkanin

    Yes, I know I said my next post would be a philosophical analysis of "The Road Goes Ever On" but I realized that philosophy is hard, and I don't really care for it, so it's taken longer. So, with some prodding from the League of Extraordinary Scribes, I'm doing a character interview instead. His name is Xedagh Milkanin. He looks kind of like the figure in the two pictures in this post. (The bottom found through hard Google trawling, the second, through Pinterest.) Here's the description of the character. 

Xedagh is an immortal, psionic alien from another galaxy. He can't die because his race, the Llinoq, have the unique ability to recover from all injuries. However, they do go what into they call the Deep Sleep, which is a permanent coma that lasts until the multiverse ends. Xedagh is almost the last of his race because of a decision he made. Eons ago, there was a cataclysmic war back in his home galaxy between the Llinoq and a diabolical race called the Chrue. The Llinoq were the guardians of their galaxy, and they were slowly being beat back, despite their astonishing abilities. He was young, foolish, and in love. So, in exchange for the life his love (and himself, of course) and their freedom, he betrayed his people.  Naturally, she didn't like that, so she left him. Absolutely devastated and and hating himself for his stupidity, he started wandering and ended up in our galaxy where he does mercenary work and the like under the alias Luanqin Tanxia which means "Many Sorrows." He's the best of the best in mercenary work due ti his psionic abilities and advanced armor. He's grieving for his choice, but he can't make himself enter the Deep Sleep because of the thousand star systems he caused to fall beneath the heel of the Chrue. He feels he needs to atone. 

Begin Transmission 
Alpha Query Protocol 779

Me: So, Xedag-

Xedagh: That's not my name. It's Luanqin Tanxia 

Me: Don't argue with me. It's not worth. I know your name is Xedagh Milkanin and your past. Don't worry either. None of your enemies or fellow mercenaries will ever know it, for I am your Author. 

Xedagh: My Author? Very well. Hurry up though. I'm busy at the moment. 

Me: Alright, I'll start with an easy question. We'll get to the harder and more painful ones as we go on. The first is from Nathanael. Do you only take certain kinds of mercenary jobs, as a way of atoning for your past?

Xedagh: Yes, though I don't know how you know all of this. Or how they know all of that. I don't work for pirates, dictators, or criminal organizations. Period. On occasion, I'll pretend to join them under a different alias and toppling them from the inside. Most of what I do involves cleaning up organized crime rings that are to big for governments to handle. Sometimes I join with a defense force. 

Me: Do you own your own ship that is recognizable or do you switch them up to stay anonymous? 

Xedagh: Usually, I use my own ship, the Xrithella, but there are times when I'll switch ships to work in disguise. My ship is what brought me to this galaxy, so I will always keep it. 

Me: Do you have a special diet?
Xedagh: No. Why would you ask that?

Me: Er-

Xedagh: Don't answer that. 

Me: Any plans on taking out the Chrue?

Xedagh: No.

Me: Well, okay then. I see that's not something you like to talk about. So, why'd you stop at this galaxy? 

Xedagh: It's where I was when I awoke from my worst injury ever, and I've not had one bad enough to keep me out long enough to cross the unimaginably vast distances between the galaxies. So I've stayed here. 

Me: Very good then. I think that's an excellent reason. Now, back to the somewhat easy ones. What's your preferred weapon? Why? 

Xedagh: At last, a decent question. I have several, depending on what the mission requires. My standard is a Gralt 55 radjule rifle, modular style, with accessories chosen for each mission. I also carry two Vhrenger 45 radjule pistols, a collection of knives, both regular and augmented. Nothing can disable a piece of sharp metal. My signature weapon is a Llinoq weapon, called the Xang. It's similar to the ancient swords, except much more advanced. Particulars, I will not tell you.

Me: Quite an impressive armory you have. Now, are you a loner? Or do you have some allies?

Xedagh: Mostly a loner. I outlive everyone, and I will outlive everyone, so it's hard to build relationships. No need to add to my hurt by making new connections. However, I've lately 

met fellow mercenary Baklen Desh, and we've been doing some jobs together. Not everyone's happy though, because we can charge as much for our services as any one of the big security firms. As a side-note, we do our job better they they do as well. 

Me: I'm sure you two do. I've known Baklen for along time. 

Xedagh: How? 

Me: Don't worry about it. What's your deepest fear?

Xedagh: Don't change the-what?!

Me: That's from Hannah. Answer it. 

Xedagh: Hrrmph. *incomprehensible grumbling* I think I'm living my worst fear. An exile, a traitor, and alone. Though, I suppose it could be being forced into the Deep Sleep and facing everyone after what I've done. 

Me: Another from Hannah, what keeps you going in life? 

Xedagh: Tell her that her questions are dangerous. 

Me: Answer it. 

Xedagh: Fine. I wish to try and undo some of the damage I've caused, and compensate for my evils. 

Me: Not from Hannah-

Xedagh: Good.

