tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59950300578551430772024-03-12T19:49:07.143-07:00Concerning FictionThe Writing Journal of Daniel J. PoolDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-14385092909979983892017-10-02T12:13:00.001-07:002018-04-26T09:14:45.844-07:00Hey all,<br />
<br />
So I need to do some cleaning up. I've been writing over at my new website. I'll be moving data over to there soon. Catch up with me on <a href="https://calculatingnormals.wordpress.com/">Calculating Normals.</a><br />
<br />
Thanks,<br />
<br />
DanielDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18236569341169962277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-74834508565676973162013-01-28T20:38:00.001-08:002013-01-28T20:38:09.523-08:00Larks Fiction Magazine: Issue Three, Volume FiveI find blogging as an industry fascinating. The initial boom & burst of its conception, the general confusion over how to use it, and more importantly the cottage industry it has created.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://larksfictionmagazine.blogspot.com/2013/01/fromthe-desk-of-editor-helloand-welcome.html?spref=bl">Larks Fiction Magazine: Issue Three, Volume Five</a>: From the Desk of the Editor; Hello and welcome to another issue of Larks Fiction Magazine. Due to a recent injury (see attached photo a...Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-11305845460688642982013-01-15T20:40:00.003-08:002013-01-15T20:41:29.380-08:00Cloudsea Chapter One Preview<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hello everyone!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So I have been reworking, revising, and rethinking the prologue and first chapter of my book project (now dubbed Cloudsea). Have a look and see what you think of my work in progress (of six years).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thanks for reading!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">P.S. Have a picture of a train.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Cloudsea</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">By Daniel J. Pool</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Prologue<br />Kydonian Wasteland<br />1764
AC<br /><br />A lone elf stood at the peak of a mountain. Clouds washed
over the rocky crags. An airship made a wide circle around him. A
dwarf paced the ship’s deck watching the haze.<br /><br />“Where did
it go Captain?” the dwarf called out.<br /><br />The elf silenced him
and stared into the fog. The mountains trembled. A howl echoed off
the cliffs. Then it was quiet.(This opening section is bothering me
but I don't know why)<br /><br />Balloon cables creaked. Wind whistled
through deck boards. The engines hummed.<br /><br />From below, claws
raked on stone. The smell of rot filled the air. An ocean of teeth
breached the clouds. Its hide was jet black and its eyes glowed
purple. The beast was double the size of the warship. It snapped its
teeth at the captain.<br /><br />“Fire!” he howled.<br /><br />Cannons
thundered. Plumes of fire struck the leviathan’s flank. The
creature swatted at the ship. Its claws grazed the hull making the
ship bounce by its balloon chains.<br /><br />“Pull out,” cried the
dwarf.<br /><br />The ship dove away from the creature. Twisting, it
rolled higher into the sky. The crew braced themselves on the
railing.<br /><br />Leaping from the mountain’s crest, the captain
plunged toward the beast. The sound of steel clashed against rock.
Sailing through the air the captain threw bolts of green flame from
his palms.<br /><br />“The captain is a demon,” whispered a crew
member.<br /><br />“Lord Gray could run the plague from our borders,”
said another.<br /><br />“A pirate king could unite the clans,” said
a third.<br /><br />From atop the snout of the creature the captain
hacked at the beast. The creature shook its head and slashed at him
with it claws. The captain drove his blade into the dragon’s head.
Green fire engulfed his body.<br /><br />“He is the Chosen One,” said
the cabin boy.<br /><br />Lord Gray shot into the air. Hovering over the
peak he bowed to his crew.<br /><br />“He is magnificent.”<br /><br />“He
is glorious.”<br /><br />“He is invincible.”<br /><br />Out of the fog
the beast’s jaws snapped around the captain.<br /><br />“He’s dead
meat…”<br /><br />“No! He’ll survive.”<br /><br />The creature
mashed the King of Pirates between his fangs crushing bone and
gore.<br /><br />“He could still pull through.”<br /><br />Turning toward
the mountain’s face the creature shot a jet of purple fire onto the
rocks glazing them; pieces of the captain melting onto the
boulders.<br /><br />A crewmen tugged at the dwarf’s arm, “Mr.
