Welcome to Fred's Website
  • Home Page
  • Fred's Blog
  • The Right Writes
  • Mascot Serial
  • Contact

My Biggest Fantasy May Be Finishing My Fantasy Series

6/23/2019

0 Comments

 
​As has become habit, a quick note on the personal stuff: Our wedding anniversary was the 19th...and the birthday of our second child. And the 21st was my parents' wedding anniversary. When my father died in 1990, they'd been married forty-five years. The boss and I have been married for forty-three years so we just might pass the folks. But Mom and Dad were much older than we were when they got married. Dad was thirty-eight and Mom was almost thirty-one. We were twenty-five and twenty-one.
Due to the demand by my employer to work five ten-hour days a week, plus the continued lack of mobility for the boss, I only get to exercise two days a week, and don't get to write really, ever. This blog entry is the only thing I've written in two weeks.
However, it is not all bad. Although I'm getting nothing down "on paper," I'm getting plenty of ideas. I've developed a clearer picture of Tara's background and I've expanded her personality. That will force me to go back to what I've already written and add details, but that's what writing is all about.
I've also developed a clear though undetailed picture of the climax of the story...it will involve a surprise that has been hinted at already in what I've written. And even as I go through my days I realize more details and more characters. Also, the motivation and character of the primary villain has revealed itself to me. He/she/it (still undetermined) is, of course, psychotic. This character's psychosis is likely to be a version of the psychosis of a past or present world leader of some country. In the past, think Stalin, Hitler, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Genghis Khan.
In the present, think...well, you all can use your imaginations and/or research news reports. However, here's a link to one candidate: https://www.quora.com/Who-is-the-worst-leader-in-the-world-right-now-and-why
As for fantasy, I want to recommend my favorite author, Robert Heinlein. Heinlein is known as one of the best, if not the best, science fiction author of the twentieth century. He won four Hugo awards and lots of others. When the Science Fiction Writers of America decided to create a Grand Master Award, he was their first choice.
But Heinlein also wrote fantasy, both novel length and shorter. His most obvious fantasy work is the novella, Magic, Inc. This is usually available in book form paired with Waldo. And, though Waldo is presented as science fiction, it is a fitting introduction to the fantasy world of Magic, Inc. Other shorter stories of his that fall more into the genre of fantasy than science fiction can be found currently in the collection, The Fantasies of Robert A. Heinlein. An older collection, 6 X H, has some of the same stories. The larger current issue has "Waldo" and "Magic, Inc." as well as the six in the older collection.
I borrowed a few details from "Magic, Inc." when I wrote Witchery.
A full-length fantasy novel of his is Glory Road. The fantasy aspect sort of sneaks up on you as you read it. It has inter-dimensional travel, ray guns, modern surgery, astronauts, the war in Southeast Asia, and the Irish Sweepstakes.
But it also has dragons, non-earthly creatures of many forms, six-legged horses, and a very well-described sword duel. I may have borrowed from Glory Road for either Witchery or Prophecy of Honor, but not consciously. I did borrow quite a bit from Heinlein's The Cat who Walks Through Walls when I wrote Prophecy of Honor, though someone who read both might not see any resemblance.
In case I've never mentioned it, Daily Science Fiction is a free source of science fiction and fantasy. If you sign up for it, they'll send a story to your email address every weekday. Well worth the non-monetary investment. I haven't managed to sell them anything yet, despite three or four attempts, but I'll be trying again soon...when I have time to write.
And that's it for this time. Thanks for reading. Now that you've read this, please read something else. Preferably one of my books or short stories (here's a link to my writing in the Page and Spine archives: https://www.pagespineficshowcase.com/fw-stories.html )  or something else, but something you'll enjoy.

0 Comments

Personal Stuff Overwhelms Public Stuff

6/1/2019

0 Comments

 
​June first. If my father was still alive, he'd be 112 years old today.
The boss has returned home. She was medically released, so we had to get her out of the hospital. The surgery does not seem to have done much good...or it may just take a longer time than anticipated for results to show. She is showing increased strength, so that's something. Neither one of us has said it, but we both have admitted to ourselves the possibility that her condition might be permanent.
On less depressing news...I got my lawn mowed! It had been three weeks. The lawn mower quit on me three weeks ago. With only being able to get it into repair on Thursday or Friday, it took a week to get it to the shop and another week for them to fix it. But it cost less than half their initial estimate, so that was good.
My reading time may take a hit. I've been in the habit of getting into work about 6:25 and have 25 minutes or so to read before clocking into work. But now I have to start work at 6, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I may have to finish The Talisman at home. I picked up Tony Wedgeworth's Altered Creatures book, The Hunted, today. This is another story about Santorray, the Blothrud. I think (I hope)that Tony is working on organizing a Writers' Open Forum for this summer. We had one in the City Hall in 2017. We didn't have one last year, but I know Tony hoped to have it in the new available space in the library. I had a presentation researched and planned, and I hope to do that this year. Its title: Pornography, Erotica, and Blocking a Scene.
I'm not going to go into any details about those subjects here and now. I'll hope you can attend, if and when. I'll give details after.
I'm going to offer up a plug for an excellent poet, N.K. Wagner: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A50ae09ce-4221-48c2-800a-59dd29986eab
The link will take you to a free promotional presentation of her published poems. You'll see is a talented photographer as well. And, she is the editor/publisher of Page and Spine Fiction Showcase. It is an excellent publication to submit your writing efforts. They will offer feedback even if they do not accept your submission for publication. That is very unusual. So, if you wish to try, you've got four months to prepare your best effort. They do not accept submissions between June 1 and October 1.
One more recommendation—one I've mentioned before. Anne R. Allen and Ruth Harris have a great blog. If you have any interest in writing, you should subscribe to it (it's free) and read it.
And that is it for this time. I'm sorry it's so short, but there's just been too much personal stuff going on to keep writing at the top of my to-do list.
Until next time, please read.

0 Comments

    Author

    I'm a former teacher and current warehouse grunt that loves writing.

    Archive

    February 2023
    January 2023
    September 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly