Sunday, June 27, 2010

STARPOINT VIDEOS

I was looking for new ways to advertise my book and read this article suggesting using youtube to put up video advertisements. I talked to my friend Per who has a business doing videos for people and has been doing films of his own for years. We talked about it and he volunteered his services to produce some advertisements of my book.

We need a Gallif. We need someone who could portray her for these spots. Most of what we are looking at is videos with narration, but, if we found someone who was willing, I would actually write a few performance scenes. Either way, if we find someone who is interested we will work with her to whatever she is comfortable.

Physically we need someone who is, or at least looks, to be in her late teens. Long, curly hair, preferably red but we could always use that as part of the costuming. She needs to have the build of a rugged fighter who could stand toe to toe and then take out orcs, elves and even giants.

If anyone you know might be interested in doing this for us feel free to pass this a long. If they have any more questions about the character they could go to www.starpointmountain.com and see art and read about her.

I'll be happy to answer any questions and your help will be greatly appreciated.

GALLIF OF STARPOINT MOUNTAIN WEEK 2

I got into the grove this week and it really took off. I wrote 25 pages coming out to three chapters and about 10,500 words. What really set it off was one of those things I really like about writing.
I thought I might have written into a corner cause I had Gallif in a position where she needed an ally but all the other characters I've introduced needed to be someplace else. I wasn't sure how I was going to get her out then it occurred to me that there was one character who had been established in the first and second books who, because of her ability to heal injuries, could believably be in the position to heal Gallif's wounds. That really got the groove going and it was the third best week's writing I've done this year.
One of the things I'm really proud of these books is that, even in the fourth book in the series and I'm introducing new characters and visiting new places in the Land of Starpoint.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

GALLIF OF STARPOINT MOUNTAIN WEEK 1

I'd finished working on the short stories last week. Originally I didn't want to start this book for a while because I thought it might be confusing doing the 2nd draft of one book while working on the first of another. There were times when I was trying to do the 1st and 2nd draft of The Shadows of Starpoint Mountain at the same time and it was getting mixed up. Sometimes I'd be typing a scene into the computer that had the same characters and location as characters I had written by hand the same day. It was getting hard because I would think of a new idea but couldn't remember if it really was new or something I remembered having done the previous week.
I thought about it a lot but I don't think it will be a problem. The third book and the fourth are very different in location and characters. The third book dealt with the Others in the swamps and was almost entirely located there but the fourth book has a few scenes that take place there but they are completely different in tone and characters. It also spends more time with Gallif back in the foreground and those scenes that are tired to the earlier books she doesn't appear in.
So I sat down and looked over the notes that I had written down as to where the fourth book goes, rewrote them a bit and figured out some of the details, then started writing. I started with the introduction of a new character, did two pages, then realized it was pretty senseless and completely started over. Originally the character was going to be a silly comic character just in there for a laugh at the start. He turned much more serious and will now be in the book for a significant part.
Funny how that works some times.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

CHRONICLES OF STARPOINT WEEK 9

I wrote the 22nd short story for this collection this week and decided it's the last. I'm very proud of them but it's getting to be more of a labor because I don't want the ideas to get repetitive.
To finish it off I I went back to the very first story I had done. I was never really happy with it, it just didn't work, and I couldn't get a good grip on it. I couldn't decide what the point of it was and finally decided to center on the king of the Giant Lords and what kind of a person he is. Also brought in the queen who only has a small appearance in the books and is never heard from again.
P.S. Went looking for pens and they must have just been out last week. I got twelve of them. ;-)

Sunday, June 6, 2010

SILLY WRITERS

I have to admit there are times, if something works, I get into a habit that's hard to break. When I was doing Doctor Who: Shadows of the Past I picked up a notebook to organize my ideas. It worked out so well I had to go out and buy the exact same style of notebook. When that was half full I went out and got another, then another. I still have fourteen of them on the shelf next to my computer that I've never used.
When I started writing the 3rd book I bought a new pen because it just looked like a good pen. By the time I finished the first draft I'd gone through eight INC CLASSIC GEL pens and had bought a few extras to be safe. So far I've used three of them on the short stories and I'm trying to keep a few pens ahead so I'll never run out. Last Friday I went to pick some up and they were OUT! They didn't have them anymore! Not only did they not have them in stock but they didn't even have the empty slots to put them in. AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!! I stood there for a good ten minutes going over the pens again and again and again. I'm really upset about that and I've gone to a few other stores to try and find them but no luck.
Bit silly but I'm seriously upset that I can't find the right pens!

CHRONICLES OF STARPOINT WEEK 8

Had a much better writing week this week. I wrote a very strong and dramatic story about how Gallif originally met Rayjen and was invited to the school. When I run out of steam I keep remembering to go back to Gallif. I like that character and when I bring her to the foreground I feel more comfortable. Saying that I think there's only a few good ideas left for short stories then I'm going to start the next book.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

CHRONICLES OF STARPOINT WEEK 7

Only wrote six pages this week and it was my lowest week this year. I worked two twelve hour days, I got new job responsibilities at work, and he got our first blast of hot and humid weather. Not really a great week.
I think I'm running out of ideas for the Starpoint Anthology. I've done 18 so far and have two ideas left that I want to work out.
Not sure what I'm going to work on next. Even though I'm still doing the second draft of Ghosts of Starpoint I'm tempted to go ahead and start the first draft of Gallif of Starpoint at the same time.