Character: Vilhelm

Posted in backstory, brainstorming, character, creating, process on January 29th, 2008 by stanmanx

Okay, I’m going to try something new today. Maybe it will rock, maybe not.

I went over to BehindtheName and used their random name generator to give me a name. With the meaning of the name as a starting point, I’m going to attempt to create a character. I went into this with no preconceived ideas of what kind of character I wanted. If this ends up sucking, blame Elen, since she sparked the thought process that led here.

Keep reading ‘Character: Vilhelm’

What to Write

Posted in content, genre, personal experience on January 21st, 2008 by stanmanx

I’ve been kicking this post around for a while, and I’m never really sure what it is I want to say with it. Bear with me while I ramble.

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A Taste of WIP

Posted in early draft, fiction on January 19th, 2008 by stanmanx

Alright, then, here’s a chunk of the current WIP, as promised. I’ve conveniently made it available as a rich text file and as a PDF. Enjoy!

In other news, I’m thinking of abandoning Blogger. I’ve also noticed that all the cool kids use Wordpress. Any thoughts?

Fear and Apprehension

Posted in content, irrational fear/insecurity, revision on January 18th, 2008 by stanmanx

Over a month ago I said that I would actually post something I had written. I’ll try and make good on that over lunch today, provided I don’t freak out and think it’s utterly worthless like the stereotypical writer has a tendency to do. I’m actually going to get my whining and insecurity out of the way now: Even after I make corrections to the part I’m going to post, I won’t consider it “as good as it could be” and will likely go through another five revisions before I decide to leave it alone… blah blah blah etc whine complain.

In this instance, most of my insecurity is due to the fact that I use this blog to talk about the act of writing — what I’ve learned about it and would like to share. My horrible, dark secret is that I don’t follow all of my advice (at that moment, all of the writers in the room rolled their eyes) and I certainly don’t write good first drafts (and, grinning, shook their heads). In my head, I know writers get this, but I still harbor the irrational fear that when I serve up the pudding, I’ll be mocked for not having the cup of proof that is supposed to be in there (or, in some cases, substituting said proof with two cups of BS).

Anyway, coming up at some point today will be a snippet from my work in progress, which still doesn’t have a title. It might be modified slightly to make sense as a short story, or I might just leave things as they are and see what happens. Who knows.

Hackers and Crackers: A Linguistic Dilemma

Posted in character, personal experience, words on January 15th, 2008 by stanmanx

A group of hackers wired a bunch of money to a foreign account. Someone hacked into the school’s database and gave A’s to everyone. Put up a firewall to guard against hackers. What is a hacker? Well, according to the news, entertainment, and most people you talk to, a hacker is a person who circumvents computer security. Works for me.

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