Ellery… Umm, I mean captain, sir… I think we need to leave. We
need a new Gray…”<br /><br />Chapter One<br />Skycastle<br />1764 AC<br /><br />The
sun peeked over the eastern highlands. Morning mist hung like
curtains over Skycastle. The cliffs of the mountain looked like
polished glass.<br /><br />Covered in heavy quilts, a young man stretched
his legs. Reaching out he touched the iron bars over his window. He
watched the city folk prepare for the day.<br /><br />A street vendor and
his son packed their cart for the day. A man wrapped in a wool coat
extinguished street lamps with a pole snuffer. A baker tossed burned
scraps into the street.<br /><br />He turned over. Uneven rows of bunk
beds stacked three high were crammed into the dormitory. Snoring
echoed off the stone walls.<br /><br />The young man rubbed his eyes and
pushed shaggy brown hair out of eyes. He pulled the quilt
higher.<br /><br />“Hey Jonathan!”<br /><br />“Aaaahgh!” he replied
knocking his head into the bunk above himself.<br /><br />Wild eyes
stared at the boy. A young girl held to the side of his bedpost. Her
curly yellow-blonde hair was pulled tight into a wad behind her
head.<br /><br />“Scoot over,” Felicia said pulling up.<br /><br />“Shut
up,” said a husky voice below them.<br /><br />Jon whispered, “Sorry
Barton. Felicia, why do you sneak in here?”<br /><br />“Because the
girl’s dorm doesn’t have a window that faces the shipyards. I
like airship spotting before breakfast.”<br /><br />“I can still hear
you, dorkers,” Barton said.<br /><br />“Oh hush,” she said and
crossed her legs.<br /><br />“Morning,” said an elf peeking over edge
of his bunk. His pointed ears poked out of his straight black
hair.<br /><br />“What are you doing up, Jim?” Felicia
asked.<br /><br />“Couldn’t sleep,” he replied and dropped down
between us.<br /><br />Felicia said, “Did you have nightmares
again?”<br /><br />“It doesn’t matter,” he said.<br /><br />We
watched as airships glided through the sky to the port. Their wooden
hulls were dark against the desert floor. It made a patchwork of
balloons and flags from across the entire world.<br /><br />Jon caught a
glimpse of Felicia watching him. Moving her arm around the elf she
slugged him in the shoulder.<br /><br />“Ow, what was that for?” Jon
said.<br /><br />“You deserved it,” Felicia said. “Didn’t he,
Jim?”<br /><br />The elf nodded.<br /><br />Jon rubbed his shoulder.
Looking back to the window he saw a gray airship that was just
starting its descent to the earthdock. It had a black balloon with a
gray skull painted across the side.<br /><br />“Hey, what kind of ship
is that?” Jon said.<br /><br />“Maybe it’s like a trader,”
Felicia said.<br /><br />“No, it’s got three gun decks. Traders fly
armed, but that’s just a bit on the extreme side don’t you
think?” Jon asked.<br /><br />“It’s so big. Maybe it’s an
Imperial ship,” she said.<br /><br />“Nah, the Empire doesn’t come
out this far west,” he said.<br /><br />“Hey Jim what do you think…
Jim?” Felicia asked.<br /><br />“Jim?” Jon said.<br /><br />He watched
the ship.<br /><br />“Jim?” I asked. “Hey that has to be a pirate.
Look at the balloon’s marking. A merchant wouldn’t use a skull as
their trade stamp.”<br /><br />“Gray…” Jim said releasing a short
breath and biting his lip.<br /><br />“What did you say?” the boy
asked.<br /><br />From downstairs tea kettles began whistling. Pots and
pans banged together and the smell of biscuits snaked into the
room.<br /><br />“Oh nothing, hey it’s time for breakfast. Let’s go
cadets,” Jim said with a laugh.<br /><br />“Wake up you lazy lot of
free loaders,” boomed a voice from the entryway.<br /><br />They slid
to the yellow stone ground and walked to the arched doorway of the
dormitory. Felicia pulled a handkerchief up to her nose till they
passed their handler guarding the hall between the boys and girls
dorm rooms. After the halls converged, she slid into the girls’
line and pulled the bandana to her neck.<br /><br />“You know that
won’t work anymore in another year,” Jon stated.<br /><br />“Oh
yeah why’s that, I’ll be too aged and give myself away by using a
cane?” Felicia smirked.<br /><br />“No, your breast might finally
grow!” he laughed. She stopped. “What? Cause, cause you’re a
girl.”<br /><br />Felicia stood in the hall. The crowd of girls walked
around her like water around rocks. Other boys paused and shoved Jon
as he waited. She was quiet. Pulling her handkerchief back over her
face, she pushed back into the girl’s line.<br /><br />Jon asked, “Jim,
why are girls so weird?”<br /><br />The elf rolled his eyes, “Women?
Women are not weird. You are.”<br /><br />He paused again at the
entrance on the main floor. Over a heavy iron door hung a sign ‘Abe’s
Home for Unfortunate Orphans.’ Jim grabbed his arm and towed him
forward.<br /><br />The cafeteria was a large open room made of creamy
orange stone. Wooden benches lined the hall in neat long rows.
Overweight cooks, with their hair tied back and pale smocks, hustled
back and forth through a passage into the kitchens. A stairwell next
to the entrance curved to a small round top door with a sign that
read ‘Headmaster’s Quarters.’<br /><br />Jim pushed Jon in to the
breakfast line. Younglings yelled and threw food scraps at each
other. Bowls of oatmeal slop and biscuits were shoved into their
hands.<br /><br />Finding an empty bench, the pair took seats. Jim began
to scoop oatmeal with his biscuit while Jon stirred his food into
shapes.<br /><br />“So what do you think about that pirate ship this
morning?” Jon asked.<br /><br />The elf stopped mid-chew and starred at
the table for a moment.<br /><br />Jon gently shook the elf, “Hey.
