Back in the Saddle Again (1977)

That's right, I actually wrote some.  A pitance really, just 1500 words about today, but damn, its been forever and it feels good to be back at it.  I made some decisions in the story, and for now I just have to follow through and let what happens happen.  Some of my vision has had to change a little bit, but that's okay, its what needed to happen at this point.  Whoo, super excited though.  Just had to be okay with it maybe not being quite as magical as previous stuff and go.

We're definitely over the midpoint in Secret in the Box, no doubt, we're quickly moving through the second and final act.  I feel bad that the second act seems like its slower than the first, and maybe that is something I can fix later, but right now I just need that lightning bolt of inspiration to really get a kicker to cinch it all together.  Genius, don't fail me now!

A most Ridiculous Dream

Haven't had one this wacky in awhile...

The beginning is less clear.  So I'm in a mall type place, running around, climbing things, having fun...I get to some office part with lots of elevators and there's some dancing around to avoid being seen by the office workers/ogres or whatever they are.  I don't see them because I'm avoiding them, but I get the idea they're ogres.

I get stuck because I'm on a higher floor than I thought and the elevators are like video game elevators, they only go down like one floor at a time, then you have to find a new one.  I finally find my way back to the main mall and then skedaddle out of the place, being chased by an obnoxious bunch of teenagers, including a girl who keeps mocking me for some reason.  Some construction workers decide to come help me out and they start beating the shit out of the girl.  I try to help the girl, but she keeps on making fun of me anyway.

So I run off, and now I'm running around the outside of the mall, climbing, jumping, etc., and I come across one of my students.  He asks if he can go with me, because we're still kinda escaping something or other.  He's a bit dopey, but I let him come.  Well, almost as soon as he joins me we see this gigantic, feathery prehistoric bird flying around and it lands on a fence on an enclosure where its nest seems to be.  Its as big as an ostrich, covered in feathers, and has a mouth the size of a crocodile or bigger with lots of teeth.

I'm trying to be like, "Hey, Max, check out this bird, but he's already well behind and he's making calls to the bird.  I try to tell him to stop, because giant, prehistoric birds are clearly not to be toyed with, but he won't listen.  So I basically have to go back and drag Max away, but he's still making calls and the bird starts following us.

There's nothing around to use as a weapon except this flimsy, small soccer goal, so I carry that along with us and when the bird gets too close I smack it with the goal.  Pretty soon it starts to realize that I can't hurt it.  By this point, Jane Lynch (as Sue Sylvester, from Glee), is nearby and heckling us; I guess its her bird, and there's no way to get it to go away without killing one of us.

I tell Max to run off ahead, and I still try to keep the bird at bay, but I know its no use, so I give in, but only on the condition that Jane Lynch let me check on Max.  She agrees, and I start to go, but then she lamentably tells me, sorry, Max already got eaten.  I think he was eaten by the bird, but there was also apparently involvement from some miniature zombies, Jane Says.

There's nothing left of Max but scrapings.  I get furious, grab a hammer, and utterly wreck Jane Lynch until she's a puddle of goo.  There're some miniature zombies there.  Either they were in her head or on her key chain, but either way, I hammer them into little red bits. 

Then I woke up.

movin along...

Alrighty then, wrote some today.  hooray.  I'm at 60k words.  I'm not sure if what I'm writing is good, but there's something good about it.  Dream sequences are fun.

On another note, I've gotten some ideas for when I go back to Oraphan Cycle.  I need to read up on Genghis Khan.  

Bad comic blog number, uhhhhh...10. We'll start at 10

Its the Occupy Wallstreet Holiday Special!

Ripe

Working has taken a lot out of me, so not much writing (well, no writing) got done over the weekend, but she's comin along I tells ya.  About 53,000 words, 102 pages on Word, which means around 200 pages in a trade paperback.

This is badass, so read it:

Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks

Yes, it does deserve to be in monstrous type.  I'll have to do a little homage to this in Oraphan when I get back to fantasy mode.

Back in the Saddle Again

It feels good to write again.  I erased a whole big section, but that felt just as bad and wrong, so I added it back in, jumped back on that horse and started right on going again.  If I need to fix it, that's what second drafts are for (and at over 50k words and counting, second drafts are hard to even contemplate...how do those great authors do it? sheesh). 

I feel like wimp.com has been letting me down lately.  Like this.  Spoiler (so watch first if you don't like spoilers, though its not exactly a big deal).  Okay, why assume that he picked an audience member truly at random?  Come on, guys, that's obviously the only way he could have pulled off this trick?  Guess what, if you're trying to trick Penn and Teller, then have them pick the random audience member.  That'd be much more convincing.  What I don't find convincing is Penn and Teller...seriously, guys, this is like Anya winning Project Runway with her Foley's chic line-up.  I'm not fooled at all you liars. 

Enough of this nonsense.  Back to writing.  Another 800 words or so and I'll call it a night.

How the Internet Killed my Writing

Bam!  Gaming post!

Here be the best internet flash games I've played recently.

Kingdom Rush: By far the best tower defense game I've seen maybe ever, because I really don't care much for the genre in general (kinda played out).  This has got all sorts of freshness to it, nice graphics, and lots of replay value with all the extra challenges as you try to get those much needed meta-bonuses.

XenoSquad: Its like x-com light, but its based off this game, which I never played.  Doesn't have nearly the tactical or strategic complexity as x-com, but still really hit the spot for a couple hours.  The gameplay is very simple and whatever random elements to combat there are don't break anything (you're never going to miss a shot up close, for instance).  Looking forward to more from these guys.

Discount Mayonnaise:  Guessing the name has something to do with being in the giant worm cave.  I've only been playing this one for a little bit, but the manic style charmed me into adding it to this list.

Exit Path: There's actually a sequel to this game, but I don't think its nearly as good.  I think this is probably the best game overall on this list.  Gave me a real sense of accomplishment getting through it in good time.  Clearly a lot of polish put into the levels.

Solipskier: This I played a lot maybe two years ago.  Really sucked up some time.  I usually don't go for games you can't win, ie. all you do is go for the highest score, but this one won me over easily.

MeatBoy: This game had me addicted for several days, which is really good for a flash game.  I had to get every last bandaid!  Great old school challenge.  You gotta love the insane speed at which Meat Boy sprints across the levels.

Elephant Quest: This game has a great sense of humor.  Not exactly challenging, but the exploration aspect was somehow fulfilling.  Mostly its just amusing both for the gameplay (elephant with trundling turrets in tow) and the ridiculousness of the dialogue.

The Company of Myself: There are several of these 'moody' puzzle games out there right now, but I think this is probably the best example.  It def has better puzzles then several of the copy cats out there.  And no, its not a game about masturbation (that I know of).

Vox Populi, Vox Dei (a werewolf thriller):  A million style points to 'Vox Populi, Vox Dei (a werewolf thriller)', just on the title alone.  'Voice of the people, voice of God', and because it has nothing to do with werewolves, the parenthetical explanation.  Awesome.  This has brilliantly weird 80s weird factors going on; yes, I'm talking about the fact that the werewolves open up their chests to shoot things at you.  And then there's the fact that you're beating them to a bloody pulp every encounter you have.  Brilliantly visceral, and it does it with pixel art.  I only wish he'd come out with the promised sequel.

Zombotron: Another platformer with a few puzzle elements.  I like that it made it okay to have both zombies and killer robots and animated skeletons.  Sweet.

Alright, well, that's ten games...not necessarily my top ten, because there are a couple I can think of but I can't remember the names right now. If you happen across this post, stranger, feel free to comment below about any other awesome games I should be playing online.