New Year - Writing Round-Up

I did not post as much as I ideally would have liked in 2009, but it was still more creativity-oriented effort than I've ever engaged in before except perhaps the headiest days of my fanfic-writing days. I did write more non-NaNo original fiction than ever - two connected short stories, some more UFPE, and some RP with an original character of mine I've had in the back of mine for forever now. I've got a much better handle on her now that I've been forced to write her interacting with people and doing things. I may have written other things too, but those are what stand out - again, aside from my two fanfiction pieces, one revived and one started for a friend's birthday.

So overall, I count this blog a success! I'm not going to make a formal resolution on the subject because that's probably the best way to make me procrastinate, but I'm going to try very hard to write more in this blog and more in my Creativity folder in My Documents. My main ideas for this year are: more UFPE and a new story, which is currently called "Alien UN story" in my head.

UFPE: There's so much to do! Perhaps my most important goal is to figure out exactly what tone to take with this burgeoning epic. I have enough genuinely cool things that I want to write it as at least a halfway serious story, but the whole point of the UFPE originally was to indulge in the kind of overwrought prose I do so love writing. That has been a lot of fun! If UFPE were too serious, I might have to spend a few less paragraphs (that is mild exaggeration) describing A's color-changing eyes and Z's long-winded affections. That would be a tragedy.

I want to re-write the first volume. I have to re-write it at least to add a lot more punch to the opening scenes and to improve the pace of the story generally, and I might have to re-think the story extensively because I want a posse for A to travel with, at least for awhile. There's just too much internal monologue, even for a Parody Epic. I should sketch the other characters more fully - I know A and L pretty well, I know Z less than I should, and the others (aside from the Prince I interviewed on this blog) remain foggy figures. In fact, I should sketch more characters period, especially a posse for A. She does have that nymph who appears periodically, but she's too flighty and alien. Hmmm.

I also want to write some short stories set in the Ten Free Cities. I had a wonderful time naming and describing the Ten Free Cities in a notebook, along with the central character in each city that the short stories will revolve around. Each is based extremely loosely on an existing city. I have to say, my excitement for writing fantasy has jumped with my reading of the latest "Wheel of Time" volume, which encompasses both the excellent and the meh in fantasy.

Alien UN: this story was first inspired by my viewing of the first season of "Babylon 5." I want to create something like a United Nations of aliens, except it's completely useless. Okay, more useless than its critics today say. They're purely a figurehead so the powerful races can wreak havoc and the weak races can feel like they aren't total chumps. Except one day, for reasons I've not yet fully comprehended, they suddenly are forced to become relevant. Do I know where this is going? Not really. But I love the idea, and I really want to try my hand at some original science fiction. I also have a character, the RP character I mentioned earlier, who's been in my head for years but unable to find her own story. She would not be one of the diplomats; I think she would be first mate on a spaceship run by a shady bounty hunter. I think there's going to be a huge disaster, natural or otherwise, that wipes out a LOT of the races' leadership, and the Alien UN are so desperate for info/communication/travel/whatever that they basically commandeer this bounty ship. Wacky antics ensue! I don't even know where the focus of the story will be; it could even be several interconnected tales.

So those are my goals! I'm not sure which is my priority, but I should poke myself to post something here once a week or so and to write... well... more often than I do now.