Writer Demographics: 30+ years old, white, aroace and agender
Writer History: I've been writing since I was about 10 years old, on and off, mainly in gen fanfiction and collaborative roleplay settings, though I've always had original characters. I've run a few creative blogs in the past, though this is the first one completely dedicated to an original project.
The Project: The Five Bright Stars is queer dramatic speculative fiction, set in a world parallel to real life where sentient automata were invented in the late 1910s, then created en masse post WW2. The novel focuses on Riker Venczel, a middle aged human trying to escape the controlling grip of his cousin, and Taps Bettencourt, an Antique-class robot who, upon losing his job and home, seeks to reconnect with his estranged family. While the present action follows the pair as they flee New Amida, the Rusty City, frequent flashbacks show much of their lives previous.
Themes: Recognition of abuse, Moving forward without forgiveness, Queer acceptance, Systematic entrapment under capitalism, The value of anger vs passivity
Aesthetics and Vibes: The Rust Belt, ghost lights in dusty old theaters, long empty roads, grime under fingernails, denim clothing, satellite dish fields under the stars
Specific goals for this first draft under the cut:
Goals for First Draft of 'The Five Bright Stars' (Subject to change)
Do's
-Robots as allegory for disability, queer identity, objectification, working class struggles
-Give equal time and depth to Riker and Taps-- Taps currently has fewer character flaws
-Figure out a more realistic structure for robot self-advocacy organization(s) (CoACT)
-Flesh out the first period of Taps' life, including Demetrio's rivalry with other wealthy property owner(s)
-Flesh out backstories for the other Stars
-Find balance of sexual themes; acknowledge sex's role in characters' lives in both positive and negative ways without shying away due to personal fears of judgement
-Represent maligned identities
-Flesh out the plot past the midpoint/return to New Amida
Don'ts
-Avoid robot = race parallels
-Do not "sand down edges" of character personalities, conflicts
-Avoid villifying more militant or self-denfense oriented groups in relation to moderate ones
-Be mindful of tokenism
-Don't hold too tightly to established or old story elements simply because they've been around for a while
-Avoid making Todd's physical disability seem without challenges as opposed to Riker's mental disabilities
I heard you got arrested in the street last night
Called me with a voice I didn't recognize
So you're numbin' the pain, stuck in your ways
Since we were kids, it was like this
But I will be there, I will be there for you
Hey, child
Hey, child
We were born wild
Let your neon lights keep shinin' bright, oh
But I'm a constant headache, a tooth out of line
They try to make you regret it
You tell 'em, "No, not this time."
I'm just a constant headache, a dead pet device
You hang me up, unfinished
With the better part of me no longer mine
[ID: 24 digitally sketched panels featuring a human man, Riker, and a male robot, Taps.]
[Panel 1: Riker sits in an armchair tuning a guitar while Taps lies on a bed next to him, leaning his head back on his arms and pillows with a porkpie hat tilted over his eyes.]
[Panel 2: Riker looks up questioningly as Taps asks from off panel, "You take requests?"]
[Panel 3: Riker raises his eyebrows and replies, "If you got something you're eager to hear butchered, sure." Taps opens an eye and glances at Riker from under his hat, saying, "I think the chords are pretty straightforward."]
[Panel 4: Riker sighs and starts scrolling on his phone. He says, "Alright, I'll look it up, but I won't sing. What song is it?"]
[Panel 5: Taps says, "If I Had a Million Dollars."]
More comic after the break!
[Panel 6: Riker points across Taps and asks after a pause, "Hey, pass me that other pillow real quick?" Taps sits up and passes the pillow over, saying, "Sure." Riker replies, "Thanks."]
[Panel 7: The pillow is thrown back at Taps, hitting him square in the face and knocking his hat backward. SFX: PAMF. Riker says from off panel, "That song is so corny. I'll do it, but Jesus Christ."]
[Panel 8: Riker begins strumming the guitar and producing music, looking down at a chord chart on his phone resting on his knee.]
[Panel 9: Taps lies back down in his original position, eyes mostly closed, and starts singing, "If I had a million dollars (ellipses)"]
[Panel 10: Taps glances at Riker and continues, "(ellipses) I would buy you a house." Riker says nothing, just furrows his brow a bit. Taps continues, "And if I had a million dollars (ellipses)"]
[Panel 11: Taps says from off panel, "You can whistle, if you want. Or just riff on the lyrics." Riker huffs without looking at him, "Hmph."]
[Panel 12: Same shot. Taps continues singing, "And if I had a million dollars, I'd buy your love." Riker glances at him thoughtfully, not saying anything.]
[Panel 13: Riker begins to whistle. Taps sings, "If I had a million dollars," twice, with Riker whistling the echoed lyrics.]
