Chapter 7 is recorded. As a bonus I recorded a sneak peek episode of Emergence Ascended.
Check it out on Spotify!
Audible update
Category: writing
Character snapshot, Visual edition: Mark and Trina
It’s a character snapshot, but these two characters are equally important
together as they are apart, so I decided to lump the snapshot together. I
really enjoyed writing the relationship between these two. I really wanted to
express the kind of purity of love two people could share if they had the
freedom of innocence….
Mark’s beat-up Honda fishtailed around the corner of the driveway and then
skidded to a stop in a cloud of dust in front of the longhouse. Trina had
a white-knuckle grip on the dashboard as if she was holding on for dear
life. “Why do you have to drive like a crazy person?” she shouted, but the look
on her face was one of excitement rather than terror. “Umm, because
it’s fun?” he said with a chuckle. “Well, here we are. Let’s find the best
cabin before anyone else calls dibs.”
“Yeah, good call,” she said as she got out of the car and stretched her
back. “This is a cool place,” she said as she looked around, taking in the
layout of the place. “But geez, namaste much?” Mark chuckled at that last
remark. “Yeah, he was the poster child for hippies, I guess. That’s
probably why my dad and Grandad pretended he didn’t exist.” “I think
you might be cut from the same cloth, honey, ya know? A long-hair dropout in a
family of lawyers and doctors. You’re not gonna get rich, but I love ya,”
she said softly.
He walked over and put his hands on her tiny waist, and pulled her close to
him. “That’s how I know you love me. You’re not a gold digger. He
whispered in her ear, “That makes me richer than any of ’em.”
“I think this place is making you mushy,” she whispered back. He moved
closer to her ear. “It’s also making me horny.” Then he playfully swatted her
butt. She pretended to be mad and started to push him away but grabbed his
hand and started pulling him to the cabins. “Let’s go find us a cabin, my
‘mushy’ man,” she said and winked at him. He dared not resist as she led
him down a random path. “These cabins are all in good condition. I was
imagining something like sleeping in a dirty barn,” Trina said as she
peered into the window of a pleasant-looking cabin. “I like this one, but I
want something, ya know, a little more private.” “Anything for you,
love,” he said, smiling. “Yeah, I think Uncle Frank had a lot of time on his
hands and kept the place up nicely.”
They reached the end of the path at a cabin that seemed to be the farthest
from all the others. Mark walked up the few steps to the porch and opened
the door. “Should I carry you over the threshold?” Trina pushed past him
with a smirk. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, bucko,” she said
sarcastically.
“Well then,” he said with an exaggerated bow, “after you, m’lady,” then
followed her in.
Character snapshot, Visual edition: Frank
I’ve been playing with Artificial “Art” generators. Honestly, I am on the fence about how I feel about artificial content creation. While I am diametrically opposed to using AI to generate content on my blog or ANYTHING that I would put my name on as my own. But I do see value in using it as a tool to spark my own imagination. I feel AI art or other content can be used in the same way as writing prompts or thumbnail sketches to fine-tune an idea.
AI is a new and fun (sometimes frightening) technology that I am willing to explore. I wanted to know what it could do, so I decided to see how close it could get to my own internal visualization of my characters. I am also curious if you had a similar image in mind of my characters as you read my story.
The first thing I learned is AI art is NOT human art. (a relief, as a human, I don’t want to be deposed as an artist). There are things that it (in my experience) just can’t get right. Faces are number one. They are always a little “off,” a tad skewed, and more disproportionate than reality has to offer. And some of my descriptions go completely ignored no matter how I word them. (Again, proving that only a fool would rely on AI to make content that you would claim to be yours)
The image I described for Frank came out pretty close (but since Frank’s appearance and a few character traits are based on someone I actually know, it’s not perfect, of course, but it’s close enough).
An expert from “Emergence Collective.”
Still lost in his thoughts and even a little excited, he must have been
driving faster than he realized since he got to the hardware store in
quick time. It was good, though; the evening was going by fast, and the
store was about to close up for the night. He got out of his Volkswagen van
and pushed open the old door of the storefront. He only got a few steps
into the store when the cashier gave him an odd look. The young kid had spiky
black hair and a ring in his nose.
“Mister… you can’t come in here like that, sorry.” The young kid sounded
apologetic and amused at the same time.
“Like what?” Frank was oblivious to any reason why he should not be
there.
“Your feet, bro. You have to have shoes to come in; it’s a safety thing.
Might step on a nail and sue us or something.” A smile indicating laughter
was soon to follow was on the boy’s face by now.