Me: Have you built yourself a metaphorical shell or mask? If so, what is it?

Xedagh: It's more of a literal shell. Nobody sees me outside of my armor, and the face plate is reflective, which I suppose, if I was an Evil Author, could symbolize my isolation and stony image. 

Me: Yes, I suppose it could. I'd not thought of that before. Good idea. 

Xedagh: Finished yet?

Me: Last question. Have you developed a cynical view of love?

Xedagh: Xyeg. That's hard. I suppose I have. I shy away from it now, and especially its mind-altering effects. 

Me: Excellent! That wasn't so bad, was it?

Xedagh: Like wrestling a Helefgh. 

Me: Huh? 

Xedagh: You're the author. You're supposed to know what that is. Now, this is over. I've waited long enough. The gunships have stopped shooting at me. 

Transmission Terminated 

And there you go, an interview with Xedagh Milkanin. 

A Once in a 4-Year Event

  It's Leap Day today, as you all know. This day won't return for another 4 years, so make the most of it and write a blog post.
  The next Leap Day, in 2016 seems like so far away, doesn't it? Yet, 2012 seemed like a long time away from 2008, but here we are, and it seemed to fly by so past. We're already to March of 2012.
  Interesting how time zooms by, isn't it, even though it seems to go slow?
That's the end of my musings on time, and I 'll just start being kind of random and saying what my top 3 movies to see this year are.

1. The Hobbit

  How could I not want to see it? It looks like it'll be awesome. Alas, I must wait until December though.

2. The Avengers 

I am a big superhero fan. Captain America is my favorite, with Superman in second. I approached the Marvel movies a bit skeptically at first, but I changed my mind. The ones I've seen so far are good. Now we get all of them working together, which will be even better. 

3. The Hunger Games 

Yes, this comes in third. I know people will find that odd, or perhaps insane. Still, it's on my to see list. Why? Because it's The Hunger Games which is one my favorite series. It'll be interesting to see how things turn out in the movie compared to the book, and if the next two books will have movies as well. 

 What about you? What are your top movies?

Book Review: Sword in the Stars by Wayne Thomas Batson

 So... this is my first review, basically, so this will be a very experimental post. So bear with me.

Back cover summary: Haunted by memories of a violent past, Alastair Coldhollow wagers his life on the hope that a sword will appear in the stars and the foretold Halfainin, the Pathwalker, would come. Meanwhile, tensions simmer between Anglinore and the murderous Gorrack Nation, threatening war on a cataclysmic scale. The fate of all could rest on an abandoned child and the decisions of those who desperately seek to identify him. (Sword in the Stars is the first release in The Dark Sea Annals series.)

 Now, that sounds suitable epic with a grand scope, and what-not, but it doesn't capture Alastair's inner conflict. He's seeking, like all of his, for something we can't find in our world. Forgiveness, and being free from our past. He's also trying to figure out his relationship with Abbagael, the female main character.

 This book is about him, and how he changes and matures. But it's also a set-up for the rest of the series. He's not a perfect hero (Nor should heroes be perfect. It's annoying) by any means. He has doubts, guilt, and an addiction. He rages. He makes selfish decisions in the name of being selfless. But in the end, he does what's right.
The rest of the characters were similar. None were perfect, and all had motivations of their own. They were all memorable, and different than the others.

Pros: It is a well-written fantasy that focuses on the characters, doesn't have anything objectionable, and for those who like Christian symbolism, it's there.
The world building is also fantastic. It's  rings of Middle-Earth, but doesn't actually copy any of it. It's much different. There are seven races, all different. Different kingdoms, of course. The story also focused on the characters, and didn't go up in a helicopter to follow the course of a river like LotR.

Content wise, it's clean. The only exception might possibly be some blood, and violence if you're sensitive about that.

Cons:
It didn't have the sacrifice that truly great books have, but it is the first book of a series. It also doesn't expand on everything in detail.

I am fully satisfied with this book, and I strongly recommend it. It's sweet. So, I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Woe is me! A Morality Tale

 So, if you don't like tragic stories, don't read this post. It's full of tragedy and sadness. Joy, and crushing despair. And it's all true. I'll give you the not as bad news first.
Rejected! No, this isn't a story of personal heartbreak of mine, just a rejection email from a publisher. It was actually pretty nice, not having to wonder any longer. I got personalized feedback on the short story. The tension was good, the pacing was good, but there wasn't enough backstory to become emotionally engaged in the characters. All true. All I'd have to do is expand on their characters and the backstory, then Presto! But it was not to be so.

I lost my flashdrive.

Read that again, and you'll know just about everything else I'm going to say in this post.
All my writings, gone. Vanished. Including one of the best pieces of writing I've ever done that I was almost ready to send to Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. All my started novels. Gone. So that's what I've been doing most of today. Looking for it. No luck so far. But on the plus side, my room's a lot cleaner.
But, yeah. Always back up your stories somewhere where they can't be lost. Like GMail. Or a private GoogleDocs. Or something.