Kydonia to Jim. What did you think about that weird black
airship?”<br /><br />“Oh, that gray one. It was probably
nothing.”<br /><br />Jon said, “Yeah the gray one. What do you think
they do?”<br /><br />“I don’t know. Maybe they pirate stuff. Why
are you asking me?” he said.<br /><br />“Sorry, I was just making
conversation,” Jonathan replied. “Gods, between you and Felicia I
feel like I can’t say anything right.”<br /><br />Jim coughed and
said, “You really need to learn to just agree with her you
know?”<br /><br />“Yeah? Well you know what I think? I think that
Felicia is just too emotional. She is always doing stuff like that,”
he said.<br /><br />“Well I don’t blame her. You know I think she
is…”<br /><br />Jim’s words stuck in his mouth.<br /><br />“What?
That she is a vampire beast or some old hag sent to torment us...
What’s so funny Jim? Jim?”<br /><br />A swift smack to the back of my
head answered my question. As I turned Felicia was halfway to the
other side of the cafeteria.<br /><br />“Oww,” I looked back to Jim
while half-heartedly nursing my head, “you were saying sir?”<br /><br />Jim
leaned in close, “I was saying, I think she has a thing for
you.”<br /><br />He looked up from the oatmeal slop. A thick glob
slowly collected on the end of his biscuit, waited, and made a watery
smack as it returned to its bowl.<br /><br />“What thing, like a rag
doll or a book? She knows I don’t really like playing dolls
anymore,” I said.<br /><br />“No, more like… What happens in
spring?” he replied.<br /><br />“Oh! I got this. We have to clean the
factory out,” I stated.<br /><br />“And?”<br /><br />“And… uh? The
carnival comes to town?” I added.<br /><br />“No, like what do adults
do?” he said.<br /><br />“Oh, I got it,” I said.<br /><br />“Thank
the gods,” Jim let out a sigh.<br /><br />“Go swimming?” I
said.<br /><br />Jim repeatedly smacked his head on the table.<br /><br />“No
stupid—it’s when adults get together…” Jim was cut off by the
steam whistle for the morning shifters to go to work.<br /><br />The boy
mouthed, ‘Tell me later,’ to Jim and stood to leave.<br /><br />They
left the hall through a pair of large wooden doors into the
courtyard. A creek ran through the yard with a small bridge over it.
Sparse trees littered the lawn. A tall yellow stone building with
heavy metal doors faced the orphanage.<br /><br />A short man with broad
shoulders and a square jaw stood on a crate just outside. His graying
brown hair blew in the wind. He peeked over a pair of bifocals at a
list of names before looking back up. Counting on his hand he then
counted the assembled children.<br /><br />“You know standing up there
in front of the factory doors makes Abe look like a demon straight
from Nain,” Jim joked.<br /><br />Jon laughed. “Don’t say that. The
old man might hex us.”<br /><br />Abe cleared his throat and said,
“Hobart and Mr. Keller, you are on coal cart duty. Jamie, Lorain,
and Ginny are on looms. Jim… Where are you lad?”<br /><br />The elf
raised his hand half-heartedly. The dwarf looked down his nose at the
elf standing in front of him.<br /><br />“Right here sir,” he
said.<br /><br />“Oh yes, you and… let’s see, Barton and Hanson are
on coal room, ummm… Number 3.”<br /><br />He scratched his head and
shuffled through his list.<br /><br />“Lillian, Felicia, Gela—y’all
are on water detail. And Jonathan, you get to learn the crane
today.”<br /><br />Jim and Jon joined the other children through the
double doors. Warm air blew over them. Rows of looms and stamp
presses filled the stone room. A paddlewheel cut into one wall
lapping water onto the floor. Along the far wall, rows of smelting
pots bubbled liquid metal.<br /><br />“Hey, why do you get off easy
now? I wish I got to learn the crane,” Jim said.<br /><br />“Oh you
wouldn’t like. It involves thinking.”<br /><br />“Whatever, you’re
a dorker,” he said slapping Jon on his back. </span></div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-87542692090889758692012-12-31T14:28:00.001-08:002012-12-31T14:28:11.128-08:00Update 12/31/12<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Oh yeah... I was writing a blog about writing... Whatever happened to that?<br />
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<a name='more'></a>What happened was a "truck-load" of unforeseen consequences. I got a new job as a delivery driver and my life went on hold. Six months later I got a new job (thankfully) in the software industry.<br />
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Being home before nine o'clock at night, getting to see my family, and actually having time to work on projects has meant that I was able to focus on what I needed to get done.<br />
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To start off I was able to make regular contributions to Examiner.com--check me out under OKC Pop Culture.I also made a first attempt at making web vlogs on YouTube--that did not pan out as well. Lastly I started studying Java programming to hopefully point me toward video game programming.<br />
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Additionally I bought a 100 year old house, started a coffee shop with my parents, and got a new cat.<br />
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SOOOO, any ways--that means I also finished the novel!<br />
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Just right at 62,000 words I think it is a good first draft. Working back through chapter one now showed me how terrible of a writer I started out as. So now I am revising the whole piece to be at least as well written as the last chapter was (as well as change POV, tense, and make it grammatically legal).<br />
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That said I am pretty pleased with the outcome. I have started on the second book in the series but I am no where near done. I will post a sample of what I have so far of the revisions on here.<br />
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Writing out an entire book has reviled several things about the process (as well as editing). My hope is that the next project won't take six years to complete.<br />
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Anyway--here's to a new year, a new novel, and fates willing a new publication.<br />
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Happy 2012!</div>
