The Wolf Saga

Seven : Update #9

2010-03-25T06:11:00.002-04:00

So, another week, another chapter.

Added

- Chapter 1.09: David completes his mission and gets his nickname.

With this, Day 4 comes to an end. Only 3 more to go until the end of the beginning for David. What do those days have in store? And what is all of this preparing him for? Keep reading to find out!

Enjoy!

NYC: Update #10

2010-03-18T06:13:00.001-04:00

Okay, so lately I've been a lazy slug and not working on Seven Days as much as I should. Sometimes I am just not motivated to write and it's hard to force creativity. So, I thought I would share something else!

Remember when I pondered about NYC updates? Well I actually did some! So, instead of loosing another week to my procrastination, I thought I would at least put something out and post my NYC updates (officially marking the beginning of my Draft #2 updates).

Updated

- Added a paragraph which provides more info on the OWO. [Ch. 1] (This will be explored further in other areas.)

- Wolf catches Hank and gets a lead on Jill's whereabouts; then follows up on it. [Ch. 5 & 6]

- Wolf spots and kills Hank in the assault on The Father's place. (Apparently, Wolf said he was going to do this but it never happened for some reason.) [Ch. 13]

Enjoy!

NYC in Black & White

2010-03-17T16:17:00.001-04:00

First of all... Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Now, today's post isn't really related to St. Patrick's Day but I thought this was cool and wanted to share it with all of you.

Historical photos of NYC in B&W. The page takes a while to load so give it some time.

It's pretty cool to see these old photos and compare them to new images and the Google Maps view of the city and see how much has changed over the years.

Seven: Update #8

2010-03-11T17:31:00.000-05:00

Okay, finally another update! Sorry for the breaks the past few weeks. Hopefully, I can back into the swing of things and back to my regular scheduale. Now on to what's new this week.

Added

Chapter 1.08: David takes another type of specail test as we get to out literary hump day.

Enjoy!

Seven: Update #7

2010-02-25T16:29:00.001-05:00

Wow! Finally an update this week. This update one has been on the list for a few weeks but I finally got around to it. And the new chapter turned out to be another hard one to break into. (That's why there wasn't an update last week, so sorry for that.) I think based on what the chapter is really about is something that I never went through back in high school. Also, its just not where my head has been lately, so it was hard to get into the mood to write. Anyway, here's the details:

Updated

Chapter 1.04: David remembers something else he needs to do before heading out to school: email his friend Kurt. Also, added a better segue leading into David's surgery after the accident.

Added

Chapter 1.07: David takes his girlfriend, Kim, to the school dance... something he's more anxious about than going hunting with his grandfather.

Enjoy!

Movie Posters Redone

2010-02-16T17:30:00.002-05:00

Being an artist and a movie guy, I really dig this:

Movie Posters Remade by Olly Moss. If you like these, you can check out more of his art on his site here. It's all pretty cool stuff.

Video Corner 02

2010-02-13T15:40:00.003-05:00

Video Corner is a segment I use to share some cool and/or funny videos I've discovered on the grand and vast internets.

Both vidoes are mash ups of two properties I wouldn't have thought could have been, let alone shared enough 'what-ever' to accomplish it. But these are done very well and I really enjoy them both.

1. Toy Story 2: The Dark Knight

This has the audio of The Dark Knight trailer played over clips from Toy Story 2. Coolness and a little hilarity ensue.

2. Bert & Ernie Gangsta Rap

This one is really cool. Clips of various Bert & Ernie episodes are played to M.O.P.'s song Ante Up. This video was kind of my introduction to hardcore hip hop and I really liked it, so I bought the album this song is on. (One more step in my explorations of various musical genres!) I think it was the similarities in hardcore hip hop I noticed from hard rock and metal (that I usually listen to) that helped this.

Seven: Update #6

2010-02-11T17:08:00.000-05:00

Added

Chapter 1.06: Day 3 begins with a lesson for David from his grandfather.

Also

So, I started my NYC Draft #2 updates. And as I figured, it did prove to be a bit of a distraction from my work on Seven Days. The distraction was both good and bad; while it was nice to ponder over a different section of Wolf's life, it was bad because I ended up procrastinating on chapter 1.06 until the last few days and really had to push to finish it (lately, I was keeping a week ahead). I'll probably continue the Draft #2 updates so I'll have something after finishing Seven Days (draft #1) but I'll have to try to not let it be a distraction from the current story.

Enjoy!

Seven: Update #5

2010-02-04T06:03:00.002-05:00

This week brings about the wrap of Day 2, which isn't a good day for David.

Added
Chapter 1.05: A few things happen to David at the hospital... and all of them are important. (I swear!)

