June 2007

World in the Satin Bag

Writing Factoid #2

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Time for yet another Writing Factoid! Question by Alex (referring to the last factoid about Leans)–You say the lean cannot be killed by anything normally possessed by the people of Traea. This brings up two things. One, what COULD kill a lean? Aren’t they just sort of spiritual shadows? So where would they go, and how could you kill them? And two, surely there are more leans, I mean the guard at the entrance to Ti’nagal seemed more worried of the ghostly thing then surprised by it being there. Now, I realize that is a lot more than one question, but since they are all connected I’ll address them all!Yes, a Lean cannot be killed by anything normally possessed by the people of Traea. A Lean can only be killed by some form of magic that is capable of crossing over worlds. Meaning that in my world there are different levels of being. Leans lie on a spiritual level, and therefore can only be hurt by something at that level. In theory, the only thing that can hurt a Lean that would be remotely normal is another spiritual being of sorts.Yes, they are basically spirits made entirely of shadow with tiny pinpoints of light for eyes. In theory, when one dies it is subject to the same laws and rules of the living. So it goes to the Halls of the Great Fathers for judgment.Yes, there are more Leans. I can’t say how many, but there are more. The guard was actually more concerned because Leans are not tremendously common. Generally all people are a little weary of the spiritual realm. Ghosts frighten us, and so for the same reason the guard was uneasy.

Book Reviews, World in the Satin Bag

Book Review: Idolon by Mark Budz

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I’m going to be entirely honest about this particular book. It was a battle to get through for me. The story is muddled, almost lost in the endless number of POV characters. It’s like reading a text book only to find out that half of the information is scrambled in other textbooks and you have to go looking for it. That’s the only way I can describe the reading experience for this.The basic story is not really all that basic. In fact, I can’t even tell you exactly what the story is about because the book left me so lost and confused in the end that I still haven’t a clue what to think. It’s a futuristic world where people can wear specialized ‘skins’ so that they can look like whoever they want. People can basically look like the celebrities of the past. Something is happening, though, that makes a new type of illegal skin some sort of big deal among people. I still don’t get what the big hubub was about it.So, the book opens with Dijk, a detective. He’s at a crime scene where a woman has been found dead. She’s wearing some sort of abnormal skin that isn’t registered and then we don’t hear from Dijk for a while. Now, my thoughts are, if you open up with this character, he really should play a bigger role. Then we learn about Nadice, who suddenly becomes pregnant, but because the laws state that her employer for some reason can tell her whether or not to have an abortion, she tries to smuggle herself out of the country. This is where Mateus comes in who gives her the opportunity provided that she carries something inside her. Now, in this world illegal skins or ripped skins (like ripped music) are the new cocaine. It turns out that this whole immaculate birth thing is happening all over. Pelayo is yet another character, who is looking for information about his lost sister or cousin, I’m not sure which, and his cousin Marta, another POV, both take the spotlight. Marta is the woman that helps Nadice, but we won’t get into that. Now, something about this strange skin that is going around has certain folks a little antsy. It’s supposed to be so revolutionary that it’s, scary. But it’s not scary. In fact, there’s nothing really bone gripping about this. Those aren’t even all the characters–there’s Al-Fayoumi, Atherton, Uri, and a bunch of others. I mean there are so many damn characters in this it’s hard to even keep track of what the hell is going on. The concepts he’s dealing with are so complex that with all those characters the poor reader is sitting by going “what?”. Even in the end I was thinking “what the hell happened?”. Somehow this strange skin that Nadice is carrying attaches itself to her baby and connects her to Marta, and together they are like a symbiot of some sort and the baby must survive so that it can bring the new skin into the world or something of that nature. I mean, just that alone is so mind boggling to think of that you would have hoped Budz would have stuck with just 2 character viewpoints.My vote on this is that it is a very poorly written book. The concepts are too deep for a book of so many characters. This is an example of why too many POV’s is a horribly bad thing. You can’t do it. Too much happens in the story to afford the change of POV all over the place. Even in the end the story jumps back and forth, back and forth. And by the time you reach the end you’re so thoroughly lost that you feel like your brain is actually dying.I really tried on this book, but it was so difficult to read and so mind boggling to just accept that I couldn’t even bring myself to believe in what was going on. There was too much. It’s like a soap opera crammed into 450 pages. Budz tries so hard to bring human-like life to all the characters, but that just isn’t enough room to make the characters important enough. I can’t concentrate emotionally on so many characters. Nobody human can.I think this is the first book on my Awards List that I actually truly disliked.