Frank looked down at his feet and realized that he wasn’t wearing shoes. The
thick calluses on his perpetually dirty feet did not feel shoes in the
summer most of the time. He was an old hippy and stuck in a time warp.
Shoes were for winter when it was too cold to go without. He chuckled at
himself and smiled back at the cashier.
“Sorry,” Frank said with a bit of a giggle. He was not embarrassed by his
attire. Look at that kid; why should I be embarrassed by the way I dress?
he thought to himself, almost laughing out loud. Nonchalantly turning
around, he gave the cashier a nod goodbye and headed for the exit. He
only felt a little disgruntled by the situation since it was a wasted
trip. He did not have anything much to do anyway, but wasted gasoline was
wasted money.
Fundamental Habits
My first Computer was a Commador Vic20; yes, I am that old. When I first started using computers, I was taught a valuable skill. Save early, Save often. Repeat, forever. Keep in mind that I was never taught the reverse, which is to delete outdated versions and keep your files system clean and tidy. I still struggle with that, and it brings its own set of problems. My computer glitched over the weekend after I poured my heart into a particularly important chapter of my WIP, “Emergence Ascended.” Of course, I had finished the chapter to my satisfaction. I use autosave on my one drive, and up until now, it had been my go-to for “save early, save often,” and I relied on it. When I wanted to give my chapter a quick review, I opened the WIP, and everything I had written was gone. I double-checked save settings, file locations, time stamps, etc. but to no avail. I was left in shock; it was a great chapter and a pivotal part in the story.
Whatever the glitch was, it saved over an old file (chapter 4, of all things). I was lucky enough to randomly open that file (not the first I tried) and noticed a line I had recently written. I carefully copied and pasted it into the correct location. SAVED again, made a copy of the entire WIP, and saved it to an archive folder just in case.
My diligence in saving early save often but using automation that is not always reliable taught me another lesson to periodically clean out the old and make copies. Learn from me.
Workshoppin a scene
I am at a pivot point in the plot of Emergence Ascended. I thought I would workshop the scene and share it with you. There is no context yet. My goal is to catch the reader off, guard. If I decide not to include it in the novel, I just might keep it in my backpocket of flash fiction ideas. Let me know what you think (as always, my shoot from the hip, flash fiction ideas are NOT polished, so bare that in mind)
Content may be too graphic for sensitive readers (Im not sure anymore, I am so jaded I don’t know what is offensive)
The golf ball-sized chrome sphere appeared in the middle of the pine and seventh avenue intersection. It hovered silently and unwavering as a tractor-green waste management truck collided with it, punching a perfect hole through the length of the truck. Out of control, the dump truck plowed into the traffic ahead, tossing a few small cars aside as it ground to a halt. Another perfectly round hole pierced through the vehicle following the truck, and it, in turn, smashed violently into the garbage truck. In a desperate attempt to avoid the collision in front, the third vehicle braked hard and turned sharply. It slid sideways, the momentum carrying the car into the sphere, forcing the globe through the temple of the driver’s head like a hole punch. The sphere sat steady unmarred, with a mirror finish that made it appear innocent despite the carnage surrounding it.
Shocked at the scene, the onlookers quickly noticed the strange imperturbable object that had caused so much damage and bloodshed. One of the witnesses sprang into action in the seconds that followed the collisions. He rushed to the man with the perfect circle of gore just beginning to ooze out of his head, deciding in horror that there was no help, and looked into the back seat for any passengers that may need assistance. The body slumped over, its former owner no longer in control, and fell into the sphere still hovering inside the car.
There was no resistance as the body slid over the spere, causing a surgical swath nearly cutting the man’s head off as it passed. Stunned at the scene, the hero moved his hand to cover his mouth. His fingers were trimmed off neatly and cleanly as they brushed the sphere causing the would-be hero to cry out and vomit on the driver.
Painted into a corner
I had a productive weekend creatively. Chapter 4 of Emergence collective is recorded, and I got Chapter 24 of Emergence Ascended sort of almost finished, maybe. Yeah, I am a little undecided since it seems that I painted myself into a narrative corner plot-wise. I am stuck with a decision that will steer the story on two different paths. The two storylines converge in this chapter.
