It’s the end of April and it’s time for the rundown of my favorite things from the past month!
Let’s right to it with:
I watched a grand total of two movies, and one of them was because I realized I didn’t want to call the piece of shit I watched earlier in the month my favorite. The piece of shit was 400 Days and I don’t want to talk about how boring and nonsensical the entire venture was. Continue reading
A fight is a-brewing today on the continuation of The Wings Take Shape, Part Twelve!
If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!
Previously on Wings, Jonathan tried to skinchange back into his human form, but Stalker, the cougar, refused to let him change once she found out that his Aunt Sadie was the abomination that had betrayed her and the other Totems so long ago, vowing to end the abomination’s life once and for all.
Meanwhile, Renee and Marie argued with Sadie, Jon’s ant, about what she could possibly do to help the war effort. They came to no solid conclusions except that Sadie was hesitant to even try for the sake of her Smokeshifting children. When at last Marie felt she was getting through to the woman, Sadie sensed Stalker’s presence drawing close, and felt that a conflict was coming.
Read on for more…
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Part Twelve – Totem Wrath
by Rick Cook Jr.
Stalker approached and she wasn’t alone. She had gathered to her every cougar in the Red Forest she could find, and followed the trail of Jon’s mate until she found the abomination’s next.
Except it wasn’t the creature. Not… entirely.
Something was different. He smelled different. And there were children.
Jon had tried explaining it inside their shared mind, but she refused to listen until now.
What has happened to the abomination, Jonathan? Continue reading
It’s April 24th, 2016. Sixteen weeks and one left in April, let’s do that update thing again!
My goals for Second Quarter of 2016 (April-June) are as follows:
So a quick rundown of what I accomplished towards these goals: Continue reading
One of the things that I struggle with as a writer is creating interesting characters that have all the hallmarks of a real person, but also can grow and change to create a satisfying character arc that feels natural to the story I’m telling. I imagine I’m not alone when I say that.
Some people like to be reductive about this and simply say “just write real people”, but the answer is never that simple. Real people don’t work in most fiction because fiction isn’t about real people. Fiction is artifice of reality. It has structure where reality doesn’t. It has archetypes and tropes and plot elements and a hundred other things that help define a fictional story. Continue reading
It’s Tuesday and you know by now that means it’s time for another entry in the serial novella The Wings Take Shape!
If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!
Previously on Wings, Captain Renee Mollen and her Winged Riders sought the village of Panagin’s Toll, Sadie the Skinchanger’s home. They found Sadie in a redwood den outside of town, much like the cadshee before her.
Jon, struggling against the Skinchanger form of Stalker and her ability to wrest control of her mind and body, tried to Change back to a human once he tracked down Renee and her Wings. Stalker had been cordial leading up to the moment he attempted to become human again, and she discovered that Sadie was a creature of smoke and oil. She roared and took control of him once more, fleeing into the forest intent on ending the creature of shadow and smoke once and for all. She called it the deceiver, a thief.
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Part Eleven – Abomination
by Rick Cook Jr
The entire village huddled beneath the redwood’s roots. Sadie’s den was much homier than the cadshee’s from several years back, but it was still under the earth and the people were scared.
Marie didn’t like it. She hated it, in fact. Renee conferred with Sadie somewhere out of sight while Marie and Regina took care of the soldiers and civilians. They rested peacefully for the first time in days. Wounds were cleaned and bandages changed. Stories told. The Winged Riders, having been at the capital when it was falling, had much to tell the citizenry of Panagin’s Toll. Continue reading
It’s April 17th, 2016. Fifteen weeks have come and gone for 2016, so let’s talk about our progress!
My goals for Second Quarter of 2016 (April-June) are as follows:
So a quick rundown of what I accomplished towards these goals: Continue reading
It’s Thursday, and that means time to ramble.
What’s in a description? When you’re writing a scene, sometimes you want to get all the details down. What’s the room look like? What’s it smell like? Who’s in the room, and what do THEY look and smell like? What are they doing from second to second? Who simpers playfully and who remarks with anger? What are they wearing? Is it important to know what they’re wearing? Continue reading
It’s Tuesday and the ongoing adventures of the Winged Riders continues with Part Ten!
If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!
Last time on The Wings Take Shape, the Skinchanger Jon struggled with the form known as Stalker, a cougar. When taking the form to protect his squad from a night raid, he lost control and Stalker killed their Scout, Thomas Irons. He managed to control Stalker long enough to flee, leaving the Winged Riders to be captured.
Captain Renee Mollen and her Winged Riders escaped and fled to Sadie Sawyer Paige, looking for any advantage they could find, and her Smokeshifting ability was a big one. She found Sadie and learned that Jon may be lost to Stalker.
Meanwhile, Jon fought the will of Stalker, sometimes losing control of his body and his mind, sometimes gaining it back and forcing her will to his. He fought her when she suggested he kill innocent children just to feed, and fled back into the forest, intent on finding Renee and the others so he could shed his form and ask forgiveness.
On to Part Ten!
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Part Ten – Conflicting Thoughts
by Rick Cook Jr.
Stalker, Jon thought. He was in the Red Forest, creeping along, following the trail of Renee and the Winged Riders. His companion was silent.
Stalker, he prodded again. I know you can hear me talking.
Stalker bristled. You choose interesting words for what we do.
He snarled at a pack of wolves and they backed away from their hunt.
We can’t keep fighting for control like this.
It’s April 10th, 2016. It’s time to throw an update full of words at you!
My goals for Second Quarter of 2016 (April-June) are as follows:
It’s Thursday here at Panning For Clouds and that means I’m gonna ramble on about something that’s been stuck in my head for a while, that is probably in some way related to writing, editing, or publishing.
You ready for this?
So as the article’s title suggests, there’s often this THING in the publishing world that you hear about. “We want to publish your detective novels, not your sci fi novels.” “You should only write fantasy because it’s the thing people like the most.” “We have no interest in publishing out of genre.”
Now, granted, I would love to have that problem, because it means I have landed a successful story somewhere. But the point is that it’s a commonly held belief in the publishing industry and elsewhere that authors should be writing in one genre because of a variety of reasons. Continue reading
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