This chapter was probably the hardest I've written in some time. Day 2 in general was a hard day to get through. I usually dread dialogue heavy chapters, but this wasn't that kind of hard. Day 2 is more about the things that are happening to David (mostly outside of his control), how he deals with these things, and what becomes of them. But just like the ending of NYC, I wanted to word everything just right.

I also made a few discoveries about Wolf and what Seven Days is really about (below the surface) beyond what I had planned in the summary so I'm really excited to see where this goes!

You may also see a little change in how I structure the dialogue. Inspired by a blog article on dialogue, I started using a better format. Some of my updates (to Seven Days and, eventually, NYC) in the future will reflect this style more.

NYC Ponderings

2010-02-03T16:18:00.002-05:00

NOTE: This post assumes you've already read NYC; so if you haven't yet, don't read this yet! And read NYC already!

While the story of Seven Days unfolds before us (all of us; me too... just a little ahead of all of you!), I have also been thinking of NYC a bit and some of the updates that I want/need to make. But I kind of don't want to disrupt progress on Seven Days to do them... hence my dilemma.

Some part of me thinks it would be distracting and confusing to you, the readers ...okay, and to me as well! (But it wouldn't, would it?!) Although sometimes it may be nice to take a break from the current story and focus on something else for a little bit... so I may go ahead and do them.

So, what to do then? Well, after some thinking on the matter, regardless of whether I do the updates or not (while writing Seven Days), I think I will postpone actually posting them online until after Seven Days is complete.

The whole idea of writing the entire saga (before seeking out getting it published and what-not) is to allow new ideas and concepts and sub-plots to happen (and the opportunity to implement them). In fact, I realized while writing chapter 1.02 that I hadn't really mentioned the Test later in the story (specifically in NYC); at least as far as my outline and summary are concerned. So I thought of a way to tie that in to NYC but don't want to post that bit just yet. (Sorry! And remember that I'm not Mean, I'm an Artist! It's just kind of a big reveal moment... you know what I'm talking about!)

Also, I have ideas for a few more plot points to address and include. Of course there is the political/world events stuff. But I have a few ideas on what happens earlier in the day and a false lead on Jill's whereabouts (after being kidnapped). The downside to all of these (including the reference to the Test) is that they aren't simply added like a piece that's missing. Rather, they are story elements that require adjusting to what is already there so it comes off as a cohesive story. And some of this adjusting will be more involved than others. (For example, the false lead directly affects 2 chapters, not counting any one referencing it later on. And the earlier happenings will be more of an "insert chapter" but the adjacent chapters will need a slight adjustment to make it all work.)

With that in mind, like I said before, I'll probably release all of the updates as a NYC: Draft #2 after I finish Seven Days (draft #1).

And look out for chapter 1.05 tomorrow morning with the wrap of Day 2 (which is shaping up to be the worst day of David's life; at least until that thing that happens at the end of Triumvirate).

Seven: Update #4

2010-01-28T00:24:00.002-05:00

Not much to say this morning (or tonight), so I'll get right to it.

Added
Chapter 1.04: I really don't want to give anything away (which is why there wasn't a teaser last week for this chapter), I'll just say that Day 2 begins and something happens to characters we've meet.

Notes
In my original outline (summary), I planned on 2 chapters per day. So, you can expect that format unless some days bring about new ideas while I'm writing them. This is the goal and the base line for this part, so there could possibly be more. And unlike NYC, I do have the political stuff planned so I'll be including that as well.

Seven: Update #3

2010-01-21T02:27:00.001-05:00

Another chapter is on it's way as we wrap up Day 1! Here's what's up this week:

Added
Chapter 1.03: David meets a new friend as we wrap up the first day.
Seven Days Cover Page: Added a cover page; similiar to the one for NYC.

Still no updates yet. Although I did make one to Kurt's intro (in chapter 1.02), but I updated the text before the post last week. I guess that's another benefit of my "one chapter per week, one week ahead" plan.

Enjoy!

Misspellings

2010-01-20T16:16:00.005-05:00

This is something I found quite usefull and rather funny as well. Here are a few other peices I liked:

Pretending not to know about Computers

Web Design Hell

9 Crappy Handshakes

Preparing your Pets for War

Video Corner 01

2010-01-17T10:12:00.003-05:00

Happy Sunday everyone!

This new segment is to share some cool and/or funny videos I've discovered on the grand and vast internets.

1. Romona Falls - I Say Fever

The first is a music video from the new band Romona Falls for their first single 'I Say Fever'

John August said "At first, I thought it was just clever, but then it gets awesome."

2. HALO Movie Concept

The second is a proof of concept feature for the HALO movie that Neill Blomkamp (the director of District 9, which was an amazing film) had done. Neill was working on a HALO movie before financing fell through and it was shut down and he moved on to make District 9.