One of the issues and how I managed to do it is I am a seat-of-the-pants kind of writer where I do not outline the entire story. I have a plan about how I want it to end, and I wander with the story as I navigate my way to the ending. By wander, I mean that as I am writing a scene, even I do not know what is going to happen next. Sometimes I have epiphanies and inspirations that feel right but create other issues that I have to reconcile with the overall storyline. Like I did Saturday, On the one hand, I am very happy with my latest bout of inspiration (It makes sense for those characters), but it has created a timing issue with the plot and a sticky situation that I have to think about and finesse my way out of.
Yes, I know I am being vague about it, but I am hoping that you might be curious enough to grab yourself a copy once it is finished. Anyway, I will ponder this for a bit, and maybe I will come up with an elegant solution. On the optimistic side of the coin, I do enjoy a challenge; without them, we only stagnate and do not grow.
Thanks for reading!
Lofty goals
2023 is off to a good start, and I am excited to continue the momentum. I am roughly one-third to halfway finished with my WIP, “Emergence Ascended,” the sequel to “Emergence collective.” Now that the major holidays are in the past, life is settling down, and I will have more opportunities to get some solid writing done (more specifically, no more excuses to be lazy.).
I do not formally make new year’s resolutions, though I am not obstinate about them; I am more casual about it. I fully realize goal setting and the rewards of completing them; self-efficacy is the reason why we set new year’s resolutions in the first place. I make goals, sure, but less strict than a self-promise to accomplish a specific one. I have a mental roadmap of what I want to do but no set date to accomplish them. my aspirations are fluid and flexible.
After I finish my current WIP, I have at least two more books that are begging to be put to pen. I am very excited about them and I cant wait to start, now I have to decide which one to do first. There are more ideas, too, rumbling around in the back of my mind, stories I have been thinking about for years. So I plan, for 2023, to keep the momentum going. This blog, so far, has helped keep my ADD-muddled mind in check and it has propelled my ambitions, so Thank you to all who enjoy reading it; you’re my wingman (wing person?)
Thanks for visiting, and of course, please feel free to leave a comment. I love reading them!
Saturday quick post
I’m feeling great today. All the holiday stuff is past us, and I get to get back into writing. Unfortunately, I won’t get a chance to do any recording tomorrow, but I’m not abandoning that project. I finished a chapter and a half today, so at least there is that. I really wanted to keep going, but Adulting takes precedence ya know? I am excited about this part of the book, and it’s hard to tear myself away. The second act of the story is my favorite part to write. I’ve established all the setup stuff, all the important characters are doing their thing, and the plot is plotting. now I get to play with the pieces of the story. I’m already excited for people to read it!
Thanks for stopping by!
Obligatory New Year post!
I’m back! It’s a new year, and I suppose I will jump on the bandwagon for the year-end/new year transitional post. As far as the blog goes, it is less than a year at this point, but it was successful for a lot of personal reasons. Though the daily stats may not look at all successful, for me it’s not about the numbers of anonymous readers, but the few people that I have met through this blog has made it feel quite successful.
Those stats, on the surface, look amazing, but the truth is that I got suckered into one of those click-through sites. So the amazing number are really a verisimilitude of success. As I was saying, numbers are just numbers. I have met some amazing people from all over the world through my blog and WordPress. I have learned a lot this year about the community of creatives and intellectuals alike.
So do I have new years goals for my blog? My only real goal is to keep at it and try to keep a reliable schedule. I am looking forward to adding a lot more short stories and other writing. Hopefully, I will sell a book or two. I also look forward to meeting more people and get to know the ones I have already met, more. I am always happy to have conversations about just about anything, so if you don’t feel like commenting publically, you can send a message to hello@hand-printsofdarkness.com Thanks for stopping by! Happy Newyear!
Holiday Cheer
The holiday season has come! It’s the time of year when friends and family gather together, eat, drink and be merry. Celebrations to attend and shopping for gifts of appreciation are preoccupying our time, and that leaves little time for things like watching your favorite television shows. The entertainment industry has recognized this and has started taking breaks and began to replay holiday-themed shows. For the same reason, I am going to take a quick break from blogging, writing, and other of my creative ventures until after the holiday season has passed.
I made an effort to write more of “Emergence Ascended” (which I did accomplish and feel pretty good about it, too), and I tried to record Chapter 4 of “Emergence collective” (which got derailed). Schedule conflicts and holiday-themed activities prevented that from happening so that led to my decision to put a pause on all creative activities. I figure it’s better to sit back and enjoy the ride than stress over producing content. I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday filled with love and laughter!
P.s.
If you think you are going to miss my posts, feel free to go back and read some of the earlier ones, there are a few stories and musings you may find amusing 😉
Hand-prints of Darkness 