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Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-84958459248843793022011-07-23T13:30:00.000-07:002012-12-31T13:58:22.325-08:00Building Religions in Fiction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In creating a world for fiction it is important to not work yourself into a corner. In some stories the only thing holding the entire plot together is a single idea or running gag (I see what you did there <a href="http://www.amazon.com/H-I-V-Higher-Institute-Villainous-Education/dp/141693572X/ref=pd_sim_b_4">Walden</a>--not that it was bad for its age group). This kind of lack luster world building can cause the whole story to seem flat whereas <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52989">well crafted worlds</a> can create <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Windup-Girl-Paolo-Bacigalupi/dp/1597801585/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311451012&sr=8-1">beautiful settings</a> to hang your characters on. Thus when deciding how people and nations worship (or don't) it is important to give the issue some thought. </div>
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One thing to keep in mind is that religion is fairly common to most cultures (in fact pretty much all of them). The reasons are varied and diverse but the fact remains that humans have a spiritual nature (whether that is praying in a church or not being all together calm about your closet door being open while you sleep--we seem to look for things that aren't there). Being that we can assume that most readers are from Earth, it is important to at the least tip your pen to the unknown.<br />
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For Bard's Blade religion is a central force for the characters. Their whole lives are devoted to cleansing the universe of those who are not a member of their religion. A galaxy spanning Mutually Assured Destruction that takes place across time and space. So for this project religion quickly became one of my top concerns.</div>
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I started by looking at and studying popular world religions and then mutated them ever so slightly. For instance one race has a hierarchy of spiritual beings that the race must appease for blessings and good fortune. So... I may have burrowed a lot actually. However when studying world religions one can see a strand of commonality amongst almost all of them.</div>
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This presents a positive and a negative: this makes creating religions for fantasy worlds easier because you can burrow from real religions for help however if you get too close to the source material you <a href="http://mugrack.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/trey-parker-and-matt-stone-getting-death-threats-over-south-park/">could make an angry mob</a>. For example if you based a fantasy religion off of Southern Baptists but do not represent the people well then the SB's may become aggressively upset at you and could cause problems for you getting published or sold. On the other hand if you represent them well you could <a href="http://www.greyschool.com/">inspire a whole generation</a>. So the sword cuts both ways.</div>
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Here are some suggestions and pointers to help:</div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Study world religions and keep a list of attributes you like.</li>
<li>Keep track of what most followers of your religion will hold sacred, taboo, and normal.</li>
<li>Make a layout of how your fantasy religion is structured: are there priests, do women and men worship the same, are there classes?</li>
<li>Make sure to refer to your notes now and then to make sure your characters act correctly.</li>
<li>Remember to watch out for being too close to source material (or not) to protect the feelings and individuality of others (unless that is what you are going for).</li>
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Well that is all I have for now. Hopefully I will be making regular updates soon. I got a new job as a truck driver so I have been MIA most of the week here recently. Until next time.</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-62297685644352886452011-06-04T09:45:00.001-07:002011-06-07T09:42:11.605-07:00Spark Songs Published at Writing Raw!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">My short story <a href="http://writingraw.com/fiction.html#D-117,%20Spark-Songs">Spark Songs</a> will be published* on June 6th over at <a href="http://writingraw.com/">Writing Raw</a>! I am pretty happy because it had been rejected more than a few times. I will make sure to link when it goes live.<br />
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*edit: is now published!!!<a href="http://writingraw.com/fiction.html#D-117,%20Spark-Songs"> http://writingraw.com/fiction.html#D-117,%20Spark-Songs</a></div>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-26208821734961615912011-06-02T13:09:00.000-07:002011-06-02T13:09:57.900-07:00Once Again--Best Day Ever!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I got published over at the Scarlet Sound! They published my piece Nothing to Fear--which is about my personal fears of the dark when I was younger. I am pretty pumped. Here is a link right<a href="http://thescarletsound.com/post/6061609846/nothing-to-fear"> HERE</a>. Maybe some day I can get a long work published from just all my little stuff put together.<br />
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Also I am totally getting hitched this weekend! So yeah writing as not so much happened. However I did finish a nifty little tale called World at End. It is the third story written in my new universe I have been fiddling with. Hopefully I can find it a market.<br />
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Also also--new term for being a writer: Unreality Engineer.<br />
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Anyway got to go--CHIRP DERP!</div>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-87744658179436667792011-05-25T13:43:00.000-07:002011-07-23T12:45:08.018-07:00Searching for Meaning After College<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I have been locked away in what now seems like a tall tower. College is over and now I have to make good on all the dreams and promises I was working for over the last four years. That along with the pressure to do something good with my life leaves me with the question, "Well, what now?"<br />
