Super Bowl: More of the Same.

Journal 113 29 Jan- 11 Feb 2024

Well… not much to talk about.

Got summoned for Jury Duty, that was interesting but ultimately, they didn’t choose me for the jury.

Both of my weekly D&D games are now, firmly on rotation. It used to be just the Saturday game was 2-by-2. Two weeks of one DM, then 2 weeks of another. But now my main game, the Tuesday game is also rotating between two.

Though you’re probably reading this for the writing talk… or you’re a handful of my friends that read this just to be supportive. If you’re the latter you’re probably interested in the game talk. But I should push that to the latter half of this post.

Agents?

I worked on my list after last blog post.

Of the twenty names remaining on my list only one… ONE… name was still open to queries. I put together a new query letter, and I’m still drafting it. Made nervous by the passage of time, and second guessing myself, I guess.

Since Twitter went to shit, I no longer see all the agents I used to follow on there. They all left for either other places or quit social media entirely. Maybe I need to pick up a copy of Locus and get more names/agencies to look through?

Or it’s time to flex the Google-fu and just start searching again.

Stories

I haven’t worked on revising nor have I selected my start date for the next novel.

That said, I have had a couple of ideas rattling through my head and I keep rethinking parts of the outline. I do tend to overthink things. Probably why I automatically aim for 200k on a first draft.

And to be honest I probably should be aiming for a higher count. I still think I rush through certain storylines. Skip through the build ups and arrive at the set-pieces. Then again, I also spend a LOT of time going through the emotional turmoil of characters. Whole pages of overwrought arguments, second guessing, hand wrangling….

Thinking about it, I might have a moment in all three novels where a character has a crisis of faith. I’m pretty sure. In The Ashlands, Rune is the character who needs to grow and find himself, pretty sure he has a crisis.

In Pharaoh, the beginning of the book has Grant completely against what he’s about to do, and later on he keeps second guessing everything else that happens.

In Daeria both the A and the B story are constantly arguing about what they’re doing. With the A-group wanting to save everyone and drawn in multiple directions, and the B-group second guessing every choice they make.

I’ve just discovered a theme in all my writing.

Theme thoughts

Each book has a main, semi-hidden theme any way. And the main thrust of my stories are misfits as heroes. The outsider, the freak, the forgotten, the bullied, etc. All of these characters are made to second guess themselves. They are people with weaknesses, with scars, and usually with anger in their heart.

The fact that they still choose to save the day, or help others is almost always a surprise.

Exploring WHY they do what they do is part of what I write. Exploring their thoughts, emotions, and the turmoil of the two interacting is a key component of my stories.

Anyway, I just like misfits and weirdos.

Gaming Stories

Which I guess is enough of a segue back to D&D and gaming in general.

With the new rotation on both game nights, I’m playing four different characters right now. I will admit that it is difficult to get into each character. Sometimes I’m more in the mood to play the other character, but the rotation has switched out games.

Something I’ll try to work on.

Last night I was playing a character that I first started playing in July 2021. I was shocked that it was so long since the first game. Over two and half years. Rereading my background and the beginning of the character… he was projected to be a completely different person.

He went in another direction entirely.

Though I do find it funny that the character is more than a decade younger than I am in real life, but he acts and looks like he’s a decade older than me. I bet if you asked the other players at the table, they would guess my character to be in his 50s or older. He’s not even 35!

Juggling these four characters and trying to summon tow of their personalities each week is pretty much where all of my storytelling/writing has been focused for the last three months.

I need to get my hands back on the keyboard.

I’ve been debating typing up some of my outline and all of my world notes. Especially the stuff that is written to be converted into D&D (or whatever RPG I use to run events in this world). The more I type the more I WANT to type. Click clack on the mechanical keyboard.

Digressions

But perhaps I’m digressing…

Can I really digress if I don’t have a topic?

Probably not.

This is normally where I talk about k-dramas, or horror movies, or comics. Whatever media I have been consuming.

I can hit a few of them, just a quick list as I don’t want spend a thousand words ranting about good and bad shows.

If you have time go on Hulu and watch Once upon a time in Hollywood. That was excellent (though it’s the end that makes the whole movie). Then watch A Shop for Killers, which is Korean, but its all murder and mayhem.

I do have caveat this… Hulu is the WORST of the streaming services. Far too many commercial breaks in their shows, and for some reason if I use the app on my TV the commercial breaks freeze and have to be restarted, sometimes twice. Meaning you end up watching the same 2-minute block of commercials 2 or 3 times, 6-8 blocks per HOUR episode.

Watching anime on Hulu is even worse, because you get about 8 minutes of commercials inserted into a 22-minute show. Fuck you Hulu.

Other Shows to Check out:

Also, Reacher season 2 was pretty good. Just a huge dude kicking and punching his way through everything and, every once in a while, surprising you with the fact that he’s pretty smart. Though there is a moment where I noticed something the character didn’t and I laughed at him for being an idiot. I don’t want to spoil it… but you can tell Russo is a cop long before they pull out his ID.

In K-Dramas I watched My Demon (excellent), Welcome to Sam Dal-ri (very good), Suspicious Partner (OK, too long and a Kocowa show… meaning they usually just end meh).

I rewatched an old favorite as well. I’m kind of spinning my wheels trying to find something new to watch.

I would take suggestions but I seldom get comments on these posts and the few who do read regularly don’t watch the same shows I do. So, yeah.

Comics

Jim Zub is knocking it out of the park with his current D&D comic, Fortune Finder. It is a great concept and very funny in execution. Must read for a fun comic book.

Jason Aaron’s take on Bizarro with magic is interesting.

The new Thunderbolts is good, hunting down and trying to kill Red Skull.

I’m trying to be super positive, but I’m getting in a state where I’m thinking of cutting about 5-10 titles from my monthly pull. I’m getting less and less into certain characters…. Or perhaps certain writers I should say. What’s sad is when its writers who I really loved that start to disappoint me.

Anyway… I’m bringing myself down.

Superbowl today… I haven’t watched any football this year at all… which is a bit sad. But I will watch the superbowl tonight.

Let’s call it here.