Starting my new novel draft

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The pen has hit the page! Or rather the finger has hit the screen (I’m finding myself doing a lot of writing on my phone at the mo). I’ve been planning an idea for a novel draft, and recently I decided to jump in and start producing some content.

With my previous abortive attempts at novel writing, my mistake has been to neglect the planning. With one idea, I managed to get 26,000 words done before stalling completely, but sadly I couldn’t salvage much of that work because there were giant cracks in the concept. With my current attempt, I’m using the A Novel Idea iOS app as a planning aid, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a tool help structure and store their writing ideas.

My current novel idea originated from a screenwriting piece from my second year at university, a scene lifted from one of my old novel concepts about psychic superheroes being hunted down by an evil autocratic government in a dystopian future. The feedback was that the writing was fine, but the concept was basically The Matrix with the serial numbers filed off.

However, all was not lost, as I had a bit of an epiphany. The story would be so much more interesting if I flipped things around. The protagonist should be a normal human in a world where everyone is psychic. Working with this concept, I wrote my short story Beyond Thought, which fleshes out the world and characters that could become central to my novel draft. I plan to include Beyond Thought in my Resolutions collection, but I will also repost it on here.

I have done a lot of structure planning for the novel, but I still have a lot of elements to peg down. However, I decided that I should start getting some words out rather than over-emphasise the planning and never start writing. The approach I’m going to try is non-chronological writing, that is, taking scenes out of the structure and treating them as individual short stories. This will make things feel more manageable, and also play to my strengths as a short story writer.

I’ll keep you updated with my progress, and I’ll have the Beyond Thought short story on here to give you a taste of what’s to come.

Berserker

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I want to be a Berserker for Christ.

What’s a Berserker? If you’ve seen Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, you should remember the army of elite super-orcs created by the fallen wizard Saruman. When these dark creatures attack the fortress of Helm’s Deep, the Berserkers are the first ones atop the castle wall. Equipped with light armour and a giant sweeping cleaver, these warriors have one purpose: attack. Positioned on the top rung of the siege ladders as they swing up toward the battlements, the Berserker is hungry to wreak havoc against the enemy.

Why do I think the Berserker is a good role model for Christians?

1. They are single-minded.

The Berserker knows their role and they are blinkered to everything else. They see the enemy and they start running, adrenaline pulsing through them, a terrifying war cry blasting from their lungs. Laying waste to the enemy is the only thing on their mind. In the Two Towers movie, one of Saruman’s Berserkers is tasked with delivering a flaming torch to ignite the gunpowder positioned beneath the walls of Helm’s Deep. Despite being feathered with arrows along the way, the Berserker doesn’t flinch in completing his suicide mission.

I want to have this single-minded approach to life, being wholely defined by and focused on my faith. Everything is secondary to the purpose and place God has prepared for me.

Hebrews 12:1, 2:

…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…

2. They are equipped for the job.

You won’t see a Berserker weighed down by heavy plate armour; it may provide significant protection but it slows you down. A Berserker isn’t going to gird themselves with a variety of weapons; they take their favoured tool of destruction and that’s enough. In fact, a Berserker is probably happiest when they strip down to a loin cloth, with their fists as their only weapon. The notorious veteran prisoner Charles Bronson is known for covering his naked body with grease before launching vicious attacks on his guards. Moral issues aside, this stripped-down approach helps him get the result he wants: havoc.

I don’t want to carry anything unnecessary with me as I stride into battle. The only armour, weapons, and supplies I need are those provided by my Lord. Anything else is surplus to requirement.

Philippians 4:12-13:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

3. They aren’t afraid to get stuck in.

Where will you find the Berserker on the battlefield? In the thick of it, drenched in blood, where the fighting is fiercest. If the Berserker is to achieve total carnage, they need to be surrounded by unwitting assailants foolish enough to get in their way. However, Berserkers aren’t always led by bloodlust; sometimes they leap into the fray because they have to protect others. When her fellow crew members are trapped by the inhuman reavers in the film Serenity, River Tam locks them behind the blast doors and faces the monsters alone. As the victim of a government experiment to create brainwashed child assassins, River knows that her unwanted skills are the only thing that can hold off the reavers. She might not survive, but that’s the price that needs to be paid.

I don’t want to shy away from getting stuck in, especially when it’s my responsibility to care for others. I want to stand up in the face of opposition and walk into the crossfire with my head held high. What’s the worst that can happen? I’m already dead to this world so I best start living like it.

Philippians 1:21-26

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

Prayer: Lord, give me the strength to be a relentless force for holiness. Give me a passion for climbing the walls of the devil’s strongholds and leaving a bloody mess in my wake. Equip me with everything that I need and cut away anything that I don’t need. Let others take shelter in my shadow as the arrows of the enemy rain down, and show me who I need to love without counting the cost. Lord, I dream of the day when I see you face to face. Until then, just give me a target.

I let it happen – an allegorical short story

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He got me as soon as I woke up this morning. I felt the cold hard metal grasping around my wrist, clamping shut with an ominous click. There I stayed, locked down and unable to move. That’s one of his best tricks. Once he’s got the first manacle on one of your limbs, you’ve hardly got time to stop all the others closing over your skin.

The chains rasped as they ran against themselves, then pulled taut against me, yanking me out of the bed and onto the floor. My head struck the carpet with a dull thud, the force jolting down my spine.

He stood over me, leering down with that familiar hungry grin. Striding toward the door, he dragged me from the room, my skin scrapping against the doorframe. Along the landing he dragged me, then tossed me unceremoniously down the stairs, my elbows and knees striking the steps, cracks of pain filtering through my body.