Seven: Update #2

2010-01-14T06:12:00.001-05:00

Ok, so while last week's update to Seven Days was technically Update #1, I didn't title it as such for some reason. So, I renamed the post so there isn't any confusion.

Here's what's up this week:

Added
Chapter 1.02: David finally figures out what the Test is all about (sort of).

Note
Also, some of you may have noticed that I have been putting in a few extra sentences or a paragraph at the end. This is in addition to the chapter that I said I added. So, when I put chapter 1.01 up, there were also a few lines from the beginning of chapter 1.02. This is not an error on my part but rather to provide a little teaser of what is coming up. This is something I usually do when I can. And I usually can because I am trying to keep one chapter ahead of what is posted online.

Hope you enjoy the update!

Chapter Evolution (pt. 2)

2010-01-12T21:23:00.002-05:00

This is a continuation of my process in writing a chapter. You can see part 1 here.

After the first (spelling/grammer) pass of a new chapter, I print it out and re-read it. (Mind you, I 'only' print the new chapter, nothing else!) The previous step is about preparing for this step. This re-read/edit is about polish. This is where I can see things like wording issues, points that need to be cleared up, and some sentances or paragraphs that just don't flow and need re-written. I make notes, scratch out text, write in new words that make more sense, and sometimes just note that something isn't working or I need to add more info about something. This only takes an hour or two but I think it is vital. (This step was the new component I stumbled upon hlaf way through NYC and allowed it to evolve into what it is today.) Again, printing out only the chapter is about minimizing distractions (like the rest of the story) and this gets rid of them all.

Then, I take my pages that are marked up and commented on and apply those changes to the text on the computer. Sometimes the notes are specific like use this word instead of that one. Other times, its an idea or concept that needs added so this is where that gets fleshed out. For example, in a revision in NYC, I simply commented to add more technology to a specific scene. So, my edits (notes, comments, corrections) on the page are more like a guideline for this revision.

Lastly, I do another grammer/spelling pass. This is very short as I'm just prepparing to post the new chapter. Usually, I just skim the text backwards looking at the grammar errors Word picks up on and try to reword it if possible to correct the error. Sometimes, its just a word change or a reorginazation of the sentance. Other times, I don't want to correct it as I want to keep my particular voice (like my single word sentances).

After that, I'll copy the new chapter, and any revisions to prior chapters, to the online file and create the PDF for posting.

With the chapter done, I'll usually write the blog post which introduces the update. This includes a small description of the new chapter and any revisions to existing chapters. So, on Thursday mornings, posting the story revisions and the blog post only takes about 5 minutes. And that's nice since I start work pretty early.

Well, I hope this was informative, interesting, and somewhat understandable. Until next time...

Oops, I Forgot

I forgot to include a part of my process in the previous post so I'll just include it here. Another thing I do while actually writing is to have Dictionary.com open to check spellings of words and sometimes to varify the meaning of a word. This is helpful becuase I prefer to use the correct word at first. Also, the online dictionary helps in finding other words that I could use for more variety.

Chapter Evolution (pt. 1)

2010-01-11T22:38:00.002-05:00

This post went a little longer than I planned, so I divided into two parts.

About halfway through writing NYC, I had finally honed in a set process that I now do for every chapter I write. This and the next blog entry explains (hopefully with some clarity) that process.

In the beginning, there is just a summary of the chapter. As most of you know, I have already written a summary (about 4-8 sentences) describing what is happening in the chapter.

First off, before I even begin the actual writing, I'll read the summary a few times (mostly for refresher) and then think about it and what could be happening. This last from a couple days to a couple weeks. These are ideas for specific details that could happen or details I hadn't thought of when I originally wrote the summaries. Another note about this phase, I usually do this a few chapters out, so I'm generally thinking (and to a lesser extent, planning) a few chapters in advance.

Secondly, I'll research anything I need to. This begins just before actually writing and continues, as needed, until the chapter is done. This could be anything from a specific location (like Columbia University) or a general area (like Manhattan Island). Sometimes, I'll just hunt for pages that have a lot of information (on Wikipedia) and save the links for use later, when I'm actually writing and need to reference something specific.

Then, I'll actually set out to write the chapter. This takes as short as a few hours and as much as a couple of days, but I usually don't write any more than an hour or two at a time (since I have a full time job). During this part, I'm thinking in a lot more detail and I try to work in any of the new ideas/concepts/thoughts I had previously and what ever comes from them. If the writing goes over a couple days, I'll usually re-read what I had written and make revisions as necessary (which I know doesn't help me move too quickly, but it works for me and brings me up to speed as well).

This is also the part where I may go back and revise a previous chapter if needed due to something I came up with. So, the thinking/planning and writing phases occur throughout writing the entire book. For example, if I get an idea I like better or just feel a charactor needs a differant or new intro in a previous chapter then that gets done here.

