Welcome back!
This month’s Current Update is a new milestone, as it marks the end of my first year working on this blog. I have learned a lot in the past months, and now feel much more confident in my abilities. I plan on hitting the ground running in 2016, trying to get more progress done and hopefully get a first draft ready for review by December.
My mood recently has been greatly affected by the weather. Last month, I expected we would have a normal winter, filled with cold weather and snowstorms. Instead, we have been having warmer than usual temperatures, resulting in very little snow. This will be the first time (for as long as I can remember anyway) that I will have a green Christmas, which is sad, since the holidays is the only reason I like snow in the first place. Once the Holidays are over, if Mother Nature wants to keep the snow to herself, that would be just great! On the bright side, new experiences always bring new knowledge, so my first “Green Christmas” will be stored to memory in case I ever need to write about it in the future.
Downtown Ottawa, December 23rd, 2015.
But enough complaining about the weather, let us move on to what I have been doing this past month.
The extra time off over the holidays has given me the chance to catch up on some reading. I am now ahead by three months in my list of books to read, giving me a chance to pick and choose which to review. This will come in handy when trying to match a book to a month's particular theme. For January, I got swept up in the hype around the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie, and decided to read a novel which was inspired by the popular series. Though I have never read a book from this franchise before, Star Wars has always been one of my favorites, so I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts on this book with you.
For the first time since I started my new job, I got to use the experience as a copyright specialist while working with Missing Worlds Media. Though I cannot go into the details of the conversation due to NDA, I can say my professional opinion was asked in regards to collaborating with another company or individual on a certain project. I drafted a letter to the Composition Director, Assistant Composition Director, as well as the Project Lead, detailing my thoughts on the matter and possible options we may have in the matter. My opinion was well received and taken into account, and I am glad I could contribute my knowledge to Missing Worlds Media.
As for my own work, some more progress was made on the mechanics of magic and how it works within the world I am creating. Most of the mechanics were pulled from other sources, only changing a few key elements in order to make them work in my setting. This has helped me add finishing touches to the protagonist (Walker), as well as lay the groundwork for my antagonist (Decay) and one of my supporting characters (Vivian Winters).
Also this past month, I decided to flesh out another supporting character, who will go by the name Carter Harris. He will be an ex-mercenary who came into contact with a strange artefact, which granted him incredible energy based abilities, but severely disfiguring him in the process. Carter will be a sleazy, self-serving, arrogant blowhard who is completely happy leeching off the generosity of others. Though he may not sound like a good guy, he will play a pivotal role. I have been having this urge recently to buy some clay and try to sculpt his face, just so I can have a 3D representation of my idea. If this ever happens, you can look forward to seeing pictures appear on my blog.
*Note: All names mentioned here should be considered works in progress and are not final. Furthermore, any similarities to other people or content is pure coincidence.
While sorting through all of these ideas, I decided to create several other files for future stories. Though I am still far from finishing my first manuscript, I keep getting ideas for different storylines and new characters, so I decided to note these down now while the ideas were coming. Hopefully this will help avoid writer's block later on. I currently have nine outlines for stories related to the characters in my first book, with another four outlines totaly unrelated to this content. So basically what this means is I have more ideas than time to work on them!
Another year has arrived, bringing with it resolutions, fresh starts and new ideas. My family had fun during our Holiday vacation, and I hope 2016 finds you all well and ready for whatever may come. Until next time, wishing you all health, happiness and success for the new year.
Cheers,
Patrick Osborne
No comments:
Post a Comment