Getting a-Head

I just added a header image. I was trying to think of something that represented the entire saga. I think it accomplishes that. Perhaps, down the road, this will get updated. But For now, I think this is pretty much it.


Overall, I like it. It's simple and conveys some meaning at the same time. What do you guys think? (Leave a comment or send me an e-mail.)


(And no need to tell me, I know the title is a bad pun... but it's the best that came to mind.)

NYC: Update #4

Not much to say here this morning... apparently I'm still recovering from the craziness of last week... or it's just that early in the morning! Anyway, the update. Pretty much just one chapter this week. This is the format I always thought this blog would have (so get used to it!). The previous weeks were just catch up to this point. So, here's what you have in store:

Added

Chapter 10: David comes clean about something he's had bottled up for a long time.

Hope you enjoy.

Everything in its Place

Okay, so some of you may have noticed something a little different in the doc in last week's update... in the Table of Contents, perhaps? Yes, instead of just adding the title of the next chapter (for a little teaser), I added up through chapter 14. The significance of this is that chapter 14 is the last chapter of NYC! Yes, we're almost there! I am quite excited to be finishing this story up. I've been thinking about chapter 12 a bit lately as it's getting completely re-worked from my original idea for it. (Don't worry; my revision is better than the original idea!) But I still have to get chapter 11 done first. Although it's hard not to think about chapters 12-14 as we close in on them and the end is in sight.

But, the light at the end of the tunnel (finishing this part) is another tunnel (the next part I'm writing)!

The Order of Things
With the end approaching on this part of The Wolf Saga, I've been thinking about which part to do next. As I've said, I do want to finish the first half (1-4) before moving on to the second half (5-8). And I came to the conclusion that I still don't know if I'm ready for Seven Days (part 1), so that leaves Aftermath (part 2) and The Rookie (part 4). I did have an idea to put it to a vote between these two and was curious what people would vote for. Eventually, I just decided to do Aftermath after finishing NYC. Basically, I didn't want to put The Rookie (4) out there without having The Project (5) immediately after because... well, I won't get into specifics but it would potentially be confusing and I didn't want that.

So, with all that out, this pretty much solidified the order in which I'll be writing the saga. Here it is: 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. After thinking of the overall story arcs of 4 through 8, I pretty much concluded they would best be presented in order.

This Week's Update
Anyway, more pressing is the matter of finishing NYC. So, this week, you'll definitely be getting Ch. 10 (Explanation) and possibly Ch. 11 (Safe House) if I finish it and feel it's ready for release. I don't have any updates planned right now but something might pop up before Thursday.

NYC: Update #3

A bit of a crazy week, but I kinda knew it was coming and had this week's update ahead of time (hence the advanced date on the doc). So here's what's in store:

Updates

- Chapter 5: Overall expansion/edits: wanted to add more info to the chapter without slowing the action down.

- Chapter 7:Added physical description of Andy.

Added

- Chapter 8: Wolf takes the initiative in finding Jill. (Did you expect anything less? Really?)

- Chapter 9: Wolf recovers Jill back. I was pretty anxious in writing this scene as it is an action scene that has been playing in my head for many years. I just hope it came out as good on paper as it played in my head.

Hope you enjoy!

NYC: Update #2

Another week, another update. Here's the details:

Updates
- Chapter 1: Mr. Cove's office location, Wolf's headset, and Ivan's nationality. The locations are something I started adding around chapter 7 and I wanted to start including more of them earlier on. And Wolf's headset keeps getting more functionality; hopefully I'll stop adding things to it very shortly! Finally, some clarification on Ivan's nationality, whose name is very not Russian.
- Chapter 4: David's temper takes shape and the Carnine family crest (for more clarification). I just felt David's temper at his Jeep needed a bit more. And I realized that I hadn't mentioned the family crest; not sure what happened, I must have forgotten it while writing this chapter. Hopefully, this piece of info explains Wolf's actions in later chapters more so.

Additions
- Chapter 6: Wolf learns more info on the events of the evening.
- Chapter 7: Wolf calls on a few friends to help him out for his plans for the head fox.
- Cover: I finally added a cover to the doc. I know it wasn't necessary, but I also like that kind of stuff, so it was fun.

