Worldbuilding: Letter Rip

How does the mail work in your world?

Granted, this doesn’t seem to come up as a big thing in most fantastic fiction. The thrill of, “will our heroes make it in time?” is totally lost if the bad guys win because of a minion’s email.

Worldbuilding: Averting Disaster

As the saying goes, the best time to prepare for a disaster was last year. The next best time is now. How do your characters plan to deal with problems before they happen? And how well do their plans match reality?

Brief Note: Busyness

Long hours at work. Hopefully it’ll make up bills for the time I was out sick, but it’s very inconvenient for writing.

Worldbuilding: About Those Mermaids

Okay, I now need to research maritime trade in Northeast Asia and beyond in the Little Ice Age period, because our heroes are going to have a lot to do with the water. Yes, land adventures are a go, but they’re also going to have to deal with mermaids, water monsters, and inevitable sea trips to go rescue people. (Not what I expected from the original idea, but… yeah.)

Some Thoughts on Global Crisis, by Geoffrey Parker

I’m about halfway through this book. (It’s over 700 pages, not counting another about 150 of footnotes and bibliography, and info-dense enough it needs to be read in small doses.) But there’s a recurring pattern in the history here I thought people looking at current events might appreciate.

Never underestimate the ability of people in power to double down on stupid.

Current Events: Writing Rewards

Like many of us, I am Very Disappointed in what comes out of Hollywood these days. So instead of turning on the TV I poke through YouTube for subtitled foreign shows with settings of interest and languages I’m trying to pick up bits of; generally Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. Which is how I stumbled onto a neat show from 1978, “The Yoshimune Chronicle: Abarenbo Shogun”.

Worldbuilding: Points of Divergence

All right, Russia. For the sake of a good alternate history, your Empire is going down.

Er. Let me explain.

A Long Road Chapter 16 Ficbit – Different Paths

Looking back, most of what had happened by the river had gone contrary to orthodox cultivation techniques. And on sober reflection… he was not unhappy with that result.

Indy Horror Movie Idea: The Ticket

Ran across a movie summary for The Ticket, which is apparently a thin-plotted drama about a blind guy regaining his sight (“like winning a lottery ticket”) and then getting caught up in the superficial things instead of the Important Things in Life. Reaction: “Bah. A title like that should be a horror movie set at an amusement park….”

Well. Why not a horror movie set at an amusement park?

A Frog in My View

Not sure how many of you have seen these little guys before….