Posts by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
(DIR) Post #Ad7eIbSTh8TfojEQ76 by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2023-12-23T15:06:04+00:00
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There were movies which I watched during the holidays as a child, however, I can't remember what they were now (much of my childhood memory is extremely blurry and fuzzy).As an adult, I broke away from my family, and in being alone, I had no reason to establish or continue any such traditions.Now, I've made it a point to write a story for the holidays. This year I am running behind due to circumstances around moving, but I hope to start a new tradition in which I can share new stories &/or poetry with my family during the holidays.
(DIR) Post #AdF9YUYfZf9Xjfu4fI by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2023-12-27T15:52:30+00:00
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If one can spare the time, it is actually quite fun to throw together a holiday-themed story. I already shilled last year's Wand Smoke Christmas piece, so I won't link that again.I will say that it provides for a good worldbuilding experience. One has to figure out how the holiday can be recognizable while also believable as it is presented within the setting. There is also the style one writes in as an element to play with. For extra allusion and challenge points, one can write in the meter or rhyme of traditional pieces of poetry or fiction enjoyed during the relevant holiday.
(DIR) Post #AdF9tjOxa8vNqwUPsO by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2023-12-26T15:00:00+00:00
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None of the holiday traditions in any of my works of fiction exist for the sake of children. Historically, holiday celebrations were not child friendly. Given that most of my fiction is fantasy in a "past" - esque setting, this does not lend to child friendly anything.That being said, the emergence of that type of cultural shift is present in Wand Smoke, particularly in "Rebirth" as a consequence of economic development.
(DIR) Post #AdFA4tlDPLtvAMDxdg by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2023-12-24T16:08:24+00:00
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Sort of, though it is a recent holiday, and has little resemblance to Christian Christmas, pagan Christmas, or even the commercial secular Christmas.I haven't written out the holiday in-scene yet, but last year I published the Wand Smoke "Christmas" origin story.You can read or listen to it here:https://www.wildislelit.com/redcap
(DIR) Post #AdH5O9wtKjA3Q8yEds by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2023-12-28T14:52:27+00:00
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The most memorable holiday celebration for me was one particular Thanksgiving during which my extended family on my mothers side all came to my grandfathers house for dinner.I remember it because it was the only occasion in which I got to see so many members of my family together. It was nice, and, in retrospect, it gave me a feeling of belonging which was and still is absent in my life.As for its application for writing holidays, I think I'd use that memory as an example of the real function of holidays. That is to say, I'd keep in mind that the holiday tradition in part serves to bind a people together as family, society, nation, etc. A holiday well written should probably bring people together in some large capacity.At least, that's what comes off the top of my head.
(DIR) Post #AdLSGePLoLSdHVkKR6 by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2023-12-30T17:06:22+00:00
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From "The Spacer's Companion," I can't recall the title of the specific story, but there is one in which one of the angels comes to visit a ghetto space colony.Without spoiling anything, hopefully, the angel is a kind of alien life form, and the way its presence was described and anticipated by the protagonist left me with a kind of sense of wonder and hope.You guys should check out the collection if you already haven't.https://www.amazon.com/Spacers-Companion-Michael-Hein-ebook/dp/B0CNP19Y4Q/
(DIR) Post #AdQ6uZ0077aut8Jc9o by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-01T15:18:21+00:00
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I'd like to get back on the horse of writing indie reviews, as that's how I'd like most of my fellow members of this writing community to help me--via reading and critiquing my work.However, I need to get more work out there to be critiqued. That's what I'm looking forward to the most. I plan to finally, actually publish the (now) eight novella length stories I've had written and edited for about a year now.On top of that, I want to progress my two other Wand Smoke projects: Rebirth and Discourses. If I can complete those by the end of 2024, I'll be less unhappy.
(DIR) Post #AdRIFG92hYu39FZkaO by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-02T15:14:42+00:00
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If things go according to plan (which they never do), then Kashim of the Wand Smoke Discourses stories will get the most singular attention.My goal is to complete the set of twelve Discourses stories in which he features as the narrator and protagonist, hence why he'll likely get the most page space.My runner-ups are Ashlynn (Broken) and Cailean, as they are the co-protagonists of the sequel to Wand Smoke: Broken.
(DIR) Post #AdRV5fW0opE4LF4o8O by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-01T15:08:21+00:00
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I've accomplished a lot, though it doesn't feel like it, because my major goals got pushed to the wayside yet again.I've written a spattering of short fiction and completed a novel length project as well as prepared a number of novella length works for publication. I also made an audio version of Wand Smoke: Broken, available for free (though that's less a writing goal and more of a publishing one).(Adding in post: I completed a couple east Asian philosophy texts in my Meditations blog series).Due to financial strain, surgery, and other obligations, I wasn't able to progress hardly at all on Wand Smoke: Rebirth or the Discourses stories (though I did complete one and nearly complete another).This new Year I hope to find a better work-balance that allows me to complete what has gotten thrown onto the back-burner. Something in me says that the Discourses stories especially will be better received than most of my other works, and once I have them written, I can finally cobble together that literary magazine I've been wanting to publish.