That’s how the rest of the day continued. I was on my feet for the most part, stumbling to keep up as the chains pulled on my limbs. Sometimes I didn’t follow fast enough, or tried to take a different direction, but that was when I found myself flat on my back or sprawling forwards, the metal digging mercilessly into my skin, reminding me who was in charge. By the end of the day, as I got back under the sheets, my body was a mess of throbbing bruises and open wounds.

How did it happen? I let it happen. I can blame circumstance, my nature, or others around me, but that isn’t true. I can say that it has been such a long time since he last caught me that this was inevitably going to happen, but that doesn’t cut it.

The question is this: how did he get so close to be able to trap me? He’s a sneak, I’ll admit that; crawling and creeping, lurking in the shadows. The answer: I allowed him to get close. An inch closer, then another inch, and then all of a sudden he’s standing over me in the dark and I’ve lost control.

This morning, I’m ready. I was preparing my battle plan before I let myself succumb to the sweet mist of sleep.

As my eyes open and my faculties return, the shrill tone of the alarm having pierced my slumber, I don’t give him a moment to take the advantage. I’m up in a flash, bulling him across the room, my shoulder catching him under his chest and slamming him into the wall. Always fight back. If you don’t fight back, you haven’t a hope.

He isn’t done. He’s never done. As long as I live he’ll have a reason to keep trying. Razor talons dig into my back, cutting into my resolve. We tumble to the floor, wrestling against each other, limbs locked in opposition. He’s so strong and I’m so weak. So what do I do?

It’s time to summon the power. With a deep breath, letting peace spread throughout me, I ignore the thrashing of my enemy and let myself be consumed. As the power flows through me, I’m like a dry stream suddenly energised by fresh water rushing into the channel. Immortal truths awaken within me, reminding me who I am.

I rise. I stand up, a fist gripped around his neck. He struggles fruitlessly against the power, but I won’t give in. I lift him up, staring into his face. He recoils away; he doesn’t want me to see him as he is, because then it’s clear to see how ugly and undesirable he is.

I release my grip, dropping him to the floor in a crumpled heap. Surely I’m going to finish him off, you’re thinking. The truth is, he’s going to follow me throughout my life, and I can’t kill him off. Once we were one, he and I. We were bound together in an unholy bond, a parasitical relationship where I fed and nurtured him within my skin. However, in a moment of pure brilliance and glory, the bond was broken and he was dragged out of me kicking and screaming. He’ll keep trying to trap me, but he can’t get back in. Even if I falter and lose the fight, the battle is already won and these are his death throes.

This isn’t enough. I’ve won this time but he’ll be back, with different tactics and new ways to exploit my weaknesses. I’ve got to train, gain strength through knowing the truth, go on the offensive, never be content. You can do this too. Get the power, and fight.

Romans 7:21-25:

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Prayer: Lord, I want to give you praise because you are greater than any power in this world, physical or spiritual. I’m sorry that I go back to the old dead ways of my sinful nature. Thank you Jesus Christ, for breaking the bond by becoming the sacrifice to pay for sin, once and for all. Holy Spirit, renew your power within me, and supply me with God’s wisdom and strength so I may fight and prevail.

Something old, something new

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As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve decided that I want to refocus my creativity so that I’m not working solely on StoryMechs. In fact, since I’ve made this decision I’ve been much more productive with StoryMechs.

There are some past projects which I had stopped working on, and now I want to kickstart my desire to achieve these targets.

The first of these is to self publish my science fiction short story collection, Resolutions. I picked up the draft recently, and although it definitely needs editing with a fine-tooth comb, I still love the narratives and think readers would too.

I also want to resurrect my aim to write a novel. I started writing a story called This Dark World, a young adult fantasy story inspired by the biblical theme of spiritual warfare, but I found that the theology was too dense to distill into a simple plot mechanism. However, I do have another idea in the pipeline, which I think could bear fruit. I’m currently working on the structure plan, using the A Novel Idea iOS app to set things out. More will be revealed in future.

Those are my old ideas, onto the new. I’ve become a lot more into board and card games recently, and this has sparked a desire to design a game myself. I did try to create a card game based on the premise of StoryMechs, but that didn’t pan out very well. However, lots of lessons learned there, which I’ll share at some point. I’m working on a idea for a strategy card game at the moment, so look out for some insights into my work on that.

Last but not least, I want to start a creative project geared towards a Christian market. My faith is the linchpin of my identity and existence, and therefore I want to use my gifts to serve God directly, as well as indirectly i.e. by doing everything I do as an offering to him. I have an initial idea for something along these lines, but I want to keep myself open to where God leads.

So, only five creative/writing projects to focus on! My plan is to switch focus regularly, to keep things fresh, but also to have some clear objectives to stay productive. I’ll keep you posted on how things go!

Welcome!

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Thanks for visiting my new blog, I appreciate you taking the time to have a look. I’ve set this up as a place for me to share my literary exploits and to encourage myself to keep writing and pushing on with my creative goals. I used to maintain a blog over on Blogger, which you can still take a look at, but I’ve decided to move on because I needed something a bit more flexible.

What will I be sharing on this blog? Primarily I want to use it to document my progress with a few different writing and design projects I’m working on at the moment. I also hope to be sharing some thoughts related to my faith as a Christian, and anything silly or fun I find on the web.

What projects am I working on? I’m currently working with my pal Mr Mook to refine and improve StoryMechs, which is an online service providing adventure narratives to shape via a ‘play-by-crowd’ format. This has taken up a lot of my creative focus in the past couple of years, when the project was known as Tweet RPG. However, I’m trying to make some progress with some other things as well, such as a few of ideas I’ve put on hold – a short story collection and a novel idea – and some new ideas and I would like to try out.

Have a look at my pages on this blog to find out a bit more about me and my writing – thanks for stopping by!