After the new chapter is written, I'll go back through and correct any misspellings and grammatical errors. This is generally done in MS Word because it picks up a lot of grammar issues, most of which I ignore but some are needed. That is in contrast to actually writing the chapter, which is done in a text editor. This is because a text file is smaller in size (on the hard drive) and takes away the distraction (in Word) of cleaning it up and making it look pretty (formatting page widths, columns, page numbers, colors, etc). It's just the words and minimal distractions.

That's all for now. Part 2 will be posted in the next day or two.

The Beginning (Update #1)

2010-01-07T00:38:00.004-05:00

Well, I have chapter 1.01 (Big Apple Bound) for all of you today! I hope you like it. It is a little slow but its necessary to get things started.

And I just finished writing chapter 1.02 (Columbia University) to keep ahead a little and I'm getting excited about it. I can't wait for you all to read it and let me know what you think.

PS: And just for fun, I added some "joke" names for future chapters (3-5). While they do have something to do with what's coming up, I definetly will not be using the titles and had a little chuckle at them.

The First Step

2010-01-01T02:51:00.001-05:00

"Every journey begins with a single step."

That's the saying and I definetly feel like I'm on the brink of a grand adventure. And I hope all of you do as well! There are 8 parts to this saga and this is just the first chapter. This chapter doesn't just set up Seven Days but also sets up the entire saga (in a way). Are you ready to begin this jounrey with me?

So, without further ado, here is Seven Days chapter 1.00 (see Chapter References). Further updates can be checked using the link in the right column.

New Years Surprise!

2009-12-29T19:56:00.001-05:00

First of all, I really have fallen of the wagon with the writing of Seven Days. And I know you've heard it before (see July '09 Update) but this time I'm going to do it right!

Progress

Progress has been scarce and looking back, I can't believe it's been 6 months since my last major update on the rest of the saga (beyond NYC)! A few weeks back I got back into things and it was going okay until... Well, I asked a few people (without spoiling any specifics) if they preferred my original vision or the new one (which is what I've been struggling with the past few years) in terms of the plot of Seven Days. Both said they preferred the original. So, last week, I made the decision to go back to my original idea for the plot and I've been working on it ever since.

Part of the reason I started this blog was to help keep me motivated in my writing and to push through the rough patches while still accomplishing 'something'. Which leads me to:

New Year's Promise!

While I generally don't make New Year's Resolutions (because every day is a good day to instill positive change in one's life!), I will make this promise to all of you readers: Starting in the new year, I will start posting the progress on Seven Days! This will start on January 1 with the first chapter (which is actually the only complete chapter I have done!). Then, I'll be posting another chapter, or updates, every Thursday after that!

Have a good one!

Movie Marathon #1

2009-08-22T09:54:00.003-04:00

So I just finished my first ever Movie Marathon yesturday. Well, I went to a 24 Hr Sci-Fi Movie Marathon about 4 or 5 years ago but this is the first one I've done on my own. And this is a long post so buckle in!

Harry Potter and the Big Crazy Idea
So, the idea for the Movie Marathon came to me about a month ago. Usually when a sequel for a movie comes out that we (my friends and I) like and are looking forward to, we'll watch the previous installment on DVD within a week or so of the sequel hitting the theaters. Well, for Harry Potter 6 last month, I had the crazy idea to watch all five Harry Potter movies in one day. So, after convincing a few friends to join me, we embarked on the Harry Potter Marathon on July 19 (the Sunday before HP 6 was released).

But the Harry Potter Marathon got me thinking. In total, all five movies took around 12 hours (they all run around 2:20 - 2:40). And my train of thought had left the station... I wondered how many movies I could watch in a day? The Harry Potter movies run a little long, so if I watched average length movies (1:30 - 2:00), then I could watch more... Maybe if I get up early one day and go until late into the night... Or what if I set the duration even longer?.... Then the train reached its destination.

Movie Marathon 2009
From my initial thoughts following the HP Marathon in how far I could push this (being the crazy big idea I am) I pushed it as far as I could: 24 Hours. 1 Entire Day. So I set out to plan as much as I could so I'd be ready for the big day. Here's how it all went down. Thursday after work, I ate a light dinner, read a little of the book I'm reading (currently Harry Potter 7), and went to bed early (really early) around 7:00 pm although I didn't get to sleep until around 9:00. Then I woke up at 11:50 and began my first movie at 12:00 AM Friday.