So, farewell on this one. I'm off to continue tearing my room apart, salvaging whatever pieces of them I have on the internet (Most of them, except the one I really need).

What if...

Okay, I'm reading through K.M. Weiland's book Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success and I'm finding it very helpful.  (Check out her blog for writers at http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/) Yes, I was a panster, but it just wasn't working for me. So, I got this one for Kindle.
 I also got it, because a new project I'm working on easily has the potential to be absolutely brilliant, and I want to be able to give the magnificence it deserves.
 So I'm in the chapter on premise sentences, and there's a section on asking the famous question "What if?" to generate new ideas and possibilities for the story. She used her novel Behold the Dawn as an example.

I use these because I can see pencil on the pages. Old school, I know

I took it a step further, and asked What if... and then on the next line in my notebook, I asked another question that led from the previous question, for half a page. This isn't a small notebook either.
The process helped come up with a whole lot of new ideas compared to what I started with. It's fast, fairly easy (For me), and shows whole new paths the story can go.

I'll do an example here. Let's do something fairly generic.

What if there were aliens in outer space? Now we have the question that sends us on our path of discovery, but it's the answer that will give us conflict and plot.
What if those aliens wanted to conquer Earth? More of a specific idea, than anything that can help us, but it suggests conflict.
Wait, what if there was another group of aliens fighting to defend Earth? Now the pot is boiling. Why are the two fighting over Earth? What makes Earth special? Why does the one want to conquer it? Why does the other want to defend Earth? How long have they been fighting?
What if Earth holds a very important secret? What's the secret? Who put it there? Why Earth? What makes it so important that war would be fought over it?
What if someone from Earth discovers the secret? Now we have a main character. Now, how does the keeper of the secret respond to the secret, and the responsibility that comes with it? What does he/she do with it? What forces the protagonist into the conflict between the alien forces? What inner conflict does he/she have to face to succeed? What's the goal? Who is the protagonist?
What if the villains find out and seek to capture the secret holder or someone close? Now we have the antagonists actively seeking to thwart the hero, which leads to more questions. How do they do it? Who is the person kidnapped? What can you do unexpected?

 Getting the picture of this method? It forces you think about your idea in more specific terms than usual, and reveals new pathways.

 Can you think of any answers or other questions? Will you use this for one of your projects?

Remember, always ask the question "What if?".

New Year's Resolutions

 Late again, I know. I hadn't actually planned on making one, but KathrineROID convinced me over on her blog Scribbling on the Computer to write it anyways. So I agreed, for accountability is good. Granted, it won't be anywhere near as long as hers.

 First, I'm going to try and write 500 words a day. It doesn't matter as much what I write, just as long as I write. You might get flooded with blog posts now. I'm also doing it because writing skills is a muscle, and inspiration comes while writing.

  I'm also going to try and do either a minimum of 15 push-ups, or a minimum of 30 push-ups a day. Or maybe work up to 30. Why? To build arm strength and general fitness. Why 30? It's the most I've managed to do in a single minute.

Thirdly, I'm going to attempt to finish the first draft of The Dying Words of Dick Elden, Galactic Gumshoe by the end of the year. The reason is that I have yet to finish a draft of a novel. A shame, I know. And an annoyance.

 Oh, I'll also be working on something titled Secret Project 001, something that has me more excited about writing fantasy since I finished reading LotR for the first time.


So, what are your resolutions?

NaNoWriMo Conclusion & Update

 Yes, this post is extremely late. Almost a month late, to be precise. However, I've taken the past 23 days off of writing, and done nothing but brainstorming, world-building, etc. Having a bad case of writer's block helped with that.
  Right, on to NaNoWriMo YWP. I won, yes. but painfully. I had two essays to work on during that period, so it got to 9300 words (About 2/3s of the way to my goal) and gave up. My research paper was more important. So, I worked on that. Then, it was November 30, and everyone else was working frantically to finish. Me, I was watching and cheering.
  Then I changed my mind, and decided to give it one last, glorious, kamikaze style attempt to get in as many words as I could. Not to win, of course, but to be close.
 It ended up lasting 5 1/2 hours, ending at 11:45 PM, and having 140 more words than my word goal. My hands hurt for two days afterwards.
 Since then, I've been hit by a bad case of writer's block. A short story that needed backstory brought me to a screeching halt. So I've spent almost a month thinking on that. Then I decided two days ago to just start writing, SotP style. It's worked, for a bit.
Now I've switched gears to get inspiration from writing. I'm aiming to finish part 1 of Hunter Romero and the Atlantean Curse by January 1st. Why? Just to finish and not worry about editing and finishing it at the same time. Then I figure out where to go from there, and how to add a dieselpunk underwater adventure, breaking into Area 51, a conspiracy, and going to Atlantis into the mix. The characters just have to find the idol first.

So, that's what I've been doing/will be doing. What about you? How did your NaNoWriMo go?

