NYC: Update #10

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 Ponderings

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).

NYC: Update #9

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

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!

All Hail, Google Maps!

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!

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

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?]

0utR1ght's Apartment

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

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!

Necessary Distractions

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

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

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

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!

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.

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!