Category Archives: An Ember in the Wind

Why it Sucks to be a Character in a Novel

  By Mara Sanghid | 14 February, 2014 - 23:55 | ,
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An Orthogonal Universe Blog welcomes Mara Sanghid, who is the protagonist of An Ember in the Wind and this week’s guest blogger — despite the notable handicap of not really existing.

 

 

First of all, let’s get something straight. I exist. Maybe I’m not a person. I don’t have a 401K or a mortgage or a tangible presence in the physical world. But I exist in some form, right? If I do my job right, you connect with me. But let’s talk about that job . . . and why it really, really sucks.

You know that “fear” that some people have — they’ll say they fear we are all living in someone’s dream, and if that person wakes up, then reality as we know it ceases to be? Everyone else looks at that person kinda funny.

That’s my life. If someone puts my book down, then poof, I cease to be. Even now, I’m worried you’ll look away and start browsing pictures of funny things cats do. And it’s like I’m Hoth or Han, or whoever that guy from Star Wars was that was friends with the Alf look-alike. Suspended in literary carbonite — yeah, that’s the life.

But that’s not even what I’m griping about. Okay, it’s not that bad. I mean, it’s not like I’m usually aware of not being. It’s just kind of trippy when one minute I’m outdoors, then blam, I’m indoors, then blam again — I’m being knocked down to the floor by a cat. What would you expect if you lived in a world that could be sold for two bucks in a second-hand store?

There’s just a certain stigma to being a character. Ever hear of “privacy”? Everyone thinks they can read me like a book. It’s off-putting.

Let me tell you something about the writing process. It’s hell. Freaking. Hell. Imagine being born, but conscious enough to realize what’s going on. And all too often, entire pieces of your being are wiped out. Just like that. I still have nightmares about the “backspace” key — or “that button which shall not be named”.

I bet your mother didn’t delete your arms and stick them on your butt because they “seemed to fit better there.”

But that’s the sort of thing that can happen when you’re a slave to the whims carefully and logically crafted thoughts of a cruel overlord who can revise what you say at random kind and loving author.

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I haven’t even gotten to the worst of it. Revision makes my life a nightmare. It’s like being stuck in puberty forever — a teenager constantly changing identities. For all I know, tomorrow I could have sprouted three ears because it improves the “flow”, whatever that means.

And don’t get me started on typos. If you make a typo, you just feel silly . . . maybe even ridiculed by strangers. The horror! But in my world, all hell breaks loose.

Do you have any idea what it was like when the woman next door gave birth to a sun? Of course not. You live in a world that makes “sense”, because you have things like “physics” that aren’t subjected to the whims of Mr. Butter-fingers who had one too many cups of coffee.

“Yeah, I’m talking to you. What are you going to do about it?” asked Dork.

Hey! What — my name isn’t Dork! It’s Dork!

No!

Change it back! Right now! I’m Dork! Dork!

Okay. Fine. I’m sorry.

See what I have to put up with? I’m such a dork.

No! I didn’t say that!

Arghhhh!

 

I don't think he'll see me here. Help me!!!! Is there an opening in movies? I could at least be -played- by a person with a physical body.

Mara Dork

New Projects for 2014!

  By Robert Watson | 4 January, 2014 - 23:12 | , , ,
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So far 2014 is off to an odd start. I came down with a cold, and I had a hard drive die on me. Granted, neither of these things are as bad as could be. The new semester has not started yet, and I make backups. So I seem to have averted a sad tale about how I should be backing up my stuff.

Protip: go backup your stuff. Now 😉

I usually don’t make resolutions for the new year. New Years Day is typically a time to reflect on yourself and where you’re headed. But I do that on a consistent basis anyway. Nevertheless, I’ve had time to contemplate the inner regions of my soul, and have the following to consider over the next few weeks.

  1. Why does every episode of Downton Abbey start with a generous shot of a dog’s butt? I need to get to the bottom* of this. There’s a story here, I’m sure.
  2. I’m no longer buying mechanical hard drives.
  3. Clean the virtual shed.

I’m a “data squirrel.” For a while, every time I upgraded to a new hard drive, I dumped the contents of the old one into a single folder. This new drive was then dumped into it’s own folder on the next upgrade, and so on and so forth. I have virtual Matryoshka dolls that go back to ~1989. You know who has the high score in the family copy of Dungeon of Shalan? Me. And I have the high score table to prove it.

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I also have my copy of Monkey Island. Sadly, I don’t have the Dial-A-Pirate that goes with it… not that I couldn’t make a new one. (Thanks, Google!)

I’ve been toying with the idea of making a game or two to help promote An Ember in the Wind. The trick is to find something that would appeal to the sorts of people who may enjoy the book. I think a SCUMM-like point-and-click adventure game (like Monkey Island!) would be just the thing. I’ve also been wanting to experiment a bit more with the presentation of the Mara of the Ori riddles. This would be a good way to do both. And maybe I could make a tacky copy-protection device, like Dial-A-Squirrel.

The best part is, I already have a pretty good library of scenes. Throughout the past year I drew a lot of scenes from Fordham Forest, and they link together pretty well. I’m not thinking anything too big – although larger than a “roomisode.”

The hardest part will be doing animations. Most likely, I’d base the game off of the entire “A Conundrum of Eggs” series (including the third part that hasn’t been published). Most of my efforts will go into animating the two playable characters, Mara, and Ry the Squirrel. I’ve not studied animation very much at all, but I’ve also never been opposed to learning new things.

In the meantime, think about this. It’s 2014.

2 0 1 4.

2  0  1  4.

Isn’t that weird?

* sorry.

Merciless with Words

  By Robert Watson | 1 November, 2013 - 22:25 | ,
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Fordham Forest { Full View }

Fordham Forest { Full View }

 

Nanowrimo has officially started, and my word count currently sits at zero. Of course, I’m not participating anyway, so pfft. Rather, I’m still tying up the loose ends of An Ember in the Wind – and by that I mean working my inner editor into the wee hours of the morning.

I use bits and pieces of the “Nanowrimo approach” to writing a first draft, mainly in the “ignoring the inner editor” aspect. The problem with this is that I’ve spent so long shooing it away that when I want it to come back, it behaves like a frightened squirrel, running at the first drop of a pin.

The little voice that was all too pronounced when it wasn’t needed has hardly a peep to say now.

I’m willing to say it is not fatigue. I took a few weeks off after I finished the first draft. Maybe more would’ve been in order, but I felt ready to dive back in when I did.

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Perhaps it is rather the age of the project. Ember is going on seven years old, although some pieces are much older. And all the original lines are in full view.

A technical note: Most people use word processors to write. I use LaTeX, which compiles the document from a source file. One handy feature is that I can easily comment lines out, so that even if they’re not visible in the document output, they’re still visible in the source. The problem with that is I’m constantly starting at a seven-year history consisting of minor changes up through complete revamps of the plot and characters.

It’s not a distraction. There’s a constant reminder there’s a history to each word and sentence – the last sort of thing you’d want lurking when it’s time to bring out the word-chopping axe. And I mean “constant reminder” literally. It’s right there in the comments, “I wrote this paragraph in Buxton, NC.”

I’m not sure why I thought I’d want to know that several years later. It’s fun to read through the comments, though. I’m sure once I’m done revising, I’ll be glad they’re there – it’s why I haven’t deleted them.

In the meantime, I suppose it’s time to get merciless with my words.

Fun fact: What do Sheridan, Mingo, Elm, Peoria, Aspen, and Utica all have in common, besides being characters in A Foundation in Wisdom?

They’re all streets in Tulsa, OK.