Time Flies Like A Banana
It’s been a busy couple of months here at The Harmless Lair of Villainy, The Fortress of Harmlessness, The Secret Base Built Underneath The Set The Government Used To Fake The Moon Landing Yes That Is A Real Thing Wake Up Sheeple, LLC.
In any case, I have fallen behind the original plan of four stories per-month, but that will not dissuade me. My extra time has primarily been devoted to writing and running a Pathfinder RPG campaign, which is a new, but highly satisfying endeavor. I have titled the campaign The Canyon Through The Sea; perhaps I will write up some summaries of our heroes adventures when they have completed the major story arc.
Links
September
October
Fruit Flies Like Retrospection
September
The Brass Nerve, Parts 5 & 6
In September, the saga of “Jane has a conversation in single location, then Jane goes and does action stuff in another location” continues. My lack of experience with providing exposition while characters are doing something interesting is really showing itself. This must be how the writers of video games feel. (Speaking of which, I tried plying through the Dontnod/Capcom game Remember Me recently, but got tired of it having exactly this problem. If you’re considering playing it, just pick up Batman: Arkham Asylum instead.)
This project has made me think about trying to write a longer work in one shot, instead of this episodic, publish-three-pages-at-a-time approach. I like that time-boxed style motivates me to sit down and produce something to completion, but I’m unable to go back and edit previous parts to fit with later ideas. Well, technically I could edit the posts, but that would be cheating. I believe I’m on track to finish this story by Part 10, with plenty of interruptions before then.
It’s Too Hot to Write
This isn’t a proper story, I suppose, but it was a bloody hot day and my apartment gets a lot of sun. It was nice to get back to my roots a poet (from when I was in elementary school). It also fits with the greater goal of this blog: documenting lessons I’m learning about being an adult, most of which are completely obvious but hard to remember while slightly uncomfortable. Hashtag privilege.
October
The Last Age
While describing the oozing darkness in this story I realized how much imagining I do these days. Writing has increased my happiness by making me feel productive while I fantasize. This story combined three ideas I found interesting: the parent of a “hero” who has failed, a guardian angel who isn’t very knowledgeable, and the metaphor of insects who hibernate in frosted ground. For that last one I actually did some research, but then I realized it would be hard for a person in a medieval fantasy world to make that comparison. I hope it didn’t detract from the imagery too much.
Caught
You know it’s fall when the stories of death and doom come out to play. Reading Terry Pratchett’s Mort got me brainstorming about alternate Grim Reapers and afterlives. What if we all had a shadow version of ourselves whose “life” was just as confusing and frustrating as ours? I would pity the shallowness of his life, but also envy him for having such a definite purpose. And then I would try and fuck his shit up because I ain’t gonna die, no way bro.
The Females and the Males
Believe it or not, this story did not start with the title. I was a good three paragraphs in when that joke leaped off the page. It actually began as just a simple parody of stories that keep trying to make the main character relatable even though they’re an elf/witch/superhero/sociopath. I just wanted to take that the absurd extreme of a completely inhuman creature having a banal teenage experience and finding it very dramatic. It’ not in story, but obviously he’s named Ivan.
Remember to Vote
I filled out my ballot while sick in bed with a fever. Voting day is this Tuesday. Register to vote by mail in the future, you scrub.
Harmless Writing 