Final Note
Some may know this, but I occasionally like to include the first paragraph or so of an upcoming chapter for a little teaser. I did do this in this week and will do it if it makes sense. I just didn't feel it worked for the beginning of chapter 6, so that didn't happen but I'll usually do this.


Enjoy!

The Duality of David & Wolf

This topic actually came from where I'm hosting the document (as anyone there can view the docs unless I make them private) but I didn't want to interfere with any from the blog viewing it. I thought it'd make a nice topic to discuss here.


Nicknames
In case you couldn't have guessed Wolf is a nickname for David. (Well, it certainly started out that way and it might be something more now. I'm not sure.) I want to save the specifics of the name for part 1 or 2, but I will say David was given the name in his time in the Marines. Nicknames can never be anything you come up with for yourself, they are always given to you by others. David never asked for a nickname, but Wolf was a cool one and he embraced it when he got it. Then, it kind of took off a bit into something more than a nickname. It is almost its own personality. I hope the difference in usage (from others) comes out but basically anyone who knows David from his past in the military or work in the city, know him as Wolf. Family, friends, etc know him as David.


Psychology
So Wolf is a different personality from David? You might think that David has a mental disorder. I certainly don't think he does. As I explain in the story, its similar to two sides to the same coin. Like a person who would show the various sides of themselves when they're at the office compared to out at a bar with friends. The distinction also shows the reader where his mind is (or where he thinks it needs to be; right or not). Hopefully it won't be confusing referring to the same person by two names, but it should also be clearer what his mind set is and where he is mentally.

NYC: Update #1

Well, hopefully you've all had a chance to get started with NYC over the past week. And to those just coming in, Welcome.


The Update
This week, I've added chapters 4 & 5 and updated chapters 2 & 3. In ch. 2, there is a small note added while Wolf is changing for his date with Jill. Chapter 3 received a bit of an overhaul. I've been thinking the greeting of David and Jill was a bit lacking so I wanted to add something there. And I just reread it and made a few tweeks and such as I thought needed to explain things more or make more sense. (And Jill's story about the bird really happened to me a few weeks ago and I really wanted to include it somewhere becuase I would have never imagined it!) I don't want to spoil anything for chapter 4 and 5. But here's a teaser: Find out who's in that white van and what they want.


Enjoy!

Why so Tense?

There really hasn't been a lot of comments on this on the blog or where the story is being hosted (Scribd), but a few friends that have read it have made the comment so I thought I'd mention it here as well. Basically I'm mixing past and present. And there is a good reason for this. Up until today, I wasn't quite sure which tense I really wanted to use and so I used what ever felt natural for the section. Obviously not the best approach since it causes some confusion, to say the least.


Why is it even an issue at all?
To answer this question, I need to explain a little about NYC in relation to how it fits into The Wolf Saga. NYC takes place in August, 2034. But, in my envisioning of the story, it is actually being told/written by David (Wolf) after the events of The Eighth Day (part 8), which puts it in early 2040s (according to my notes). So it was a question of doing it past tense based on when David is writing compared to when it happened or that everything happens in the future for us (as readers) so make it all present.


The Decision
One of my friends who had commented on the tense suggested using present tense puts the reader into the action and the story more so that's what I'm going to do. Over the next few weeks, I'll try to work on updating previous chapters so its all the same.


This Week
The update this week will include chapter 4 & 5 and an update to ch. 2 and 3 (if I finish it). The ch. 2 update is very minor and is around where David is changing before leaving to meet Jill. The ch.3 update is one I've been thinking about a few weeks now. I was thinking the greeting between David and Jill should a bit more to it so I'm expanding that out a bit and including a situation that happened to me a few weeks ago and I knew I had to include it somewhere because its the kind of thing I would have never been able to think up out of no where. I'd talk about chapter 4 and 5 more, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone. Look for it Thursday.

Experience New York City

As most of you know, I Love NYC is part 3 of 8 in The Wolf Saga. It takes place over a warm summer night in the City when an assassin's (Wolf's) girlfriend is kidnapped and he goes on a rampage across the City to get her back.


Genre
I'd classify it in the action genre, if I had to place it. But it has elements of a thriller, while he tries to figure things out; and a little sci-fi but only because it takes place in 2034 so I wanted to show some 'newer' technology. Sure, some of the things I mention might be possible or even available now, but I want to show it being very common in the world Wolf inhabits.