NaNoWriMo

  There are 25 days until National Novel Writing Month, and hopefully, I will be participating. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a novel in 30 days. For the main program, it's 50,000 words. For the Young Writer's Program, you set your own goal. My goal is 25,000 words because it's a novella which I originally intended to be a comic book script. I don't know how to write a script, so I'll start with a novella first.
  My story for this year is an urban fantasy martial artist superhero story. Epic, isn't it? It's going to be a noir feeling story in the modern day, with all the troubles it entails. There's also two warring ninja clans, supernatural evils, and hopefully some deeper meaning.

 Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year?

History of Action/Adventure

 Technically, action/adventure is the oldest genre outside of historical records. The story of Gilgamesh would be the oldest recorded action/adventure story. However, I'll stick to modern action/adventure which sprouted in the previous century and a half.
...
 The originators are the penny dreadfuls (England) and dime novels (American) as well as newspaper serials (Like Wells' War of the Worlds). Dime novels often told embellished accounts of real people; such as Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickhock, Jesse James, etc. Penny dreadfuls were British and heroes often feature Robin Hood type characters, highway robbers, etc. Newspaper serials were short parts of a longer work; in action/adventure, the best well known is King Solomon's Mines. It has become a classic.  These lasted until the early 20th century.

 These were published very cheaply, and very quickly.

 Then came the pulps. (My personal favorite era)
 The pulps were magazines printed on cheap paper made of wood pulp and told the tales of Western heroes, detectives, and eventually, the precursor to superheroes.  These lasted from 1896 to the 1950s. Haggard (Author of King Solomon's Mines) was a pioneer in this genre as well.
 The genre was filled with Westerns and mysteries. Tarzan was created in 1912 as a serial which went for 22 novels.  Then, The Shadow appeared on the radio show Detective Story Hour as the narrator. The publishers soon began receiving requests for The Shadow's stories of his own. Quickly, he earned his own magazine. (Some of his radio episodes can be found here at a link I'll post at the end). The Shadow magazine was published for 325 issues, the longest running pulp magazine ever. Then came the space opera hero Buck Rogers. Doc Savage soon followed. Doc Savage, the Superman precursor, and one of the biggest heroes. The Shadow was dark, mysterious, and dangerous, much like Batman. The Shadow is the archetype of dark, night-walking vigilantes. Doc Savage, on the other hand, was strong, heroic looking, extremely strong, extremely smart, and dedicated to crime-fighting. He acted with the approval of the government, and rarely killed. He's the archtype for Superman.

 There were other big ones of course; the Phantom Detective, Operator # 5, G-8 and his Flying Aces, John Carter (Of Mars, yes), Zorro, and the Black Bat. Eventually, they were fazed out by superheroes.

 Superheroes really kicked off in the 30s and have lasted in some way, since. Batman and Superman kicked the genre off and it's grown ever since. It deserves its own article.

James Bond novels were written about now. The super-spy. Excellent at disposing of insane enemies. Excellent at driving. Ladies man, of course. He's also a transition between the optimistic pulps and darker side of the Vietnam and Post-Vietnam era. He is a gentleman, (Martinis shaken, not stirred) yet ruthless.
 Then came the 60s; flower-power, anti-war, and nuclear fear. Action/adventure took a darker edge with Aggressor novels. They were dark, and violent.
 Then the 70s was another transition, to the 80s. Star Wars came out in 1977, a beacon of hope in what I've heard, for SF, was pretty bleak.  The 80s were different. Comics, and Batman in particular, were dark and violent. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark came out in this decade. TV shows included The A-Team, Michael Knight, and other somewhat cheesy action shows. It's also brought about the variety in modern action/adventure.

 Since then, we've diversified. The original pulp heroes have gone out of print and new writers have picked them up. Writers inspired by those and Indy began creating their own heroes and stories. Things can be pulpy and optimistic, dark and gritty, or somewhere in between.

 More details?

The Shadow radio episodes
(http://www.oldtimeradiofans.com/template.php?show_name=The%20Shadow)

Action & Adventure: What it Is and What it is Not

Changing gears here, to another of my favorite genres.

  Action/Adventure is a hard genre to pin down. Many of what could be considered its sub-genres are full-fledged genres. Unlike fantasy or SF (Which some works of those fall in this genre. See Buck Roge...rs and Conan) which have iconic settings that are easily recognizable, action/adventure doesn't. The closest thing would look more like a documentary.  It's settings range from Victorian Africa, the Wild West, to yesterday's headlines.

 First, what action/adventure is not. It is not action or adventure in another genre. All genres  have elements of action and elements of adventure.
  Action/adventure as a genre makes the action/adventure one of the main points of the novel. Deep characters are generally not necessary. Plots are not needed to be realistic. Make it over the top and exciting.
  It also often has secret societies, martial artists, lots of chases, commandos, and vigilantes.