Here's the rundown of Movies I watched (in order):

1. Gross Point Blank

2. Push

3. The Boondock Saints

4. Fired Up

5. Without Limits

6. The Big Lebowski

7. PCU

8. Cashback

9. Bound

10. Hard Candy

11. Detroit Rock City

12. Akira

13. Spy Game

Reactions and Thoughts

It went pretty well. I've stayed up all night for a few things before but this was differant. It was weird to be awake for an entire day and to spend that entire day watching movies. There were probably some areas I could cut to squeeze another movie in but I'm not sure I'd really want to. Like I went out to get some lunch and took calls from my Mom & Dad (at differant times) in the afternoon.

Some things I thought I was going to do but didn't to stay awake were taking a walk (about 1 mile) and reading the internet. Beforehand, I thought I would want or need these breaks, but during the event, I didn't really want to break for them since I was already breaking to get drinks/food and take bio breaks.

Will I do it again? Right now, I'm not sure. I was pretty cool and I do have a new (personal) record of most movies watched in a single day (previously 5 for the Harry Potter Marathon) and for the week (previosly 13 for the week that followed the Harry Potter Marathon). As for another... not in the immediate future but you never know what can happen...

NYC: Update #9

2009-08-20T07:00:00.004-04:00

Wow! This was a long time coming... too long actually. Mostly because I procrastinated it to nearly being forsaken! Anyway, I have finally read through the entire NYC story and corrected as many grammatical and/or general wording errors I could find.

(I'm sure you were all losing sleep over them, so here you go!)

NYC: Summary

2009-08-18T20:21:00.002-04:00

As I had mentioned earlier, I have already written a summary version of the entire saga. And now that you have finished with the first draft of the full version of NYC, I thought it might be interesting to see the summary version. Since this was an earlier version of the story, I don't consider any of it spoiler information. I just thought it might be interesting to see the progression of the story.

What's Different
Basically, the beginning is a little different, several characters were added, a few chapters were renamed, and an entire chapter was dropped and redone. And obviously, some of the times are different as well. In the original, Wolf was more of a one man army, doing everything by himself with 0utR1ght assisting with the more involved tech stuff that Wolf didn't have time for. But when I got to chapter 7 or 8 in the full version, I realized Wolf was going to need some help in the final assault so Elle was created and introduced. And I'd like to incorporate some of the history between Elle and Wolf more so in Aftermath (and maybe Seven Days if it fits). I added a link in the right column. It's only a couple pages long and a short, interesting read. Hope you like it!

Thursday
Coming this Thursday, I have some updates to post so look for that!

Chapter References

2009-07-14T16:56:00.002-04:00

To make things easier when I start posting the other parts in the saga, I came up with a different way to refer to the specific chapters. Sure, I could just say chapter 4 of I Love NYC but that's a bit too long for my tastes. So, Chapter 4 of NYC will be referred to as 3.04 (or 3.4 if I get lazy)) where the 3 represents part 3 (I Love NYC), and the 4 represents chapter 4 (A Pack of Foxes). And I probably will include the chapter name in parenthesis but won't if I'm feeling lazy.

[Light Spoilers] Just for clarification, here are a few more examples: Chapter 11 (Two Garages) of Aftermath is referred to as 2.11; Chapter 6 (Taking a Punch) of The Project is 5.06; Chapter 8 (Rio Grande) of Triumvirate is 7.08. The chapter name in parentheses will be optional but I do like to include it so we'll see how that plays out.

[If you're worried about spoilers, don't be, I didn't give much of anything away!]

July '09 Update

2009-07-10T21:32:00.001-04:00

I know I haven't been keeping up on the blog much at all lately but it's certainly not for lack of wanting to. I'm a person like any other and I have things going that greatly prolonged my hiatus longer than I wanted to. And just because there isn't much on the blog here doesn't mean I'm sitting on some street corner picking my nose!

Seven Days Progress

Over the past week, I've been working on Seven Days. For some reason, this story has always been a thorn in my side! Part of it is that it's the first story of a huge, epic saga and there is a lot of pressure to start things off right. (This is part of the reason I wrote NYC first!) Going through this process has given me a bit of empathy for George Lucas in his writing Star Wars Episode 1 (especially after 4-6 were already done!).

But I'm determined to push through to write the rest of the saga in order! But Seven Days will be a little more difficult to get through because I don't actually have a summary for it. I know what you're thinking... "I thought he already wrote a summary version for each part?" And you're right, I did. But I have since changed/modified the scope of Seven Days. This medium and the story are quite malleable until I actually publish the works (which is why I'm waiting to do that until after I finish the entire thing; to allow for adjustments and such as I go). And one thing I learned in a college art class (Photoshop actually) to "always be aware of you're frame (scope) and don't be afraid to explore a change."

So why am I not posting anything yet?

As of this post, I have finished 3 chapters (including the Prologue). I want to get a few more under my belt before I start posting anything. This is to give myself a little breathing room since I haven't nailed down the antagonists) 100% just yet. I have a general idea for them and basically how I want the protagonists to deal with them, but nothing is concrete just yet. The breathing room will allow me to take some time to flesh out the story and their interactions in more detail when I get to that part.

