Pity I have to do the reading AND the writing. Stupid school required books. Why must they always be second-rate shit scrabbled onto crumbled paper? Hm? Why not some good books for once? Fuck.

Sorry, got side-tracked. Anywho, an old, good friend of mine came to me the other day (more like sent me an IM, but we'll go with a personal meeting - it's cooler) and said "Hey, Sash." I replied with the normal "Hey, Ben - 'sup?" He goes on to ramble about his sexual exploits and his troubles with left-hand masturbation, something about not having any money and complaining that the corners are slow.. well, he finally dawns on the subject of writing. He goes - "Hey! We should write a novella!" At this point, I'm hardly paying attention to myself - I suppose it's this one chick's fault, as I can't seem to get her the fuck off my mind. Not that I mind.

He rambles on and I finally zone back in and realize he's being serious about this. So, I agree to write a novella with him - not a collaboration but a single work for the both of us. Mostly to keep us entertained, but it'll also serve to sharpen our writing skills as we've both become somewhat.. lacking in that perspective. So, a few days later, he comes to me with all the deadlines and whatnot:

-June 5th: Plots due; writing should commence.
-August 31st: 17,500 words (the bare minimum to qualify a piece as a novella) due.

Besides that, there are no requirements, no stipulations. I have to say, I'm really excited about our little project. We even recruited another of our friends to write with us. It's gonna be pretty freakin' sweet. Only.. there's one problem.



I still have no plot.


That's my dilemma at the moment. I've been probing my lobes for some ideas for weeks now, but nothing at all comes to mind. The things that do are iffy - such as writing a novella/novel to expand on Xavier's history. That's my best idea so far - the other is a story on a nanotech duo.. it's interesting in my own mind, but whenever it reaches paper, it dies a horrific, brutal death. So.. yea. I have a day and a half to come up with something. Wish me luck - hell, be of some use, you pathetically useless reader. Give me some suggestions. God knows I need them.

Peace, babes.

Oh, and wish me and my lady friend good luck - we're gonna try to win a photography contest. That should be interesting.

So, I've been brainstorming a lot recently (mainly about Xavier) and I've come to realize that Final Strike, while it may be my favorite work, it is nowhere near my best. I wrote it first nearly 2 years ago, and my writing back then, while still more advanced than most, was nowhere near what it is today. Granted, I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing in another 2 years, but here's my predicament: should I rewrite Final Strike, fine-tune it, polish it, and make it worthy of being called my best piece? Or should I leave it be and just work at completing the story leading up to Final Strike (and THEN possibly rewrite it?).

I ask this because last night I created new adversaries for the assassin, and I really don't know what to do with them. So don't be shy - leave your input here, but ONLY if you've read Final Strike!

Finally getting back into the swing of things with writing.. my rut's semi-gone. Trying to get back into Xavier's shoes, and I kinda did. Still working on it, though.

I had a sort of epiphany the other day, while watching Stranger Than Fiction. As it turns out, the narrator in the movie spends a good portion of the movie seeking out a way to kill the main character of her book. Everything she writes, though, sits uneasily with her - in her quest to devise the perfect death, she goes out and tries to experience the situations for herself. She starts out by standing on her desk, imagining what it might feel like to jump off a building. She fantasizes that the distance from the desk to the ground is the distance from a tall sky-scraper to the pavement, and jumps. Later, she finds herself sitting across a bridge, envisioning a fatal car accident, leading to the vehicle vaulting out of the bridge and into a watery grave.

As I watched all this unfold, I realized that experience is what I was missing - experiencing what my characters experience made it all the more difficult for me to write. I came to this conclusion as I remembered well my days of sword-fighting - when I fought, and then wrote about sword-fighting, I understood its mechanics more clearly, and I understood the adrenaline rush of it, thus adding life to my writing. I think it's what I've been missing.

So, in MY quest to better my writing, I've ordered several books (Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising and Rainbow Six, as well as Stephen King's The Gunslinger (King = God of God of Gods of Dieties when it comes to imagery and description))) to help inspire me. As for personal experience, I'm taking up paintball to throw myself into that gun-fight exhilaration that Xavier so often experiences.

[/rant]

Wish me luck.

Been like, 2+ months since I did anything with my DA besides browse galleries upon galleries of artistic nudes. -coughs-

Submitted something I wrote last night. Me likes it. <3

So damn bored. I've even been in a writing rut. How gay is that?

I'm so tempted to just get rid of my DeviantArt - I mean, I don't submit any good art. I could post my writings up here, but DA is a visual designer's heaven, not a writer's. Granted, I throw up a sig now and then, but even that isn't too original or great. Kinda sucks. A lot. =/

Meh, anyways, what's up been up Dev-happy-hoppers? I haven't updated in a longass time. Been pretty busy (kinda, maybe, yea). Summer's gone pretty well so far, especially this month. I just hope it gets better, or stays where it is, but doesn't get worse, cause trust me - I can see it getting worse. I'm just trying not to focus on it.

Oh yea, and I heard GSA sucks hardcore donkey testicles. So glad I didn't go, lol - I can't believe it though. I've been looking forward to it for so long and I tossed it aside like it was nothing. Ah well - I'm happy with my decision; I don't regret a second of it. I just feel bad for Cathy and Kelsey - they got stuck there.

Oh well. I'll try to submit some stuff for you (for those who care anyways).

P.S. Make fun of my 'Listening to:' and I will slit your throat while you sleep.