Good is good. Bad is bad. Nazis are evil. Automatic weapons rules. Explosions are key. Settings should be exotic. Heroines tough, most of the time. Rest of the time they're damsels of distress. Heroes are either highly skilled operatives (James Bond, Jason Bourne, Rambo) or normal peopl thrown into unordinary circumstances (Indiana Jones). There are more, but they're older.
 

Importance of Characters in Space Opera

   This is an unplanned for addition to my post, 5 Essentials for Space Opera, written on request. So here I go, exploring the last frontier in space opera (for me anyways).
    Let me back up a bit to give some definitions of space opera and some for hard SF. Hard SF isn't very dramatic or melodramatic in some cases. It's serious, and focuses more on the science than the characters or story. The laws of physics are absolute and can not be broken. Hard SF is quite popular in books and often is what give SF the adjective "atheistic." Many are. I haven't read any that aren't, but there are probably some out there.
   Space opera, on the other hand, is the opposite. Space opera focuses on the grand scales of conflict, adventure, and personal conflict or drama. Rules of physics are there to be broken, often literally. Space opera has very little regard for current science.
   I italicized the personal conflict or drama (And shall continue to do so) because it's what truly what drives space opera and puts a head and shoulders above the other genres. (Military SF, Golden Age, and steam/diesel-punk come close). It's the characters.
  Stories about aliens, galactic empires, epic starships, aren't exactly relatable. Stories about inter-familial conflicts are. Aliens, rebellions, starships, and scruffy rogues just make them more interesting than your average soap opera or random neighbor down the street. We know how how personal problems feel; the nervousness, the indecision, the fear. That sickening, roiling feeling in the stomach. You know what I'm talking about.
  I'm not sure how much more I can say; so I'll provide examples.
Star Wars: The Original Trilogy: Han, Leia, Chewbacca, Luke, R2-D2, and C-3PO are the driving charters in these three movies. Luke is the main character whose change and growth along the lines of the Heroes Journey is the main subject for the story. Han and Leia create the romantic sub-plot. Their fights; reconciliations, and acceptance draws viewers along for the movies. R2 and C-3PO add comic relief and aid in repairing damaged X-Wings. They add humor to what could otherwise be a grim affair.
  Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy: The driving characters are Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chancellor Palpatine, Padme Amidala, and Anakin Skywalker. Anakin and Padme are the two main driving characters; their forbidden romance brings about Anakin's fall to the Dark Side. Palpatine facilitates it and drives the entire Clone Wars with his schemes. Obi-Wan tries to keep Anakin on the good side, as well as healthy and fine. Their interactions make what could be a standard pre-war conspiracy story in a galaxy far, far, away into a tense and emotionally rich story.
  Star Trek: The Original Series: (Are you seeing a pattern?) The driving characters are, of course, Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and Doc McCoy. Spock and McCoy are the most relatable; since they're great friends yet constantly argue with each other. Kirk adds some philosophy, and Scotty adds somewhat of common sense.

 Without unique characters who don't have conflicting personalities, space opera can quickly fall into unbearable melodrama.
 

9 Things Learned from "Civilzations: Revolutuion"

My apologies to my long-term Facebook friends who have already read this. 

1. Being in possession of nuclear weapons is a good way to end open hostilities with another country. This I learned very quickly the first time I built the Manhattan Project wonder, all other empires gave me an offer of peace, even the Arabs. who I was in the middle of a century long war with.
 Addendum:  The UN rather negates this with nuclear disarmament treaties and what-not, but having them at least counts.

2. To ensure the survival of a nation, a strong military is needed. I don't mean armed militia either. I mean state-of-the art military technology with the capability of have large amounts of its units out in the field on a campaign, and still have large forces at home on defense and ready to cycle in to replace casualties.

3. Don't go to war until you are ready and able to support the strong military in number two. If you go to war to early, you won't be able to support them. Take to long, and they'll invade and you'll be stuck on defense. (tip, if this happens pull an Inchon, invade them somewhere else

4. Always stay one technological step ahead of your enemies, and allies. A technological advantage would be fighting spear men with riflemen, (Which is common). This advantage also gives you a plus to other advantages, such as mining, medicine, whatever it may be. Always keep researching, and there are other advantages as well, just look at what came of the space race.

5. Be willing to accept peace terms, but never offer them, unless you truly are ahead. Weakened enemies will, eventually, realize their mistake and sue for peace. Accept their offer. It will make your country look better and spare you from inner turmoil from too many casualties. It also gives you time to recover your strength.

6. Never crumble to hostile threats, unless it is a better idea than to fight. I generally spurn threats received from AI enemies, because I  am always far more powerful than they are. No, that wasn't hubris. I am generally always ahead of them in technology by a slim thread. That gives me an advantage. I also know I probably spend more on military units than I should. Sometimes, however, you are unable to fight due to another war, or some certain problem you're having.

7. Always maintain friendly relations with your citizens. Keep the people happy with good education, jobs, and cultural things. It'll keep them educated, happy, and prosperous, thus increasing your chances of scientific breakthroughs and reducing the risks of them becoming disgruntled and rebelling.
Addendum:  Just make sure you support the stuff, rather than give it to them.