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It has been a month and three days as of this writing and I have to say I have found a few important things to consider.<br />
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<ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Have a plan. For the last few weeks I have woken up and done very little. I have had things to do but never a plan to do them. This is not to say I am suggesting you plan everything in you life to the second but rather give yourself deadlines till you find work.</li>
<li>Find work. I personally need someone or something to help me have structure to my day. Without some sort of structure you give over to going to bed at 3:00 AM and eating pizza-tacos.</li>
<li>Don't fall for scams. I have joined Linkedin.com and Monster.com and both have filled my in-boxes with trash for insurance fraud salesmen positions. Don't give in! I almost fell for one. It took a Google search for their number on the caller ID--not the one they gave me--to see that they were a scam.</li>
</ol>This is not by any means a How-To of after college life but rather some of the things I have fallen to. I have started to get back on my feet and have gotten a few things published (see my nifty hall of publication up top). I am however long from having all of my dreams fulfilled.<br />
<br />
I sent a manuscript off a week ago only to have it returned with the reason being no forwarding address. I was a little discouraged but sent a second electronic submission.<br />
<br />
I did become an Examiner for Examiner.com and will hopefully be updating my progress as a professional blogger. Also I am now doing the Ebay thing for some of my family's collected treasures. So fingers crossed on not having to get a real job.<br />
<br />
I will continue my exploration of creating a fantasy religion next. Till then!</div>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-45065388151989850212011-05-17T14:15:00.000-07:002011-05-17T14:15:05.420-07:00Published! Again!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Indigo Rising published my piece over modern art of the early 1900's--check it: <a href="http://www.indigorisingmagazine.com/2011/05/form-or-spirit-great-wave-and.html">http://www.indigorisingmagazine.com/2011/05/form-or-spirit-great-wave-and.html</a></div>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-58638520888398188732011-05-11T16:31:00.000-07:002011-05-11T16:31:37.458-07:00The Hall of Publication<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Here are the stories of mine that have been published along with the links to their place of publication. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.weirdyear.com/2010/09/91310.html">Just Gotta Laugh About the End of the World</a>, September 13th, 2010 published at <a href="http://www.weirdyear.com/">Weirdyear Magazine</a><br />
A flash fiction about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie">zombies</a><br />
Reprinted at <a href="http://www.usao.edu/trend/content/just-gotta-laugh-about-end-world">The Trend</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://thefringemagazine.blogspot.com/2011/05/fiction-wet-dull-smack-by-daniel-j-pool.html">Wet Dull Smack</a>, published May 6th, 2011 at <a href="http://thefringemagazine.blogspot.com/">The Fringe Magazine</a><br />
A flash fiction about <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts">zombies</a></div>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-84721363341571168082011-05-07T11:05:00.000-07:002011-05-07T11:05:30.051-07:00Published!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I got published today over at The Fringe Magazine! I am pretty pumped after not getting accepted for a while. Here's the link!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thefringemagazine.blogspot.com/2011/05/fiction-wet-dull-smack-by-daniel-j-pool.html">http://thefringemagazine.blogspot.com/2011/05/fiction-wet-dull-smack-by-daniel-j-pool.html</a></div>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-84894265945195906062011-04-05T20:06:00.000-07:002011-05-03T16:29:28.250-07:00Larks! the Comic!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So I have been a very bad blogger--but I want to change!<br />
Here is what I have been working on lately.<br />
<a name='more'></a>So I haven't been writing much for the blog-o-sphere but I been making records in the academic department.<br />
<br />
I have written about 50-70 pages of academic work in the last few months and I will hopefully have those pieces published to my scribd soon found here:<br />
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/52382428/The-Art-of-Consumerism#">http://www.scribd.com/doc/52382428/The-Art-of-Consumerism#</a><br />
<br />
Also I started doing a comic strip for my college magazine--which has now won an honorable mention at the state collegiate journalism awards for Oklahoma (supposedly I would have placed except I was disqualified because of some technical problems--my adviser said it had to do with accidentally not sending enough samples or something*). It can be found here:<br />
<a href="http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&global=1&q=kiddypool#/d3cwsls">http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&global=1&q=kiddypool#/d3cwsls</a><br />
<br />
*Though I was extremely excited for even a mention--added May 3rd, 2011 </div>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-22378672807945478332011-02-25T16:48:00.000-08:002011-02-25T16:48:46.904-08:00Chainsaw Pant Bandit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The town that my office is in has been on fire with the news of a chainsaw panted bandit. God bless the Southwest... Where else could this be real? <br />
<br />