Why start with NYC?
For some reason, I find starting at the beginning hard. I guess with that first step, and seeing the entire journey in front of me, it is quite intimidating as it is certainly no small task. So, starting at part 3 (could have been any of them really) was a nice way to just get started on something without the intimidation of starting at the very beginning. I haven't decided which part I'll go to after I finish NYC but it will be in the first half. I'm going to get 1-4 done before moving on to 5-8, where the Saga switches into more sci-fi. I also added a permanent link on the right in the About Me section.


Goals
One of my primary goals with NYC right now is to just finish it. Then I have some things that I'm planning on adding afterwards. I'd like to add a bit more technology. I also want to include a bit more of location and where the characters are; I do in some areas, but want to make it more uniform throughout. Last but not least, in the grand scheme of things, some major world events have taken place within 8-12 months prior to this story and, regardless of the characters' opinions, they should be talking about it some way or there should be a reference in some other way.


Comments
Lastly, if you have any questions or comments about the story, plot, or action, please let me know. For example, some one asked me about Wolf's escape in chapter 1, citing it seemed too easy and that he'd "seen a lot of CSI and there's a lot of security cameras" and such. Certainly a valid point I had just glazed over, not really thinking too much about it. And it was something I could have just added a few sentences to handle, but as I was writing it just flowed and expanded and ended up being a few paragraphs. So, while I do appreciate comments like 'This is good' or 'Thanks, but its not really my thing,' some point I missed or quickly glossed over is also helpful.


Thanks for reading.

It's all Happening!

Being the first post, I figured I'd start with an overview of what The Wolf Saga is and what I'm planning on doing with the blog.

First of all, The Wolf Saga is a series of eight stories that I'm writing. Here are the titles:

1. Seven Days
   
2. Aftermath
3. I Love NYC
4. The Rookie
   
5. The Project
   
6. Revelation
   
7. Triumvirate
   
8. The Eighth Day

The Wolf Saga is basically the story of David Martin, whose nickname is Wolf. The Saga spans around 30-40 years and follows from the time he is a young man to great heights. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, so I won't delve into any details. The basic idea is that Wolf is writing these stories as he heading home from a great war and looking back on his life and the world left. The prologue to Seven Days really spells that out a bit, but I'm not quite ready to tackle that part yet.

I have been working the Saga for a long time (about 15 years, since high school) off and on... mostly off though until recently. A few years back, I knew the time for planning and organizing this was over and I needed to just start writing it. Up until then, I had a lot of information mapped out and summary versions written of the entire saga. (If there is any interest, I can post that as well, if you don't mind knowing what's coming up.) Also, a few years back (after finishing the summary versions) I had the idea for an alternate version to Seven Days and started writing it but hit a block of sorts. Not that I lost the desire to write, I just got to a point in the story where I needed to have an idea who/what the protagonist was actually (I had a vague idea up to then) and nothing came to me. So, last fall, I decided to work on another part and picked part 3. Then at the beginning of March, I picked it up again with a new impetus and have been doing really well since then.

So, what's with the blog?

With the blog, I'd like accomplish a few things. First of all, the main focus is to share my writing with more people and have a formalized, central way of doing that. Secondly, by promising an update of some sort it keeps me writing. My goal is to have an update every Thursday. Since documents can't be posted on blogs, so I found a site that hosts documents and I'll link to it.

A few ideas for future posts (but my focus is going to be the stories):

• The story/explanation of how I cam up with the entire saga (it is rather interesting).
  
• The process I'm going through in writing this. Thoughts and ideas I've had and such. This is where questions and comments from you, the reader, come in. A friend was reading it and asked about a certain aspect that I hadn't addressed or just glazed over. So, I thought about it and included it in the story.
  
• More about me and my interests/hobbies/etc.
  

So, without further ado, here's the link to the first 3 chapters of I Love NYC:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13891694/I-Love-NYC

(I was planning on just starting with 2, but including the 3rd provided a better break point.) Currently, I'm working on chapter 9, so I'll be updating 2 chapters a week until its caught up. The blog posts I make will also let you know what was updated like if its a new chapter or an update/addition to an existing one. If you like what you read, please pass it on to friends and family. (A later post I'll make will get into NYC a little further and why I'm doing it first.)