Today's blog update is going to be nothing more than a rambling from me. I have found myself in a corner, working on a lot of additions to and modifications of my novel. I have seemingl gotten bored with the book and have so put it to the side for now. I have started working on another project I put into the drawer for some time. It is a follow up to SoC, and details the events of the survivors and the basic outline for the next story.

In it, I have old characters, some new, and some who we've heard from/of, but never seen. For instance, in SoC, we get epigraphs from Kyle Daly, but in the second story, I give him scenes and a life. The other is the Emperor. All I have on him is he's a friend of Jack Wells, and wants peace. I haven't decided upon a  name yet; I'm still considering what name would be appropriate for him.

New characters introduced are a broken Mar'ahli, two female prisoners who have a love for weapons, the Emperor's son, an exiled Hydronkker, and a lithe Azzaery assassin. I don't have names yet, but I am having fun writing their descriptions and stats down. Hopefully, I should break out of this spell and get back on that book.

SOC lingo

Words/phrases you will find in the novel, as well as what they stand for.


HUD--Heads Up Display
Lt, Loot, Lieut--Lieutenant
Rash’lavikh (RAHsh-lawVICK)--Mar'ahli derogatory term for drones (both living and mechanical)
Plasmacid blomb--a plasma and acid bomb
LRC--Libertia Rangers Command
LMI--Libertia Military Intelligence
RMI--Rulnudor Military Intelligence
SOB--Special Operations Brigade (used for both Rulnudor and Libertia commandos)
VIP--Very Important Person
LRaD--Libertia Research and Development
RRaD--Rulnudor Research and Development
Magtrain--magnetic train
CDF--Calassa Defense Force


[will update as I write more and find more in the book]

An update on the book

I'm nine-and-a-half chapters in, over a hundred pages, and still going strong. I have five-and-a-half chapters left to go before I'm done. Then I will put it aside, and start something new. I don't know what, yet, but I hope it will occupy my time so I unwind and disconnect from the novel. Then, I will go back and edit the hell out of it.

This first draft stage is the (as a writer friend of mine says) "Junk It Through" stage. It's just supposed to be crap, and written as crap. None of the words are supposed to stay, scenes can be rewritten and reordered. As with any draft though, I have to RUE (Resist the Urge to Explain) every little detail about the world. Thankfully, I can do that with my blog ;-)

Blogging about the backstories and histories and cultures helps me to categorize them and acts (for me) as a fact-checker. This way, I can't contradict myself, and am able to keep things consistent. That's another thing I see in some novels. Some writers don't keep consistency within their own work. This speaks as unprofessional and turns the reader off. Not editing a book/novel also does the same.

I write to show people the worlds I create. If I wanted to tell you about them, it would be like a history book; flat and boring and stale. Granted, some people love history. Good for them. I don't and probably never will enjoy history.