8. Be sure to back up your threats, bluffs, etc. If you threaten to attack a country, and they want proof, you better give them proof, or else. "Or Else" means the realization that you can't back up your threats and will lose most of your power.
Corollary:  Never make a threat unless you can and are willing to back it up. Mean business.


9. Know your targets and priories, whether it be by spies, satellites, or high atmospheric planes. You must always know the priority targets that you would strike if necessary. Cities, industrial facilities, etc. Know your targets, and in what priority they lay. In "Revolution" I always head straight for the capital. More simply, have good intelligence.

Perhaps some embarrassing moments in history could have been avoided if leaders played this game, or read Sun Tzu's The Art of War (More on this book to come soon, think of this as a humorous introduction)


From a hidden bunker,
Varon

Hymn to the Fallen: D-Day Memorial

You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely....The free men of the world are marching together to victory. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory. Good luck, and let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. General Dwight D. Eisenhower
                                                                            

                                                                  
     On June 6, 1944, 160,000 soldiers from the Allied countries of the United States of America,  England, and Canada underwent the largest amphibious operation in the history of warfare. Today is  67 years after the invasion.      The invasion was hurt by mistakes, bad weather, and plans that could never work. The American paratroopers were scattered over the French countryside, unable to reach each other or their targets. Despite that, they fought valiantly and confused the Germans.
    Omaha beach was assaulted by the United State's 1st Infantry Division, and they were against Hitler's finest. Only be many acts of heroic sacrifice were the bluffs taken and the Germans beaten back.
    By the end of the day, there were 10,000 Allied casualties. What was the reward for the cost? The Allies had gained a strong foot-hold in Europe and were advancing towards Berlin.

 Remember the fallen. God Bless America!

5 Essentials for Space Opera (tongue in cheek of course, but I mean every word)

 This was written for an online writer's group I'm in for science-fiction month. So, without any further ado...

  Space opera is the iconic sub-genre of science fiction for most people. Just mentioning the magic words “science-fiction” brings to mind images of lasers, starships, and colorful (though sometimes flat) characters. I’ve assembled my own personal list of 5 essentials to make a good space opera. Explanations may or may not appear. Starships are definitely an important part, but I couldn’t find room for them in the list.

#5: FTL FTW!
Translation please? FTL FTW is an acronym made of two separate acronyms that stands for the phrase “faster than light travel for the win.” That’s quite a mouthful there. More importantly, what does that mean? Well, one of the key elements of space opera is a big setting. That takes really, really fast travel methods to prevent you’re story from becoming the space version of a road trip without the quaint interesting little towns along the way. A pretty boring trip unless you like watching the constellations change shape.
            #4: Giant Super-weapons
  These monstrous symbols for man-kind’s ruthlessness and technological weapons improvement bring about high stakes and pulse-pounding adventure while oftentimes thumbing their nose at modern science (or treaties). Perfect for space opera, aye? Seriously though, space opera is all about being big and exciting. Plus, there are brownie points involved from the special effects, sometimes billions of dollars of profit. (Avatar anyone?)
            #3: Battered Freighters
  Maybe it has to do with the plucky underdog valiantly fighting better, more modern ships, but battered are almost a staple, nay, a cliché of the genre. Albeit, a lovable one, much like those scruffy rogues who pilot them. Or, perhaps, it’s the rogue that makes the ship. Nah, definitely the ship. Star Trek, in my opinion, is not that great of a space opera for several reasons, from boring costumes to not being all that fun for the whole family (a whole different post), plus the heroes were always flying a warship. Where’s the fun in that? Other than the vast firepower available of course.
            #2: Cocky Warrior Princess (and their hair-dos)
  The politically correct term would be strong, independent female leads. Isn’t that a bit boring? This archetype is almost as old as space opera itself, possible originating in Edgar Rice Burroughs’s novel  A Princess of Mars. Not to mention, Princess Leia’s iconic cinnamon bun hair-do has been forever ingrained as a cultural celebrity moment.
            #1: Aliens
 Aliens take the number one spot because of the color, variety, and imagination added to a story. Make them good, bad, ugly, slimy, or shimmering energy beings. Just make them unique and exotic. Nothing make’s a boring bar, excuse me, cantina scene more interesting than some two-headed aliens, a scary furry thing, and some other wildly creative aliens hanging about. Robert Heinlein’s  space operas were good, but they were a bit bland with the best aliens being primitive frog things on Venus. Not much to go on there.

Conclusion: The rule of cool either works really well for space opera, or was invented for space opera. Remember this list (but be creative) and you’re space opera will have a chance at becoming as memorable as Star Wars. Maybe.

Millenium Falcon? Nah. Enterprise? Nah. Spectral Vigilante? Maybe

His Ship

 So, I need a name for a starship.A battered old interceptor fighter turned freighter turned private ship for a private detective who's also a fugitive, so something dealing with unofficial law enforcement would be nice. I'm also going for a satire/Mark Twain style humor piece.
   These are my current ideas.

