FTG Update #2

Greetings

I had a late night tonight, but didn’t want to go to be without at least writing (or attempting to write) something. Now it’s 2am, and I’m going to regret this in the morning.

I previously said that the prologue would be renamed to chapter 1, and if I ended up with a prologue, I didn’t know what it would be.

My intent tonight was to work on Chapter 1 part 2. As I started writing it, I had to fill in a bunch of back story. But, the back story needed more attention than a cursory overview in an unrelated chapter. So, I pulled it out of the chapter and started a new prologue.

I got a couple paragraphs into it, and hated it. I was doing it narratively. First, it wasn’t fun to write or read. Second, it was coming off as serious science fiction rather than comedic. I didn’t see any way to lighten it up in that format. (Actually, there were a few things I could’ve done to lighten it up, but it would’ve required techniques that I’d like to think I’ve matured beyond.)

So, I started over and found a great opportunity. The story takes place in the future, but its origins are close to the present (I settled on 2030). I never intended to directly cover the present in any detail, at least not yet, but I found that by introducing the historical characters directly, it became fun again.

“Adler Enterprises” (more below) is the name of a massive corporation in the future. It pretty much owns and runs everything, but it’s not evil like skynet. Adler enterprises was formed by two brothers in the present. I never intended to say more than that about it. But, in the new prologue, we meet those characters and see how the company came to be. 4 hours ago I didn’t even know the brothers names. Nor did I know that they had an intern who also contributed.

Quite unexpectedly, the prologue is to become a full blown origin story. This is more story than I planned on. Also, there’s no mention of this on my supposed “outline” that I’m supposed to be working from.

Currently, I expect the prologue to have 3 parts, which almost definitely means it will have more or less than 3 parts. Conclusion of that will eliminate the need for elaborate recaps or explanations in Chapter 1 Section 2, and I can get back to that.

I really enjoyed writing it, but not reading it. It needs a lot of work, but I have established the characters and what they need to do. Also, I think it’s pretty funny, but I already mentioned that it’s 2am, so I could be wrong about that. We’ll see tomorrow.

ADLER ENTERPRISES: In the original book, I used “AllardWorks Enterprises” as the company name. This time, I’m keeping my name out of it for prosperity sake. I needed a new name.

A couple months ago, I said something that was quoted and included in a slide show for a presentation at my job’s quarterly meeting. Whoever created the slide spelled my name wrong. They spelled it ADLER. So, the first time I get my name in lights, it’s spelled wrong. Good times. Using ADLER as the new fictional company name is my little inside joke.

For the Galaxy: Update #1

It’s been 8 days since “FOR THE GALAXY – STALL TACTICS” post. For anyone paying attention, here’s the latest.

Fortunately, the stalling I expressed in that post was temporary. I installed Microsoft One Note, and have made good use of it so far. I have 3 tabs: Characters, Objects and Outline.

“Characters” has some of the major characters that I know I need, but I’m sure I’ll add a lot more as I go. Naming characters is a real pain. I have 3 human names that I’m considering temporary. I’ve settled on the names of 3 bad guys (aliens) and 1 good guy (also an alien).

“Objects” covers things like planet names, ship names, etc. One of the planet names is a good name, but I’m misusing it. I need to save that name for something grander. I’m using it as a placeholder for this lesser planet until I come up with a name for the lesser planet. The objects tab also has the name of two space ships, both of which I’m perfectly content with.

“Outline” isn’t nearly as thorough as it should be. I usually just start writing, but that hasn’t worked out, so I’m trying to be more structured. I really should document the entire story in advance in the outline tab, but I’m not. I outlined 3 major sections originally conceived as “Prologue i, Prologue ii and Chapter 1. The point of Prologue i and Prologue ii were to kick off the major story line from two perspectives. Now that I’m actually writing it, though, they’re going to cover quite a bit. It feels like they should just be chapters, which means I’ll have chapter 1 through 3. If I need a prologue, it’s not yet obvious what it will be.

So, I haven’t outlined the whole story, but I know how it begins. It’s not the right way to do it, but it’s better than what I used to do. I’ll get through chapter’s 1 through 3, then return to the outline process to work out the details of the rest of it.

As for the actual writing, I have completed the first section of chapter 1. I may end up editing it a thousand times or rewriting it a thousand times, but it’s “done” for this stage of the game.

I’m trying to write it as comes naturally to me. The first section introduces two major characters and a space ship (which won’t be around long). When I think about some of the books I’ve read, it seems that I should be describing the ship and the characters in great detail. That might be something I have to go back and fill in later, but trying to do it now would distract me from the story. It may lead to frustration which would lead to a delay, or halt, of progress. So, I’m focusing my energy on writing the parts that I want to write, not the parts that I should write. I’m working on the jokes, the story, and the personality of the characters. As for their appearance: You can imagine them any way you like.

Bowling Tournament

We had our annual bowling tournament at work a few weeks ago. Two years ago, I did very well. Last  year, I did awful. This year, I did awful too. Two years ago I was playing a lot, but haven’t since. Oh well.

Anyway, our whole team was pretty bad. The next day I sent out this inspirational email in an attempt to boost morale.

12/18/2009

Greetings

I just wanted to write a quick note to thank you for inviting me to participate in the bowling tournament of this past Monday. It was a lot of fun.

I would also like to speculate on the pending results of the tournament and offer my commentary on said speculation. As the judges sit down to determine the winners and wicked losers, they're going to concentrate on things like "points" and "the score" and "totals" and "math", which is a monumental travesty. There's more to bowling than just the score. There's the style, the integrity, resourcefulness and, most importantly, the creativity.

For example, I brought and wore my own bowling shoes. I put them on the correct feet and tied the laces all by myself using the "rabbit goes into the rabbit hole" approach. I overcame adversity even with people watching and making me very uncomfortable with myself. Shouldn't that count for something?

Donna and Vadim have never bowled before, but they conquered our lanes, our neighbor's lanes, and a few of the pins over a period of a several frames. They rose from obscurity to heroes over a period of just 2 games. Will statues be erected in their honor? Probably not, but I say they should be. The world is entitled to know and appreciate what they have done.

What about Carlos and his uncanny ability to bowl each ball in a completely different way from all of his previous bowls? The movement of his shoulders exceeded the parameters of their original design likely resulting in permanent damage that won't be fully realized until the eve of his 52nd birthday. Such a triumph should not go unnoticed by the judges, but it will, because they don't care about the human aspect., They're all about the science... which makes me sad.

Finally, I would be remiss without highlighting the contributions of Christopher. Could any other person resist the urge to consume the company provided foods and snacks for fear of them killing him due to ongoing gastrointestinal difficulties? On that field of battle, he stands alone. As we ate, he resisted. He's a real South Floridian hero.

In conclusion, despite the fact that the "numbers" may demonstrate that "we sucked", I urge you to look past the numbers and instead focus on the more important human aspects of the game that no judge will consider. Miraculously, we all left the place relatively in tact. That makes us winners. Winners with low scores, but still winners.

STARBLAZERS Movie?!?

Wow.

Every once in a while, I hit IMDB and Google to see if there’s any word about a STARBLAZERS movie. There never is. A couple days ago, I looked again, and there was nothing.

Check out this AINT IT COOL article: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43510

The trailer isn’t spectacular, but it sure is nostalgic. It’s 33 seconds long, and I was WOWing and OOHing and AHHHHing through the whole thing. It would’ve been a gift from the heavens if they showed them firing the WAVE MOTION GUN, but they were just priming it.

I hope it’s good, and I hope it’s accessible.