World in the Satin Bag

Writing Factoid #1

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Alright, so I have two questions that have been brought up to me about WISB. Feel free everyone to bring on more and more. Anything, just ask! It gives me a chance to create new things and to give all of you who might be interested some fascinating information about my fantasy world. I’ve also started this today because the book I am currently reading is giving me one hell of a time to get through. It’s a terribly hard book to read in my opinion. But, that will come later in the week when I finish reading it! Now for the first ever Writing Factoid! Question #1 by Jason of Scribblings of a Madman–What is the meaning of life? How much planning did you put into WISB?The meaning of life, obviously, and how could you not know this, is to acquire everything you could ever possibly want in one single lifetime. If you fail, well, then you get sent back here as a gerbil and you have to work your way up life to life until you get back to being a human again and go through the same process. How could you not know that?Now for the serious question. I honestly didn’t put much planning at all into WISB when I first started. I rarely outline to begin with, but in this case I barely even had an idea! I started it as an experiment and it just sort of took off in places I hadn’t expected it to. Granted, it’s not like I’m super popular like Tolkien or Rowling, but the fact that some people express that they enjoy this story has kept me writing it. That’s all that matters to me really, some loyal fans. So, I didn’t plan to get very far. I researched blog novels, thought it was an interesting idea, and decided to go with it. So, here we are, some 86,000 or so words later, nearly to the end of the first book.Now, towards the latter half of WISB I did do some planning. I had to. My world had become so expansive and enormous that I had no choice. I created a map, as some have seen and of which I should put up as a quick link on the right hand column. The map was mostly to give me an idea of where everything was so I wouldn’t get things mixed up. I did make a mistake, and the map helped me realize that, and luckily I fixed that. For the plot, I’ve been thinking steadily about where the characters should go and did some thinking on how they would get there. The Blaersteeds came into the picture right about then. I had to figure out where and why the characters were running. And, so you have the story as it is now.But that’s for WISB. If you want to know about The Spellweaver of Dern, well, you’ll have to ask :). SOD is a completely different beast! Question #2 by Alex (forgive me for not knowing your SmackJeeves page off hand)–One thing I am intrigued to learn is of the location of the Lean. Will he return and will there be news of the fabled city?Now, I’m going to answer this without actually giving anything away. Realize that SOD is actually going to be far more complex than WISB. It has to be. I can’t stick in James’ head anymore because there are alternate storylines now that have to be addressed.Will the Lean return? At some point, yes. And yes, there will be news of the city beyond the Black Sands, but I cannot tell you whether or not the city actually exists. In fact, because I will writing SOD in about 2 months–which will put us rather close to when WISB first appeared on the Internet–I have to come up with everything that happens. I have to find out if I can actually write from the point of view of the Lean, and if not, what am I going to do about the character? How am I going to convey what the Lean has seen?So, I can say this: The Lean is moving beyond the Black Sands. The Lean will know the truth about whatever is out there, if anything. And the Lean will return. Leans technically cannot be killed, not by any normal abilities that would be possessed by the people of Traea, so the Lean will return at some point. Whether that be in SOD or not, I cannot say. I don’t even know that myself! So there you have it!Ask more questions! Even stuff that’s not related to the plot! Bring it on!

World in the Satin Bag

Things That Irritate Me When I’m Writing

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First, is anyone going to take me up on the offer I presented here? Pretty please? Just ask anything at all. Please please please! Okay, enough begging. So I was writing today and I think I have addressed this before, but figure it is high time for me to have a list of things that piss me off when I’m writing. And I mean when I’m actually writing, not sitting down and thinking, but typing out sentences. Here we go: 1) I suddenly have to go to the bathroom really bad. We’re talking to the point where I have to stop or I’ll pop. This irritates me so much because it often happens right as I’m getting into a writing groove.2) Somebody comes out and bugs me while I’m writing. This includes friends, family, and the like. I hate being interrupted because it takes me forever to get back into a groove again.3) Being suddenly overcome with a hunger or thirst.4) Having something fall on me in the middle of writing. Yes, this has happened. I’ve had magazines fall on me while typing from the top shelf of my computer table. It was, needless to say, an irritating moment and completely disrupted my writing.5) Having that sudden moment when I realize that what I’m writing is actually complete garbage.6) Some song playing in the background comes on that shouldn’t be there, but is, and suddenly annoys me beyond reason. I’ve had this happen too. Somehow a rock song ended up in my classical list. I listen to very mild classical music in the background sometimes because it tends to sooth my mind. So when some hard hitting screamo song that I thought I had deleted shows up it ruins the whole process.7) Having bizarre windows pop up when they shouldn’t. Such as that stupid weather.com program. I don’t know how it keeps getting on this computer, but every time it does I get annoying windows. Realplayer does the same thing even though the program isn’t running.8) Excessive noise from the other side of the house. You know, things banging, people yapping, that sort of thing.9) Someone calls me. Now, hold on. I know what you’re thinking. “Why not turn off your phone?” Well, sometimes I have important calls I have to answer. So, in theory that someone calling me would be someone of value and interest. Then again, sometimes it’s somebody calling me to know what the weight of processed cheese is.10) Running out of time! I HATE IT! Now, I’m sure this list will actually grow over time when new things bug the hell out of me, but for now that’s it!So what bugs you?

World in the Satin Bag

The Big 100

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That’s right everyone, I’ve reached exactly 100 posts! That includes all of the WISB chapters! I’m at 100! Yay! *Dances* Having done this, I figure it’s time for some fascinating news. I’ve become the editor of the first Teenage Writers Anthology. This will be a collection of short stories in various genres and poetry chosen from members of Teenage Writers. Check out this post to get an idea of what it is all about and all the rules. And if you are a young writer or writing enthusiast you might consider joining! I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s works and picking out selections for the anthology! Look out too for when the book goes on sale :). I’ll post links and the like to it. Also you might have noticed there is a nifty counter over on the right hand side. This will be there for as long as the anthology is open. Eventually I’ll take it off. Until that time though, you get to see that nifty looking thing :P. So, happy 100th for me!

Book Reviews, World in the Satin Bag

Book Review: Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

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I am officially in love with Scott Westerfeld. I do not mean a homosexual love, but I absolutely and utterly adore this man’s writing. As some of you already know, I truly enjoyed reading the first book in the Midnighter’s series, of which I am going to be reading book two eventually here. Peeps is yet another one of Westerfeld’s brilliant literary works. The difference here is that Peeps is a completely new and realistic take on the traditional vampire story. Now, hold on for a second. I know what some are thinking. “Oh no, not another god awful piece of garbage vampire story.” No sir, this is not another one of those. In fact this isn’t even a vampire story at all.The story:Cal Thompson’s life has changed forever. He’s been infected with a horrible virus during a one night stand after a night out at the bar. But he’s lucky; he’s a carrier. He shows none of the signs of usual parasite positives–a.k.a. Peeps. He’s sane, he’s not trying to bite people, and he doesn’t have crazy infected rats following him around. But Cal has infected all his previous girlfriends due to not even knowing that he was infected in the first place. His job, as part of a secret underground group known as the Night Watch, is to hunt down and capture these people before their madness spawns more Peeps to terrorize society in the dark. Now, obviously I cannot give you more detail than that because that would give away far too much about the story. All I can say is that it is far deeper than that. Imagine what your life would be like if you could never resume a normal relationship with someone of the opposite sex ever again?Once again Westerfeld has put together a cast of amazing characters. Cal is amazing. He’s real. He acts exactly how I would expect a person in his position to. Lace too. And there are surprises throughout the story. Just when you think things are going in one direction they take a turn in the opposite. The parasite is, well, rather hardy and versatile.To add, Westerfeld has been truly kind to offer interesting blurbs on real parasites in this world to add more credibility to the story. Every other chapter has a new parasite to discuss. This isn’t a medical journal, but Westerfeld manages to tell you what these real parasites do without making your head spin with medical jargon. Then you start to sit back and think that this horrible parasite in the story could actually exist.The pacing is spot on too. There was no time in the story that I felt like taking a break. I finished 99% of it this weekend and only read a little on Thursday during break at work. The story kept me intrigued. I found myself going back to or three times in a couple hours even though I had so many other things to do. You start to really connect with Cal.The ending is rather different too. You do see it coming, but Westerfeld leaves the story open for a sequel–which there is. I’m looking forward to reading that edition too!This a must read in my opinion!

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