[Panel 14: Simplified drawings. Taps sings, "If I had a million dollars--" but is cut off by Riker scrolling on his phone and says, "Then blah blah blah, treehouse, something about bacon--" Taps asks, "Is bacon really all it's cracked up to be?" Riker replies, "Usually, yeah." Taps says, "Huh."]
[Panel 15: Taps and Riker are floating heads between the lyrics as Riker starts to smile and play along. Taps sings, "If I had a million dollars... I'd buy you a fur coat." Riker responds, "... Heh, I could use one." Taps sings, "If I had a million dollars... I'd buy you an exotic pet." Riker says, "God, can you imagine?" Taps sings, "If I had a million dollars... I'd buy you John Merrick's remains." Riker says, "That's fucked up. We agree that's fucked up?"]
[Panel 16: Riker stops playing and grins, brow quirked, gesturing with an open palm. He says, "Wait wait wait, now I've got a question. The hell is a 'Kraft dinner' anyway?" Taps, in a tiny smiling drawing, says, "It's mac n' cheese." Riker asks, "Who calls it that?" Taps replies, "Canadians." Riker exclaims, "Why?!" Taps says, "Marketing laws." Riker says, in smaller font, "Oh."]
[Panel 17: Riker looks away, embarrassed and blushing, and picks the guitar back up. He clears his throat and says, "Anyway, uh," then mumbles, "where the hell were we (ellipses)" Taps sings from off panel, "If I had a million dollars," and Riker mutters, "yeah, yeah."]
[Panel 18: Taps opens one eye and unfolds his arms from behind his head. He sings, "If I had a million dollars," while Riker mutters, "ah, shit. Something, green dress, Picasso..." Taps sings again, "If I had a million dollars," and Riker grumbles incoherently.]
[Panel 19: Taps sits up and swings his legs off the bed, singing, "If I had a million dollars, I'd buy your love."]
[Panel 20: Taps starts to stand, still singing, "If I had a million dollars." Riker grimaces and mutters under his breath, "Not even a lot of money, really."]
[Panel 21: Taps approaches Riker, eyelids lowered sentimentally and head tilted to the side. He sings, "If I had a million dollars." Riker looks up, still grim, and muttering, "Life changing, sure 'til it runs (ellipses) out (ellipses)"]
[Panel 22: Taps leans down toward Riker, and sings (the text arrangement stressing the way it's sung), "If I had a million doll-oll-lers"]
[Panel 23: They kiss, Taps cupping Riker's cheek with his hand.]
[Panel 24: Taps and Riker in profile, foreheads touching, each looking content. Taps' eyes are closed and he puts a hand on Riker's chest, while Riker looks up at him and gently puts his hand to Taps' chin. Taps sings, "I'd be rich." End ID]
Woke up this morning and did some brainstorming with the help of a friend, and then went through and updated the timeline to match the current plan and backed up the notes I've taken on my phone for easier access. It's something!
woof, been a minute. But I've gotten a little done today! Wasn't sure how to start this next segment of Ch. 3 and it got very easy to procrastinate. Not going to push too hard, just going to be happy with where I get.
woof, been a minute. But I've gotten a little done today! Wasn't sure how to start this next segment of Ch. 3 and it got very easy to procrastinate. Not going to push too hard, just going to be happy with where I get.
woof, been a minute. But I've gotten a little done today! Wasn't sure how to start this next segment of Ch. 3 and it got very easy to procrastinate. Not going to push too hard, just going to be happy with where I get.
I might take a semi-hiatus from posting here. I haven't been posting frequently anyway, I'm just... feeling stressed about the blog and what I use it for vs feeling guilty for not boosting more causes vs knowing that I'm not obligated and I don't have a big platform anyway vs IRL stressors and yeah.
Today's Word Count: something like 550, I'm typing this in bed and forgot to update here before shutting down my computer.
Chapter 1 is done!! Or at least done enough that I can move on and worry about developmental edits for it later! Chapter 2 is opening on the first flashback, a few weeks before the present action, which was Chapter 3 in the last draft.
Today's word count: Approximately 773, I did a little fiddling with earlier bits in Chapter 1. Speaking of which, I'm almost to the end! Finally. I'm not sure what's going to happen in Chapter 2 exactly, but it'll feel good to be moving on.
[Taps:] “Riker, right?”
“Yeah, Riker Venczel.” He climbed the steps to the stage and shook Taps’ hand. He had dark bags under his eyes and a glum twitch to his mouth. He nodded to Zinnia. “Thank Zinni’, she’s the one who called in the favor.”
“He has,” Zinnia said with a smile.
Pretty boring, I'm still stuck on Chapter 1 after three months. I'm struggling to make the beginning interesting, and then I get distracted, and yeah x_x