So, "hold on to your butts" because I am writing and will hopefully be posting stuff in the next week or two.

Promises, Promises!

2009-06-29T16:46:00.001-04:00

Wow! I really have fallen off the wagon! I know I haven't done much with the blog and the novel but I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things soon! I have some blog posts that I hadn't posted yet and I'm going to start writing Seven days (pt 1). I've had some ideas on more of the plot recently so hopefully I'lll get moving on it in the next few days. I'll start posting stuff when I get a few chapters in so I can keep ahead a little.

All Hail, Google Maps!

2009-05-30T18:51:00.002-04:00

Living in Columbus Ohio doesn't help tremendously with writing a story about running around in the various areas of New York City. But technology comes to save the day again with Google Maps! It is technology like this that basically saved me an expensive trip to the Big Apple to wonder around aimlessly in search of some locations for my story. With the online mapping tools of today, I can search the city quickly and pick out anything from general locations to specific buildings for the characters to live, work, and kill each other in. Obviously all of the business names I used were created for the story but they exist on real street corners in real neighborhoods. Online mapping tools like this helped find the locations for these places and even provided with story elements. For example, looking at the map, there really are bushes running along the eastern side that Wolf uses to hide behind when checking out Sollozzo's Restaurant.

So, as part of my behind-the-scenes series, I bring you the locations of New York City that I used via Google Maps:

- LOWER MANHATTAN: Mr. Cove's office (Two Bridges), Antonio's Italian Restaurant (Lower East Side), Cuore Blu (near Washington Square Park and NYU), Jim's Place (SoHo):

- THE BRONX: Sollozzo's (David's ransom drop point), an Italian restaurant in the Bronx, is at the corner of Colonial Rd & 71st St across from Owl's Head Park. Carnine's warehouse (where Jill is being held) is just North of the Belt Pkwy.

- QUEENS: The Father's base of operations (Premiere Shipping) is an office in a warehouse in Queens at the end of 44th Dr

- CENTRAL PARK: by Turtle Pond for the sunrise at the end

Have a nice weekend!

NYC: Update #8: Finale!

2009-05-28T06:10:00.003-04:00

So, this is it! The grand finale of I Love NYC! (Or basically draft #1.)

Updated
Like you'd read anything else beside the final chapter at this point! I didn't even want to go back and update anything! I did some formating changes to the document though.

Added
Chapter 14! I'm not giving anything away for the final chapter! If you've been reading this long, you wouldn't want me too anyway! Chapter 14 was probably the hardest chapter to write of the entire story; it is kinda long, there is a lot to wrap up, and I wanted to word everything just right (for this story and those to follow) to give adequate info without giving too much away.

Another Decision
As much as I'd want to get back into it and add a few things, I'm also thinking about the next instalment of the Saga. I've also been thinking about going on to write Seven Days (pt. 1) instead of Aftermath (pt. 2) next so the remainder of the Saga will be in order. I can only imagine what you may be going through and having to wait for the continuation of events in NYC so long anyway. So, these past few days, I've been thinking about Seven Days, looking at notes and thinking about characters and such... that's where I'm heading.

And no, I'm not planning on starting anything next week. I am planning on taking a few weeks off. I'll still be posting here on the blog with more behind-the-scenes stuff on NYC over the next few weeks. And I'm beginning the planning process for Seven Days so hopefully I'll start the serial by July (at the latest).

Hope you enjoy the complete NYC!

I'm not Mean, I'm an Artist

2009-05-27T21:56:00.001-04:00

You've all come on this journey with me thus far... do you trust me? If you're still reading the story (NYC) and this blog, you're probably enjoying it, so realize that I wouldn't steer anyone wrong or take advantage of that trust or anything sinister like that. But also realize there is a bigger plan here than just this one story and everything that needs to come out will.

[Also, don't forget what I said about the context of the story in the post: Why so Tense?]

The Variant

2009-05-27T17:50:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned earlier, John August is a writer I follow on his blog. Well, he recently wrote a short story called The Variant. I've read it and it is amazing and very well written. Whether you like my stuff or not, you need to check it out! If you're apprehensive about it, there is a sample version which is basically the first half. Please take some time to read the entire page for all the options on purchasing if you like the sample. But for $0.99, it's worth anyone's time to at least try it out.

0utR1ght's Apartment

2009-05-25T07:38:00.004-04:00

As we close in on the end of NYC, I thought it would be fun for me and interesting to all of you for a little behind the scenes on what went in to the story. So, in posts over the next few weeks, I'll bring some of it out for you.

A month or so ago when writing the scene in Jim's apartment, I felt I needed more detail of it so that I could accurately place characters and move them around in the space. So, being the artist I am, I drew the layout of it.

