Tuesday, February 06, 2007

You can either sit around worrying what's real and what's not, or you can realize the enemy hasn't got a clue either.

*Hangs head in shame* I haven't written for a few days.
But I've been reading, like crazy! And researching a little. So all in all, very productive for this whole writing thing I've engaged myself in. The books I've been reading have ranged from horrible to grand.
Medstar I: Battle Surgeons-Possibly the worst Star Wars book I've read, and that is definitely saying something. I didn't connect with the main characters, the bad guys were one-dimensional and given WAY too much screen-time, and apparently the author thought it would help to kill the one slightly interesting good character off at the end. Senseless literary killing, but what's worse is that I didn't even care enough about the character to be too disheartened. The good things in the book was the Sullustan reporter, and a couple of good thoughts that I'll post here or in my LJ.
Ella Enchanted-it was a kid's book, but a GOOD one! I was going "awww" the whole time. Call it pointless fluff if you must, but it was good pointless fluff. :D Plus for kids, it would probably have a point. I'm a little old and cynical to believe "and they lived happily ever after" but I really WANTED them to, so I'll suspend my disbelief.
Republic Commando: Hard Contact-This was a reread. I heart this book. Part of the reason I love it is because it doesn't rely on the popularity of Star Wars to sell itself. It's well-written, and the author doesn't even read Star Wars so she's unaffected by trends. It's more of a hard sf/military book. I love how it explores the moral issues of cloning people, and I also like how it (and it's sequel) gives the Old Republic the bashing they deserve. Seriously, how selfish, immoral, and corrupted can you GET? And they finally get yelled at by a SW author. Go Traviss! Hmm what else can I gush about in this book? Well, the cover is pretty....unlike Medstar and Ella Enchanted, which both have lame covers.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Ni copaanir kar'taylir Mando'a darasuum.

Greetings!
I've officially edited 40 pages of Crossing Black Marble (oh good lord i need a decent working title). Of course, without adding in the scenes I need to yet. Basically I've just been doing grammar stuff and noting the names I want to change. It's really quite hilarious, I have a few names floating around from the dawn of Tasliri, that have ALWAYS been temporary and I've always known I want to change them, yet never have. Sooo someone should give me their opinion on these. On the left is the word needing to be changed, and then what they refer to/mean, and then any word ideas I have to replace them.
donao-the treehouses in the outlaws' forest: chantern? Don't ask...it sounds kinda cool but somehow I can't connect chantern and treehouse.
Hiar-a black hawk who talks to Cirx; he's a little sadistic. I was thinking Razu, but that reminds me of the bird in the Lion King.
Haloimeeskai-this word is hilarious, I never seriously intended it to be the name of the Forest of the Hunted Ones, but I needed a good long word. Solashi sounds too Japanese, and Soraven(da) reminds me of a mix between the Tree of Life from WoT and the goofy MC from Kingdom Hearts.
Koko-a random character who might possibly get written out altogether, unless I give her something important/defining to do in the last few bits of the story. She's an Angran soldier, if that helps (aka bad guy). She's ultra-loyal to Zarcael. I like K-names for her, but Koko is too cutesy. Kyra? Kira? Kurana?

Friday, February 02, 2007

Now for a break?

JaNoWriMo is over! YAY!! If Everyone Cared has a little ways to go, but it's mostly finished. I realized I've been writing 1600 a day since Dec 1st. I'm very, very ready for a break. At least from hardcore writing.
Right now I plan to catch up on school, family, and sleep, and get to work editing Crossing Black Marble. First order of business? Find a good title. LOL! I hate all my titles I've ever had for that book. And especially I nixed the black marble almost out of existence. It's only in the Mangra scenes, and the climax isn't going to occur there after all, sooo yeah. I need a new title.
From my new Writer's Block book:
"This is a work of fiction, only that in many cases, the author could not remenber the exact words said by certain people, and exact descriptions of certain things, so he had to fill in gaps as best he could."-Dave Eggers