•  Vigilante
• Vigilante Shadow
• Spectral Vigilante 
• Vigilante Myth
• The Investigator

  Any new ideas or suggestions would be very helpful.

Excerpt from THE DYING WORDS OF DICK ELDEN, GALACTIC GUMSHOE

      This is my latest novel and the reason I haven't posted in a bit. It's brand new, a parody, and copyrighted to me.        
                      

                                              The Dying Words of Dick Elden, Galactic Gumshoe

An Unexpected Visit

            I was always getting into trouble. Well, that isn’t true, not really. I’m the kind of boy who just can’t resist adventure, which has gotten me in trouble.

            Oh, call me Dick. My full name’s Elden, Dick Elden. I’m a high-schooler and whenever life got me down, I’d go for a walk. When my spirits needed restoring, I could always count on the headlands of Massachusetts to restore them. Or, at least, make them seem smaller. But it was the stars that truly drew me up.

            It was well after dawn on a spring morning in 2010 and the young teenagers of Blansfield were just dragging themselves out of bed. I was already up.

            In fact, I was a on a walk above the sea, absorbing the crashing of the waves and shrieks of sea gulls. Then it happened! A bang! A flash! I reared back like a horse with its reins caught round a tree.

            As I picked my self up off the ground, I spotted an oddly dressed figure staggering towards me. I scrambled back, but my curiosity was sparked. The figure looked like a man dressed in a trench-coat with a fedora on his head.
            “Wait!” He croaked, and I paused, before stepping forward like a man in a trance.

            “What?” I asked, still taking in the man’s bloodstained coat-front and pale face. He was dying that was obvious.

            “T-take t-this.” The man spluttered, coughing out spittle and globs of red liquid. He stuck his hand forward to me and shoved something at me.

            “A-alright.” I stammered. “What is it?” He muttered something. “What was that?” In a burst of strength, the man answered with a defiant yell.

            “The successor of the position is chosen!” With that, he collapsed like a limp rag. I checked his pulse. Nothing. I looked down at the thing. It was a small thingamajig that looked like a computerized passport. There was a button that was helpfully labeled ‘Press Me to Turn KIAC On.’ I pushed it.

            “Welcome unidentified person. I am the Know-It-All-Computer or KIAC.”

     “What?” I nearly dropped the machine. Fumbling, I managed to catch it, but not before I’d pressed several buttons.

            “Please state your name, date of birth, and place of residence.” That, my friend, was strange. I complied though. Something told me this was important and the machine’s orders be followed. I learned later it was the KIAC sending telepathic messages. Not cool.

            “I am Dick Elden, born on October 3, 1994 AD.” I studied the machine. It was doing something, and the words were in some weird alphabet like Klingon.

            “Congratulations on your promotion Dick Elden, Galactic Gumshoe and Official Representative of Terra to the Galactic Private Detective Agency.”

     “What are you talking about?” I asked, secretly wanting to know and do whatever it meant. It wasn’t KIAC this time either. I’d always wanted to be a private detective.

            “Perhaps Ah shout’ exsplain.” A new voice cut in. I turned and blinked. Again, I blinked. There was a small furry creature in greasy overalls with a rag sticking out of his pocket and a wrench beside it. It had a thin and long head with eyes on the side.
            “Shain’t pulite sto stare.” The creature said.

            “Er, um, well, sorry.” I stammered.

            “Stop stammering like a Kreech after a crash.” There was that KIAC again.

            “That might be a good idea.” I replied to the creature, alien, person. “You’re name isn’t Scotty is it?” He/it spat.

            “Shcotty! Swhat a shtrange name! Mah name ish Bax Grashden.” He added. “Shnow zwe really must be leaving!”

            “Bax! Grab the kid and move! We’ve got Hegemony fighters coming in!” That was a new voice coming out of nowhere. I whirled. A battered old ship shimmered into view, seemed to cough, and fully materialized. Then I saw three more ships.

-------------------------------------

  Tune in sometime for more!

  Can anyone guess where I copied and tweaked parodied the first three paragraphs? They're the opening paragraph to three well known classics. Here's some hints: safe for a  steamboat, whale of a tale, and fighting brothers.

Welcome to Ainaan and a Little Challenge

 Ainaan is one part of a universe shaped rather like a ball made of tissue paper, each universe a thin layer sandwiched between many other layers, or universe in this case. The center of this universe is Evenfar, home of Lyrianur and the heaven of my universe basically.

   Ainaan is a flat world and I have provided you with a map which, unfortunately, you will have to crane your neck around to see. Sorry about that.