Hope you like it!

PS: So was there any doubt in your minds that I'd end chapter 13 there?!

NYC: Update #7

2009-05-21T06:08:00.002-04:00

Wow! Only one more chapter to go! I'm so excited right now. Aren't you?! No point in beating around the bush, here's the info for this week.

Update
Chapter 12: Update Wolf and Elle's conversation pertaining to motorcycles with a bit more detail and updated info on The Father's warehouse.

Added
Chapter 13: Wolf and Elle execute their plan to get Wolf in to see The Father and set things straight. (Didn't want to give too much away!)

Chapter 13 was another fun one to write. I had a good time with it because it's Wolf doing what Wolf does best.

Heads Up
Once I finish chapter 14, I would like to be the first one to read the entire thing all the way through. So if that delays the relase a day to two, then that's what I'm going to do. I'm sure you all understand. My excitment is so high for it right now, though, that I might rush to get it done sooner rather than later, in which case you'll get the final chapter on time next Thursday. We'll see.

Have a good one!

Other Influences

2009-05-20T19:25:00.000-04:00

Of course, movies are not my only influence in my writing. I also enjoy music, reading, drawing, TV, etc. So I thought I'd get into a little more detail on a few of these things.

Reading

I'm currently reading The Chronicles of Narnia (in order) and I'm on part 4. Books like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Narnia have all been useful in developing a long running series and character arcs. Others like Fight Club, Survivor, and the Dexter series are useful in finding the details of your story and writing a gritty world where not so nice things happen.

Music

I like a lot of music and usually have something going while writing. I pretty much like every genre except Country. Mostly, though, I listen to rock (in all its glorious forms) and I dabble in alternative, techno, rap, and some R&B. Songs are almost like mini stories in themselves. So you may find refrences to song names or themes in my stories but these are much harder to catch unless you're familiar with the particular song or band.

Life's Little Details

They say that you write what you know. That's mostly the case. While I'll never be a Marine Scout/Sniper; I can only imagine what that's like. Sure, I can do research (watch a lot of movies) and try to think of what they might do in a given situation, I'll never really know. Where I'm going with this is the details. The details of a story are what you get from your own life. Like the birds fighting story in NYC actually happened to me and I couldn't believe it when I saw it happening right in front of me. I gave the story and some of the reaction to Jill for the story. Maybe there is a person at work with a weird quirk or you saw someone at a restaurant that spoke a weird way or something. Those details and the little things of life become details in my writing. And those details are what fill a story out, giving it context and a life all its own.

Movies and Me

2009-05-19T21:09:00.001-04:00

One thing you'll may want to know (or already know, for some) about me is that I really like movies. A lot! I watch about 250-300 per year, I've watched 8 in a single week and as many as 3 in one day. Along with my liking of movies, I tend to quote/reference them a lot. (Didn't you catch the reference in the title of the first post?!) Also, as you're reading NYC, I'm curious how many references you'll catch. First person to correctly guess a particular reference gets 2 points. And for a really obscure reference, 5 points!

Here is a list of Movie Related sites I frequent:

Ain't It Cool News: http://www.aintitcool.com/

Coming Soon: http://www.comingsoon.net/

John August's Blog: http://johnaugust.com/ (Screenwriter of Go, Big Fish, The Nines, etc)

What's the point?

Since I like movies so much, they are a big inspiration for me. The stuff I'm writing in The Wolf Saga is stuff I'd like to see on the big screen. I do read a bit too, but movies are just more economical for me as far as my time goes. Perhaps someday the saga will make it to the big screen but for now I'm happy just writing it and telling a story. It doesn't take a Hollywood studio to write a novel.

Ideas for the Future

- Perhaps at some point in the future, I'll post my "Movies Everyone Should See" list. These are not necessarily my favorites, just a list of movies I think every body should see.

- Another possability is a weekly recap of movies I've seen recently. It'll probably be a list of what I saw, when, and what I thought about it.

Necessary Distractions

2009-05-14T22:56:00.001-04:00

So, I was running a bit behind this morning when posting while rushing off to work and I didn't have time to comment on the new chapter. So, I figured I'll do it now. And I'll try to remain as spoiler free as possible.

In the chapter, basically, Wolf meets up with Elle at The Father's warehouse and they discuss various options for getting in. I really enjoyed writing this chapter; it kinda surprised in how fun it was. The fun for me was coming up with the job names (most of which I did while drinking at a bar a couple weeks ago!) and the various reasons why each couldn't be done. Leaving out select info, inferring things about certain jobs, and showing reactions to certain jobs were all the thrills that made this a memerable chapter to write. With a lot of things in my writing, there are many referances to movies, music, and even real people. How many did you catch? (Perhaps a later blog post will detail where all the names came from, if there is any intrest.)

