Ifirit's Haven

[ifirit]

Writer's Block

Writer’s Block

Well, I got it. Writer’s block. I’m at the finale of the story. In video game terms, I need a final dungeon, a perilous place that challenges the hero and put him in extreme danger. Much more that than any area previously explored.

Now, I know that transferring mediums is not always a smooth process. What works in video games might not work on the written page. But the concept is sound.…

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[ifirit]

Writer's Block

Writer’s Block

Well, I got it. Writer’s block. I’m at the finale of the story. In video game terms, I need a final dungeon, a perilous place that challenges the hero and put him in extreme danger. Much more that than any area previously explored.

Now, I know that transferring mediums is not always a smooth process. What works in video games might not work on the written page. But the concept is sound.…

View On WordPress

[ifirit]

Rebooting the Main Story

Rebooting the Main Story

I decided that Chased By Flame didn’t do enough with the theme of time travel. So I began writing a piece that has my character Mykel getting thrown back in time into multiple timelines (essentially reliving the same week over and over a la Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day). I constructed four different timelines that have the same writing but altered little details so it’s a different story in each…

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[ifirit]

Rebooting the Main Story

Rebooting the Main Story

I decided that Chased By Flame didn’t do enough with the theme of time travel. So I began writing a piece that has my character Mykel getting thrown back in time into multiple timelines (essentially reliving the same week over and over a la Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day). I constructed four different timelines that have the same writing but altered little details so it’s a different story in each…

View On WordPress

[ifirit]

Looking Forward

I’ve decided to follow a new philosophy (well, new for me, anyway)> I think a day can go smoothly if you have a goal at the end. Work goes faster if you have something to look forward to later. Whatever that’s a TV show, time spent with friends and family, or even a round of video gaming, I find myself looking forward. It gives me a certain purpose. It gives me structure (how I divide my time…

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[ifirit]

Looking Forward

I’ve decided to follow a new philosophy (well, new for me, anyway)> I think a day can go smoothly if you have a goal at the end. Work goes faster if you have something to look forward to later. Whatever that’s a TV show, time spent with friends and family, or even a round of video gaming, I find myself looking forward. It gives me a certain purpose. It gives me structure (how I divide my time…

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[ifirit]

I Have My Moments

I Have My Moments

I got a great idea. I think I have a way to have both plot points I’ve been juggling for days to occur. Both of them. How? Time travel. Plus, if this works, then I’ll be able to take some additional ideas from the story’s original manuscript and use them in the same fashion.

It’s going to be tricky because it involves time travel. I’ll have to work hard to make it understandable (as much as you…

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[ifirit]

I Have My Moments

I Have My Moments

I got a great idea. I think I have a way to have both plot points I’ve been juggling for days to occur. Both of them. How? Time travel. Plus, if this works, then I’ll be able to take some additional ideas from the story’s original manuscript and use them in the same fashion.

It’s going to be tricky because it involves time travel. I’ll have to work hard to make it understandable (as much as you…

View On WordPress

[ifirit]

Save Everything

I save everything I write. I have notes on scenarios that ultimately didn’t make the cut. They’re brilliant pieces of work, but they’re not in the right style or they don’t fit the characters’ personalities. So I save them. They serve as reference points, something to examine to jump-start the writing should the need for such scenarios come up.

Some writers say that writing around certain…

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[ifirit]

Save Everything

I save everything I write. I have notes on scenarios that ultimately didn’t make the cut. They’re brilliant pieces of work, but they’re not in the right style or they don’t fit the characters’ personalities. So I save them. They serve as reference points, something to examine to jump-start the writing should the need for such scenarios come up.

Some writers say that writing around certain…

View On WordPress

[ifirit]

Getting Out of my Head

Getting Out of my Head

When I wrote my first fantasy novel, my goal was to create a fantasy that appealed to everybody (more specifically the people I went to high school with). Not only did I realize that my friends were not big readers, but my plotline required an education on the sacred science fiction concept of time travel. My family had no idea about the nuances and tiny details that came attached to a fictional…

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[ifirit]

Getting Out Of Your Head

Getting Out Of Your Head

When I wrote my first fantasy novel, my goal was to create a fantasy that appealed to everybody (more specifically the people I went to high school with). Not only did I realize that my friends were not big readers, but my plotline required an education on the sacred science fiction concept of time travel. My family had no idea about the nuances and tiny details that came attached to a fictional…

View On WordPress

[ifirit]

Difficult Decisions

Just because a writer has a plotline that is undoubtedly one of the most creative pieces in that writer’s career, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s usable. Does it achieve a dramatic hook? Yes. Does it have the readers on the edge of their seats? Yes. But you can’t use it. Why? Because it forces a character into situations that he cannot handle. In my example, a wizard is imprisoned because he was…

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[ifirit]

Difficult Decisions

Just because a writer has a plotline that is undoubtedly one of the most creative pieces in that writer’s career, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s usable. Does it achieve a dramatic hook? Yes. Does it have the readers on the edge of their seats? Yes.

But you can’t use it. Why? Because it forces a character into situations that he cannot handle. In my example, a wizard is imprisoned because he was…

View On WordPress

[ifirit]

The Wizard's First Rule and What It Taught Me

The Wizard’s First Rule and What It Taught Me

I’ve been thinking a lot about philosophy lately. One of my favorite fantasy novels, the Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind, has philosophy in abundance. Lately, I’ve been pondering the Wizard’s First Rule: People are stupid. They will believe anything if they want to believe it or they are afraid of it.

I found that very true. I am only smart enough to know I stupid I really am. I do stupid…

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[ifirit]

Wizard's First Rule and What It Taught Me

Wizard’s First Rule and What It Taught Me

I’ve been thinking a lot about philosophy lately. One of my favorite fantasy novels, the Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind, has philosophy in abundance. Lately, I’ve been pondering the Wizard’s First Rule: People are stupid. They will believe anything if they want to believe it or they are afraid of it.

I found that very true. I am only smart enough to know I stupid I really am. I do stupid…

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[ifirit]

Riding The Bronco

A story is like riding a bucking bronco. You can control it, but at some point, it’s going to go where it wants to go. As Robert Jordan said of his (originally planned six-book series) “The tale grew in the telling.”

Some might say an author has great skills because he/she knows how to handle the story. Again, I believe that the idea only goes so far. Creativity, by definition, is spontaneous,…

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