 As you can see, there are four continents and numerous islands in a central sea named the Sea of Leioness after the Lyonesse of Celtic mythology and Arthurian legend. It also ties into the Great Flood. You see after the greatest and final battle of Dur Greden between Lyrianur (the good guy) and Malxor (the bad guy with big plans to make the world better) which ended with Malxor being banished, the world was changed to wipe away and cleanse the world of Malxor's stain. Originally, everything inside the outer edged was land. Then the flood came and flooded the valleys.
   There are four, wait, five main races in Ainaan. There are the humans of course, spread out and varied in culture. There are the dragons, mighty and intelligent creatures meant to protect and care for Ainaan. All but one were killed in Dur Greden, and he is in suspended animation until the End. There are the Dwarendell, small and reclusive beings who have enormous natural talent for creating objects out of stone. They all disappeared 100 years after Dur Greden. Then there are the Ithani, shorter than men and somewhat wider at the shoulders. They are natural woods-folk and specialize in anything with wood. Finally, there are the Krecks. The are mindless, moral-less, and physically perfect creatures made by Malxor. Malxor wanted every creature to be like them.

Polls, Ainaan, and General Announcement

 This will be a shorter post than normal and won't have to do completely with writing. I just have a few general announcements to make.
  The first announcement is that I have a poll up about, so please vote in that. One option, and it expires on February first.

  Secondly, I'm nearly ready for the second Steam Man post, so you won't have to wait to long. I have some concept art and new setting ideas like G.R.A.S.S. gunships. More on that soon.

 Finally, is there anyone who you'd like to see interviewed in the (probably not so soon) future? I can try to get them, but I'll have to come up with the interviews first.

 Now, if you vote about my fantasy world, it's called Ainaan and has four continents arranged around the Sea of Leionesse with islands in the sea. Currently, I have no stories in active progress in Ainaan, or fantasy in general.

Character Development & Genre: How much is to much?

 Character development is a tricky subject, and there are many ways to do it. So, how deep do your characters actually need to be? Well, it's your choice.
 Do you want an incredibly real and complex character for your explosion filled Indiana Jones style adventure? If you do, go ahead but it might be wasted.  The action genre doesn't normally have terribly complex or deep characters. Why? The characters are second to the action and plot.  Take Indiana Jones for example. What do you know about him? He's a professor and a treasure hunter. He's good with his fists and a bull whip. From the movies, that's about all we know about him. That's enough to know about him. We don't need to know anything else about him to enjoy the story.
 On the other hand, a shallow character more appropriate for an adventure novel won't work for a hefty 950 page literary novel. For a novel of this length and plot, you need fully developed characters. You would need to know everything about them, from motives to dreams. A shallow adventurer just won't have the color to move the story along. It would be like a tiny car engine trying to move a dump truck. It doesn't have the oomph to push it along.
 Back to the same comparison, a fully fleshed out, completely life-like character would have to much information. Does it matter that the main character dis-likes sports because he failed to make a team once? Only if it is directly related to the story.

 But what about the other genres? Fantasy? Science fiction? Historical fiction? Well, it depends on your story. Some fantasy stories are shorter and focus more on the plot. They don't need much character development. Others are extremely long and need rounded characters. It's the same for science fiction. Some need deep characters while others need shallow characters.
  More realistic genres, however, need fully developed characters. This is mainly because in a world remarkably similar to our own, need people that we can know well and understand.

 To wrap it up, speculative genres leave the amount of character development up to the story. Real world stories need better developed characters.

NEW SERIES: Development of a Story: An Idea

 Alright, this is a new series I came up with. Instead of simply telling you about the process in which I write a novel, I'll involve you and share it with you step by step. This is for a project I'm currently calling The Steam Man. Part of why I'm doing this is to receive new input and ideas, creating a more varied and rounded story. In return, you'll get a mention on the acknowledgments and a signed copy if gets published.

   It all started with a conversation during chores. It was simply two people trying to out-do each other in a form of verbal combat. One person is tough, the other uses something to defeat it. Eventually, I came up with the idea of fire running through one's veins. Of course, then the person got doused with water. This created steam, and in a flash of inspiration, the Steam Man was forged. It took a little while to apply the finish to the idea.

   The Steam Man has, since the idea was formed, become an android assassin powered by a small nuclear reactor in a futuristic alternate Earth where cyberpunk meets steampunk. In a  country ruled by a despotic and removed government in which the citizen's only dealings with the government are through TV-like transmissions, a rebellion begins. Though guarded and subtle, the government learns of it. In response, they create a mechanical assassin. Its job is to target the rebellion leaders and eliminate them.  As it goes about its missions, unaware of its own existence, something happens. I don't know what yet, but the it becomes a he. The newly aware person has no history of his past, what his name is, or where he's from.

  That's all I have for the plot, and just a little more on the setting. Most of it will take place in a brick Victorian-esque city with levels built on top of each other and smoke hanging in the air. It will be a city under oppression. The place is also grimy, steam-punk style technology run by nuclear reactors, and dark.

Here's the part where you, my readers, come in. Please give your ideas on anything mentioned in this post and I'll give a short list of things that I need help with.

What happened to the Steam Man?
What is the rest of the world like?
Who are these brave rebels?