(DIR) Post #AdTY8Zp18E9DjNxqEK by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-03T17:23:19+00:00
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I, too, have recently suffered this plague of poor application formatting. It is as if they want to waste your time as much as possible.
(DIR) Post #AdTc1vITHzSe7lp91c by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-03T17:25:18+00:00
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Wand Smoke: Discourses, the second discourse should get done first this year. It is actually mostly written, but I got buried with other projects and haven't been able to get back to it. If I can actually work on my material this month, maybe I'll complete the first draft.
(DIR) Post #AdVTw0OmzrnstQMlPc by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-04T14:58:28+00:00
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I imagine that I shall continue to be my own biggest hurdle when it comes to writing. A combination of self-doubt, burn-out, and reaching beyond my writing ability usually results in molasses efficiency.The best thing everyone can do to help me is to continue to soldier on despite the struggle. Seeing other people succeed encourages me to try harder and not give up myself.
(DIR) Post #AdVUjP3Q7LgvY8vRr6 by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-04T15:53:52+00:00
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I wish you the best of luck, Captain.
(DIR) Post #AdXdPBsuewleojMqaO by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-05T15:46:20+00:00
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I started a story-within-a-story called "Hides-Behind" about a folkloric monster of the same name. Originally, it was a free-written scrap piece, but then I transcribed it onto my laptop and made changes to set it up as a short horror story.I'd like to continue working on it and to finish it soon, but I can't justify spending the time. I won't be publishing it for a long while, and I have other projects that are already behind their target deadlines.
(DIR) Post #AdXy7t4dRWNIagROgi by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-05T19:33:13+00:00
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That's the one. I thought it was super interesting, and no one talks about it as far as I've read or heard.
(DIR) Post #AdZodE3CtH0XOvztLc by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-06T16:35:57+00:00
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My intention is to finally finish @lesleesheu 's fourth Kumasagi novel. After that, I should probably finish Musashi. There are tons of other indies to read, though I also need to get through Robert Greene's "The Laws of Human Nature," Jung's book on alchemy, the Corpus Hermetica, and I've got the I Ching to finish as well.If I estimate a total for the year...maybe 10-12 if I'm lucky. I'm a slow reader as it is, and I typically prioritize writing over reading.
(DIR) Post #AddpjzDmp0GAeJrpHE by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-08T16:23:32+00:00
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Salt, Sand, and Blood probably had the most complex plot structure; however, that complexity was me punching way above my weight (I doubt I could pull it off even now). It was a kind of dual plot tied into deep lore and side character backstories.I tried to keep the story comprehensible by focusing on the simple, superficial plots of each cast of protagonists while dropping frequent hints and making lots of allusions to the lore and history. This might have worked had I written the characters and their stories well themselves, but I failed to balance the placing of the stakes in said characters' immediate plot arcs (pushing them into a future reveal and tie-in).Complexity does not correlate with quality, though it does make the novice novelist feel smart at the start of his career.
(DIR) Post #Adg4oQQBDfDlRprdKa by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T18:23:20+00:00
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Thanks for the shout out.Yeah, magic systems as such start to feel very "game-y" in a bad way the harder the are presented in fiction.I think having a hard system can be fine, but I think the author should hide certain elements of it so that it still feels like magic. After all, even chemistry contains mysteries to an individual chemist who does not have access to the entire body of modern research. And even if he did, he still might cause some reaction he wasn't expecting if he is experimenting (or causes an accident).
(DIR) Post #Adg4qaRCwtfD5pNLXM by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T18:20:14+00:00
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The geography.In the Wand Smoke stories, I built the geography to make some superficial sense, but mostly it is meant to feel fun and fantastical (such as the dragon and hand-shaped landmasses).I'm sure this will bother some hardcore worldbuilders, but I find that time both in research and in writing the text is better spent on details more relevant to the plot and characters. Even small matters of verisimilitude (such as being accurate with something like herbalism) matter a lot more to me than large scale geographical sense, as the characters are even only in one place at a time, and they're concerns are local (e.g. Does this volcanic mountain contain the minerals and metals I'm looking for? not, How likely is it that these specific minerals would end up in this mountain based on geography on Earth).Again, I'm sure if this was something I cared more about, it would bother me, so I get it if the hard world-builders critique that aspect of my work.
(DIR) Post #Adi0WA9kYOw5WC8qQa by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-10T14:45:07+00:00
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I suppose you could say that I stepped away from trying to write epic fantasy when I switched focus from "Salt, Sand, and Blood" to the Wand Smoke series.I think I originally tired epic fantasy first (as opposed to smaller scale high fantasy) because my primary (and limited) influences at the beginning of my writing efforts were mostly of that genre. It was what I knew, what I was exposed to.I changed focus for a couple reasons. One was the negative feedback I got for "Salt, Sand, and Blood". I'm really grateful for that, as it pushed me in a direction more in accord with my proclivities. Another cause of my change focus was reading more broadly. I thank grad school for this, as my reading breadth was just too narrow before being forced to read a bunch of books I'd otherwise not be interested in.