http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-chainsaw-accident-story,0,920332.story</div>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-50741030646343368122011-02-15T19:54:00.000-08:002011-02-15T19:54:47.594-08:00Pretty Excited!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">My online fiction magazine made the cut for Duotrope!!! This makes need of official celebration! Woot!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.duotrope.com/market_5552.aspx">http://www.duotrope.com/market_5552.aspx</a></div>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-27933832606085812282010-12-30T16:45:00.001-08:002010-12-30T16:46:09.417-08:00Just Thought This Was InterestingDaemon Books is doing a book give away, seems pretty cool. Here is a<a href="http://www.daemonsbooks.com/2010/12/29/giveaway-daemons-books-favorite-things-of-2010/"> link</a> if you want to enter:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.daemonsbooks.com/2010/12/29/giveaway-daemons-books-favorite-things-of-2010/">http://www.daemonsbooks.com/2010/12/29/giveaway-daemons-books-favorite-things-of-2010/</a>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-40111395478471989262010-12-08T16:58:00.000-08:002011-04-05T20:10:50.021-07:00Aphoristic Dangers of Show Don't Tell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">On a recent paper for a philosophy of religion class I had a distinctly new comment about writing:<br />
<br />
"My only significant problem is stylistic. Because of your aphoristic style, you often leave many things unsaid."<br />
<br />
Now this is in no way a bad thing to be THE only thing wrong with a paper, but it got me thinking. On every writer's tips list I have seen they usually list "Show Don't Tell" as a major style problem of many writers today. I have tried being diligent to this, but now I see that as with pretty much everything else; moderation is key.<br />
<br />
Let's expand on aphoristic style real quick (from<a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/aphoristic"> Answers.com, Webster's Dictionary</a>):<br />
<br />
<span class="shw">Aph·o·ris·tic·al</span> , <i>a.</i>In the form of, or of the nature of, an aphorism; in the form of short, unconnected sentences; as, an <i>aphoristic</i> style. <br />
<blockquote>The method of the book is <i>aphoristic</i>.</blockquote><br />
So I was in a way showing too little and saying too little. I have seen authors (Søren Kierkegaard<span style="color: black;">, </span>Franz Kafka<span style="color: black;">,</span> Robert A. Heinlein<span style="color: black;">, and </span>Oscar Wilde) use this style with success, but this is a slippery slope to walk. If we, to burrow a page from Kolakowski (the guy the paper I got this comment on was about)--should we take show don't tell too far eventually we can end up saying too little.<br />
<br />
This is not suppose to make you go out and stop warning about show don't tell problems (I know it is more common than too-little-tell problems). This is just an observation that falling too often into an aphoristic style can lead to disjointed sentences that lose their original meaning.<br />
<br />
Writing is communicating with someone else. In a way writing is laying your soul and mind open for someone to pick through--hopefully with the intent of transferring something. Be that Something love, anger, memory, or a fart--a writer's foremost importance is being a communicator.<br />
<br />
That's all I gotz on that thought for now, but I had another...<br />
<br />
I think I want to start a writing project. Instead of writing on it once a week very intensively (like my current projects have been) I want to do a very minimal amount of writing but do it daily. So I am proposing to start writing 250 words everyday on a novel project for 90 days and posting it here. I know I won't do it every day probably, but my hope is to do it enough that after 90 days I can be proud of whatever I make.<br />
<br />
--Because of finals this week I will probably start doing it on Sunday.<br />
<br />
On that note, hope to see you back here on Sunday!<br />
<br />
*Edit/Update April 5th, 2011--yeah let's reschedule the one-page-a-day-novel till life is not insane...</div>Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-89939636513790624952010-11-27T22:10:00.000-08:002010-11-27T22:10:11.675-08:00FUTURE THINGSGO<a href="http://futurethings.tumblr.com/"> HERE</a>, Do it.Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-132558949231248402010-11-14T12:50:00.000-08:002010-11-14T12:52:14.429-08:00Max McCoy, live from DogwoodI went to a journalism/writing/word-nerds convention in Kentucky a few weeks ago (just now getting things settled from the trip) and I am going to transcribe and talk about some of the seminars I went to on Concerning Fiction.<br />
<br />
The seminar that really got me going and pumped about writing was by <a href="http://www.maxmccoy.com/">Max McCoy</a>. He is the guy who wrote the Indiana <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Indiana-Jones-Philosophers-Stone-McCoy/dp/0553561960/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289767734&sr=8-1">Jones books</a>, some <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hellfire-Canyon-ebook/dp/B001E5RS2I/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1289767734&sr=8-3">westerns</a>, but above all <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Pool-Max-McCoy/dp/0843953667/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289767793&sr=8-2">novels with mystery elements</a>. In the seminar he told about how he became a writer and (without saying it all out loud) what it is like to be in the word-writing industry.<br />
<br />
McCoy wore a plain dark navy suit, his hair was slicked back, and he wore a smile that said the milk in his coffee was a little sour, but he would drink it since it was free. He spoke in a dull timbre. He made sure to remind us that he had a day job, and at the end he told us the books on the table top were for sale.<br />
<br />
I want to be Max McCoy when I grow; a shameless self-promoting writer/journalist who does and writes pretty much whatever he feels like.<br />
<br />
Just to point out, these are his personal ideas, I cannot attest to any of these for sure--all I can say is I have heard a lot of these before so some of them are more than likely true.<br />
<br />
But I digress. Here are the important bits straight from his talk:<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<ul><li>"News, liquor, and drugs." The three things that go together well in journalism--which happen to apply to novelists as well.</li>
<li>The skills needed to write news translates well to fiction.</li>
<li>If your story isn't good enough then you aren't asking the right questions.</li>
<li>Follow up questions with more questions</li>
<li>write, write, write... --he talked about working for a newspaper while writing his novels, he practiced writing everyday on things other than his books</li>
<li>start low (he wrote porn filler before writing his first novel)</li>
<li>Freelance writing is a good way to get started, builds reputation</li>
