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stephbgFor the purposes of discussion I've decided to refer to the Patience writing project as The Book. I fervently hope that it won't become a trilogy! It's too rambly to be a story, although bits of it are aligning with surprising neatness at this early stage of the game. It's definitely not a novel per se, because novels are for publishing in dead tree format, and I shudder to think what the cover artwork might look like. It's a fictional blog if anything. I just happen to have 20 or so entries going at once. Thank heavens for object-oriented authoring tools.
I believe some reasonably famous SF writer (a little help here?) suggested the technique of never finishing a scene at the end of the day's writing. That would give you something concrete to write the next day--even if it's just one sentence--and overcome the daily trauma of the blank page. When I'm at work (I wish!) I do a similar thing: at the end of the day I always write down the next task, so when I start each new day I don't have to think too much about what I'm doing, and can just get right into it.
Today I pondered the economic and social importance of cheese (thank you, months of episodes of Cheese Slices), the potential uses of wolf urine, and the important issue of workplace after-school spawn care (I blame Femmeconne). That's demon spawn BTW; I'm not just being rude about babies. I also suggest Fission Leave for those workers who believe in the ultimate in solo parenting. After all, only the strong survive to reproduce, so why annoy or lose the best quality workers by impeding reproduction or forcing them to quit?
Today's excerpt comes from an early Destiny Team meeting where we take a look at the map for the first time. It would appear that my skill at looking at the bright side is coming in handy.
The Damned and Damaged Land Eco Spa and Ski Resort
"So this valley is in our territory, and it's about the right size for a King's Seat, so why is it listed as unavailable?"
"Didn't you notice what it was called? 'The Damned and Damaged Land'"
"Mmmmm, yes. Poor bit of PR that. What's so bad about it?"
"It's no good for growing crops."
"That's it?"
"A lot of it's Impassible Swamp. It doesn't say Murky, but they usually are. We could try to drain it I suppose, or grow rice."
"Or preserve it as wetland." Blank looks.
"For the birdlife." Understanding dawned.
"A hunting reserve for the King!"
"Not quite. Some people just like looking at birds, and travel to do it. Economies have been built on less, and the people can always eat snails. What else is there?"
"Bubbling pools of sulphurous mud. Eeeewww."
"Geothermal power, and possibly a health spa. They could do eco-tourism. Is there a castle of some sort? Fortress? House? Hovel?"
"Yes, but it belonged to the sorcerer so it might be a little bit booby trapped."
"Where did you say the sorcerer was?"
"He, no wait, it was defeated by the Party, so I guess it's dead. But sorcerers never quite die, do they?"
"Not the really bad ones, no, but this one appears to have been shifted to a quite different reality. Mike, do a spot of research for me and find out if that sorcerer is plotting any sort of comeback or revenge. I'd hate for it to turn up in the middle of the job and surprise us. Call it Risk Assessment. Now, what next?"
"The valley is protected by mountainous snowy wastes."
"But not impassable?"
"Protected by monstrous beasts, it says."
"Possible ski resort then, with bonus helicopter access. The Damned and Damaged Land Eco Spa and Ski Resort. I'd put that on the list of potential Seats of Kings, but as a last resort. They'd have to work at that one a bit harder than usual to get an economy up and running. The farmers would need to retrain—rice isn't a bad idea—and they'd need to recruit a Sven or two. On the bright side, they could move right in, so that gives us an extra instant Seat to play with. Put it on the board."
I believe some reasonably famous SF writer (a little help here?) suggested the technique of never finishing a scene at the end of the day's writing. That would give you something concrete to write the next day--even if it's just one sentence--and overcome the daily trauma of the blank page. When I'm at work (I wish!) I do a similar thing: at the end of the day I always write down the next task, so when I start each new day I don't have to think too much about what I'm doing, and can just get right into it.
Today I pondered the economic and social importance of cheese (thank you, months of episodes of Cheese Slices), the potential uses of wolf urine, and the important issue of workplace after-school spawn care (I blame Femmeconne). That's demon spawn BTW; I'm not just being rude about babies. I also suggest Fission Leave for those workers who believe in the ultimate in solo parenting. After all, only the strong survive to reproduce, so why annoy or lose the best quality workers by impeding reproduction or forcing them to quit?
Today's excerpt comes from an early Destiny Team meeting where we take a look at the map for the first time. It would appear that my skill at looking at the bright side is coming in handy.
The Damned and Damaged Land Eco Spa and Ski Resort
"So this valley is in our territory, and it's about the right size for a King's Seat, so why is it listed as unavailable?"
"Didn't you notice what it was called? 'The Damned and Damaged Land'"
"Mmmmm, yes. Poor bit of PR that. What's so bad about it?"
"It's no good for growing crops."
"That's it?"
"A lot of it's Impassible Swamp. It doesn't say Murky, but they usually are. We could try to drain it I suppose, or grow rice."
"Or preserve it as wetland." Blank looks.
"For the birdlife." Understanding dawned.
"A hunting reserve for the King!"
"Not quite. Some people just like looking at birds, and travel to do it. Economies have been built on less, and the people can always eat snails. What else is there?"
"Bubbling pools of sulphurous mud. Eeeewww."
"Geothermal power, and possibly a health spa. They could do eco-tourism. Is there a castle of some sort? Fortress? House? Hovel?"
"Yes, but it belonged to the sorcerer so it might be a little bit booby trapped."
"Where did you say the sorcerer was?"
"He, no wait, it was defeated by the Party, so I guess it's dead. But sorcerers never quite die, do they?"
"Not the really bad ones, no, but this one appears to have been shifted to a quite different reality. Mike, do a spot of research for me and find out if that sorcerer is plotting any sort of comeback or revenge. I'd hate for it to turn up in the middle of the job and surprise us. Call it Risk Assessment. Now, what next?"
"The valley is protected by mountainous snowy wastes."
"But not impassable?"
"Protected by monstrous beasts, it says."
"Possible ski resort then, with bonus helicopter access. The Damned and Damaged Land Eco Spa and Ski Resort. I'd put that on the list of potential Seats of Kings, but as a last resort. They'd have to work at that one a bit harder than usual to get an economy up and running. The farmers would need to retrain—rice isn't a bad idea—and they'd need to recruit a Sven or two. On the bright side, they could move right in, so that gives us an extra instant Seat to play with. Put it on the board."
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Date: 2010-09-19 05:12 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2010-09-19 10:32 am (UTC):D
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Date: 2010-09-19 11:56 am (UTC)And this is wonderful. It's giving me flashbacks to The Tough Guide to Fantasyland.