Heavy dialoge chapters like this one (see also: 3, 6, 7, & 10) are typically ones that I dread doing and procastinate a bit but once I actually start writing it, it flows easily (sometimes) and I tend to come up with more than I had planed. Fortanetly, there is only one more to go (14)!

Well, I hope you're enjoying the story! Have a good one

NYC: Update #6

2009-05-14T06:15:00.002-04:00

The end is in sight! I can see it as it is all coming together in my mind! I'm so excited! Like last week, there are hardly any updates, just another chapter. And after thinking about more, I am definitely focusing on just the end and I'm not going back and re-reading stuff and catching things I want to update. My main goal now is just to finish and I'm almost there. As I've said before, there are some plot points I want to add after I finish to help fill out the story and the context in which it takes place a little more but I already decided to hold off on those until I finish. But I am thinking about them and trying to decide where the best place for the additions is going to be. Anyway, for now, I hope you enjoy this week's new chapter.

Updates
Character List revisions: A few characters were moved to different sections to be more accurate. (And a little SPOILER: the one character on the list we haven't meet yet will be making her apperance in Chapter 14.)

Added
Chapter 12 (Distractions): Wolf and Elle discus their options for getting Wolf in The Father's warehouse.

Text NYC to 24713

2009-05-10T22:15:00.003-04:00

Not a huge thing here but someone mentioned the clumsiness of texting and inquired why David would be doing it. And to someone who doesn't do it a lot (which describes this person), I can certainly see the issue. For example, I can't really see my Dad texting at all. (No offense, Dad.) He would rather just pick up the phone and talk to someone. Now, I'm not a huge text-er, but I do it a bit and it certainly has its uses. Often times, when talking on the phone, other things come up and then before you know it, you've been on for twenty minutes. A text message is a quick way to ask a quick question and get a quick response. The reason David does it in NYC is for that exact reason. Also, it's more efficient than the dialogue to accomplish the same thing.

For example, in chapter 2, Wolf texts Jim that he's ready. I didn't need a phone call for Jim to simply reply 'okay.' The text message without a response implies (hopefully) that it's something David and Jim have been through before and have already worked out so Jim doesn't need to respond unless there is an emergency. David knows that it'll take Jim a few minutes to do his thing and he's clear (unless Jim notifies him otherwise).

Perhaps in the future, I'll update this part of the story to include a type of 'evolution' of texting. Something that seems less clunky yet is just as easy to use and accomplishes the same goal. Any ideas what this might be? I have one but I'm curious what you guys think.

(I just made up the number in the title, so please don't text anything to it.)

NYC: Update #5

2009-05-07T08:44:00.003-04:00

Another week, another update. I hope all of you are enjoying it and are left eagerly awaiting the next chapter each week! So for this week, we have a new chapter but there weren't many updates. Perhaps I'm close to happy with everything up to this point or that now that we're closing in on the ending, I'm focusing more on finishing than rereading previous chapters and making updates. Although there are a few plot points I want to include after I finish (like what's happening in World Events and some tech additions/updates). Anyway, here's what's new this week:

Updates
Chapter 7, 8, & 10: Added the current times to the various chapters. Very small updates, just a quick mention in each of the chapters. These may be tweaked later but I wanted to provide some idea of when things are happening and reinforce that the entire story is taking place in one night.

Additions
Chapter 11: David finds a safe place for Jill to stay (the best one he can think of) before heading off to wrap up the business of the evening and has a medical professional look at his wounded leg.

Enjoy!

May Day Update!

2009-05-02T20:22:00.002-04:00

Out of the blue (and coincidence with May Day, or close enough)... and on the heals of all the other updates Thursday, but here you go! I had the thought yesterday that it would be useful to make a list of the characters in the story to help keep track of everyone. Then I thought it would be nice to provide this to all of you. So, I updated the NYC doc and you can see it there (at the end). The list is complete, showing everyone in this story (including two we haven't met yet!).

Spoiler! (sort of)
The list does show two characters that have not been introduced yet so don't read it if you don't want to know who is coming up. But I didn't go into much detail in the list as far as who these people are and how they're important to the story. I'll update their info accordingly when we meet them in the story.

Getting a-Head

2009-04-30T17:00:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-30T06:13:00.005-04:00

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

2009-04-27T22:44:00.009-04:00

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

2009-04-23T06:50:00.004-04:00

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

2009-04-16T05:01:00.006-04:00

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

2009-04-15T16:37:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-09T06:21:00.003-04:00

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?

2009-04-07T17:10:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-04T09:48:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-04-02T19:32:00.007-04:00

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:

Seven Days
Aftermath
I Love NYC
The Rookie
The Project
Revelation
Triumvirate
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.)