<li>He suggested mystery detective novels--5,000 words about a true crime that had a conviction, suggests finding a journal with stories you like and writing for it</li>
<li>Write short things first, get a few things finished and under your belt before tackling an epic</li>
<li>Pen names free you from making a history of "mistakes:, rather that you can use a pen name when doing things you wouldn't want to be remembered for by your in-laws (back to that porn filler)</li>
<li>Warned about alternate personalities growing out of control--his (Ruben Buckner) received fan mail, a social security card, and requests to appear on TV before he did</li>
<li>Never say no TO an editor (say it behind their back). --he said this regarding a story about his first novel editor saying no to his first story but asking if he would write something else, his comment is closer to don't refuse a job</li>
<li>His first was "The Sixth Rider"</li>
<li>Have several outlets to many different mediums to get out there, don't confine yourself to just fantasy fiction or to just western, just novels, just newspaper--put yourself into several different places to build a reputation.</li>
<li>When he wrote his Indiana Jones books he had to watch and study the characters in the films. He suggested studying people who created the characters</li>
<li>You put yourself into your characters, they reflect you whether you try to or not.</li>
<li>Recommended Joseph Campbell's "The Hero's Journey; The Hero of a Thousand Faces"</li>
<li>Force anyone you are signing a contract with to always allow for creativity</li>
<li>Use the skills of journalism in novel writing--"Make shit up, but act like it's true."</li>
<li>Go to writer's conferences and meet with editors and publishers in person, make contacts with people</li>
<li>Meet with the people who have the authority to get you started</li>
<li>You do not need an agent to get started, be weary of any agent who will sign an unpublished author--<u><i><b>DO NOT PAY AN AGENT UPFRONT!</b></i></u> Those kinds of agents are mostly scam artists. They make their money by making you money (a percentage).</li>
<li>Get an agent when contracts are being discussed</li>
<li>Do not work for hire--publishing house controls rights--you loose film and audio-book rights.</li>
<li>Do not e-publish (self-publish) when you are a fledgling writer, e-books need legitimacy to make money for the author--places like Vantage Press are vanity presses (or just to see your name on the cover publishing)</li>
<li>Publishers are hesitant to publish books that are part of a series--try to pitch it as a single novel that has room to grow and expand if popular.</li>
<li>Find a way to pay the bills and still have time to write, don't quite your day job but don't give up on your dreams</li>
<li>You are typecasted by whatever you write that gets famous first, it happens</li>
<li>Hang out with the people you want to write about</li>
</ul>He talked about the three things to do before sending off your manuscript<br />
<br />
1. The Cover Letter<br />
<ul><li> Introduces you as a writer; who are you, what's your platform, why the hell should an editor give a crap about you</li>
<li>If you are unpublished do not say so, they will figure that out--but don't publicize it though</li>
<li>Be able to describe your work in two or three sentances</li>
<li>convey essence of the novel</li>
<li>you don't have the luxury of explaining the whole story</li>
<li>Cover letters should be one page, single spacing, act like the book is finished (or that you know how it will end), have a good title ready (it will likely change, this is to catch attention)</li>
<li>Only double space things that are going to be put into type (be published)</li>
<li>Don't address your manuscript to the publishing house, find a list of employees and mail it directly to a specific editor to avoid getting stuck into slush-pile-purgatory.</li>
<li>You can find these names in places like publishers weekly; find authors you like that write about what you write like and find their agents</li>
</ul>2. The Synopsis<br />
<ul><li>This is a two page document that acts as a sales pitch.</li>
<li>This is not an outline or book report--why should the publisher want your work</li>
<li>Don't give away the ending, your synopsis should be a modest Victorian girl</li>
<li>This should explain why your hero <i><u>and</u></i> villain are unique</li>
</ul>3. Sample Chapters<br />
<ul><li> This should be about 40-60 pages of sequential sections from your novel</li>
<li>This is a taste of your book, don't skip around--if you get bored reading these consider rewriting before sending off--starting later perhaps.</li>
</ul>Closing Thoughts <br />
<ul><li>How long should you wait? Give them three months, after which you should write a follow up letter or phone call. </li>
<li>Simultaneous submissions are great! If your book is good they create auctions.--companies hate it because it creates a seller's market.</li>
<li>Unsolicited submissions really means they don't want the whole manuscript</li>
<li>pick an assistant or junior editor--people needing a big break to put a gamble on someone--to send your manuscript to.</li>
<li>You cannot copyright ideas</li>
<li>Do not put (C) on your manuscript, it makes you look like an amateur</li>
<li>Be prepared to write the whole thing, be prepared for change</li>
<li>Any advance is against your royalties, be careful about how much you take</li>
</ul> Even though he was a bit pessimistic I think he has some good points. Also some of these suggestions are too ballsy not to be things that have worked for him. Also even though it showed that he was looking for things to sale, you could tell he loved writing as a whole. He talked about his characters like they were real people that he had coffee with on a regular basis.<br />
<br />
I hope these tips help you all out there!Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-51568540562672114372010-10-07T11:09:00.000-07:002010-10-07T11:09:49.238-07:00World Building: Designing a PeopleWhen building worlds from the ground up it is very important to design who will live in that world. For worlds this is "simply" creating a culture of a people. In this case however I would be creating new races.<br />
<br />
When writing fantasy the usual picks are humans, elves, dwarfs, orks, and trolls (or some mix & match). These races have generally well defined rolls already before the writer ever touches them. I for one started no different.<br />
<br />
I wanted to have the basic rolls that elves, humans, and dwarfs offered to each other. One race to be smart and mystical and others to be strong and brave, but this got to be too much like every other piece of work in the field. I wanted to bring something new to the table. So I made a few rules:<br />
<br />
<ol><li>No humans allowed. I wanted to make something new and humans are too relatable.</li>
<li>All races could not be one of the usual fantasy races with just something extra. No long tailed goblins or furry elves.</li>
<li>All races could not be an animal morphed to look like people. I did not want this to become a montage of furry-ness.</li>
</ol>This in mind I did decide the best way of making organic creatures was to start with critters I knew and expand and change till I had something that felt different. So I grabbed a zoology textbook and thought about how different worlds would/could make different types of people. One of these ideas lead me to study how varying gravity and atmospheric conditions would alter a creatures interaction with a world.<br />
<br />
To this end I wrote out a list of probably around 100 creature ideas. I played with the roles of the classical races. Then I thought about it in terms of a game.<br />
<br />
When I thought "How would I make an online MMORPG about this?" my ideas and how I should build things seemed simpler. Designing my world to be lived in my more sense than designing it to look pretty. This also gave me a lot of perspective the people.<br />
<br />
On an online game having hundreds of races would be just plain annoying. Also trying to talk about too much in a book would bog down the important stuff of the story. So I settled on around 7 races as being optimal.<br />
<br />
As I created religions for these groups a lot of the story fell into place for me. Thinking about how they would interact created how the races should be like.<br />
<br />
I settled on taking the function of the fantasy race I needed (example orks) then combined them with the attributes I found interesting (such as pachyderms) and combined those thoughts with a real-world country of the same time period as the book (the Spanish Empire) and created a race of creatures I felt was not a complete rip off of one thing, but a combination of several ideas.<br />
<br />
Next time religion building.Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-62860411951939993142010-10-03T15:54:00.000-07:002010-10-03T15:54:04.305-07:00On Planning of a Novel: World Building OneMy first thoughts for my novel was a jumbled mess of concepts and ideas. To put it lightly I knew I wanted fantasy adventures and I wanted ultra-action. That is to say I wanted to write something fun and to have fun writing it.<br />
<br />
I started by thinking some random things I would want in a novel for me to have fun with. I decided that magic, steam-based technology, and zombies would be pretty sweet to fit together. I let my interest guide my ideas.<br />
<br />
After running these ideas over and over again in my head I started to think about how all those things could fit together as I wanted them to. I started off with a single idea--the airship. This single thought acted like a seed. After I started thinking of my world like a swash buckling adventure. <br />
<br />
I asked questions like: how would you defend a city from a floating fortress? How would an army with magic and technology fight? What would people in a would like this look like?<br />
<br />
From there I started studying, collecting, and cataloging pictures from the internet to reference as I created my world. I would Google image search things like: steampunk, fantasy, dragon, magic, troll, airship... etc. I also started looking into art from the 1700's (an era I choose to set my technology on). So I went to the local library and read everything that I had a gap in understanding for.<br />
<br />
For example I read a book of 18th century navy ships. I contained drawings of ships by floors, uniform descriptions, and history of important battles. From this I gained a detailed look at how the warfare of the time would work.<br />
<br />
The end result was something workable and interesting to me, but it was nothing more than a series of concepts.<br />
<br />
To put them together I would need the people to live there and how they would look and interact...Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995030057855143077.post-51799470308474799482010-09-20T21:11:00.000-07:002010-09-20T21:11:57.504-07:00First is FirstLast time on my mind:<br />
<ol><li>I have decided I want to be a writer. This has been a dream of mine since I was very young, but now I have grown up and remembered who I was.</li>
<li>I have a multitude of projects on my mind, but I will be focusing on my main novel, Bard's Blade.</li>
<li> I plan on trying to get published. So in a way this is my written memoir and steps taken to that end of being published.</li>
</ol>So to start I will just retell what has happened to this point in my writing career.<br />
<br />
Freshmen year of college at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, I figured out that I did not want to grow up. Short one Never Never Land I decided to create my own. To that end I created Bard's Blade.<br />
<br />
I took more writing courses and extra-curricular English classes. I even managed to get the okay from a professor of infinite awesomeness to let me write this novel for English Creative Writing credits--it was a good intersession.<br />
<br />
Now I have joined several book/literature clubs and a writing forum (Legend Fire) to help further my reading, editing, and writing skills. I have also taken to editing an online magazine to help learn how publishing, marketing, and editing/compiling all work.<br />
<br />
I am about eleven chapters in, and just started rewriting to check how the other nine (goal amount of chapters is twenty) should be written.<br />
<br />
Bard's Blade is a fantasy-science-fiction story about the wars between good, evil, and the in-between parts. The main focus is on human(-ish) struggle against what is right. In its finished state it should be nine to twelve books (possible more depending on printing avenues).<br />
<br />
In up coming blogs I will tell how I came to the decisions I have and what I have learned since I started working on this project. Also additional news about my project.Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0