Kastor stood by the stairs and listened to the chatter on the police band cut off. Floor by floor it just cut out. In an analog system there would have been static, but it just cut to eerie silence in a staccato rhythm as whatever was happening hit floor after floor. The disarming didn’t go as planned, apparently. He swore and patched in.
“This is Petrosky on Floor 75. Change of plans. This is now an evacuation. Get the whole building cleared out, on the double.” He opened the door to the cubicle farm and hoped there was enough time.
The City: 072: Kastor
January 6, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, CPD, Drabble, Kastor, Midas Corp, The City Leave a comment
The Gamer’s Guide to Writing: An Introduction
January 5, 2015
Gamer's Guide to Writing, Gaming, Writing Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy IX, Gamer's Guide to Writing, Gaming, Writing 2 Comments
IMG courtesy of Gamefaqs.com
Like many genre writers, I enjoy playing video games, and I often complain that my gaming addiction is taking time away from my writing, and vice-versa. But I’ve found that in some ways, my love of gaming has had a great impact on my writing. Even in a genre that is generally panned for its presentation of script and plot, an observant writer can still pick up pointers about what to do, and what to avoid. This blog is a look at some of the lessons I’ve picked up in my many years behind a game pad.
A game I’d like to look at first is “Final Fantasy IX.” Launched in the U.S. in November of 2000, it is often overlooked because of the timing of its release. It came out at the tail end of the Sony Playstation’s lifecycle, a full month after the blockbusting premier of the Playstation 2. Even though the game pushed the console to its limits, it was competing against more dazzling technology. It also has an awkward place in the franchise, between the panned “Final Fantasy VIII” the next year’s revolutionary “Final Fantasy X” for the PS2.
None the less, FFIX is an excellent source for writers looking at plot, structure, character, and theme. Over the next series of posts, I’ll be drilling deep into the plot of the game, examining the presentation and hunting for literary gold, as Dave Robision would say. Think of this like a very different sort of walkthrough. Instead of looking for secrets to success in the game, I’ll be looking for hints to improve writing craft. Spoilers obviously will be a part of this project. So if you have an old set of discs gathering dust, or a few bucks of Playstation Network credit lying around, come join me as we examine how a classic game tells a great story.
Next week, we’ll look at compact character introductions, and what we can learn from the title screen!
Final Fantasy IX was originally released for the Sony Playstation and is also available as a digital download on Playstation Network.
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The City: 071: Anka
January 5, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Anka, CPD, Drabble, Midas Corp, The City Leave a comment
Anka glared at the police officers as they wound their way through the maze of cubicle half-walls. Who did they think they were? The cops were the company’s token nod to the idea of an outside authority, a fictional check against the truth: Midas Corporation ruled The City, absolutely. What purpose did they think to serve by this ridiculous show of force? Eventually, they would have to withdraw, embarrassed and humiliated. Midas would issue a statement of ‘apology’ and things would carry on. Midas was invulnerable. These were her last thoughts before the wall of flame swept the office.
January 4, 2015
Writing Goals, podcasting, Publishing, The Page of Awesome, Writing 1 Comment
It’s finally 2015! The ball has dropped, the champagne has been drunk, the s’mores have been eaten. But however you celebrate the new year, the festivities have ended, hangovers have been nursed, and it’s time to get down to the business of the new year. As such, I’m resetting the Page of Awesome and setting new creativity goals for myself in 2015.
400 Blog Posts:
This year I will be continuing to blog my serial Drabble story “The City: A Story in 140 Characters.” When that finishes, I’d like to begin a new story with a similar premise. In addition, I’ll be continuing to post “Hugh Likes…” entries throughout the year, updating my status with appearances, announcements, reflections on writing, and more! I’ll also be unveiling a brand new article series in the near future!
50 Podcast Episodes:
I haven’t always been the most regular when it comes to updating The Way of the Buffalo, but with a new year and a new season launching this month, I am back on the bandwagon. The podcast’s new schedule will look something like this:
One audio fiction episode, one interview episode, and one special episode, which could be anything. These will be panel discussions, audio from conventions, bits of my own writing, and more! We’ll also be presenting one episode The Dark Wife in the feed per month until it’s finished. There are a few more things on the horizon, but it’s a bit too early to unveil them yet.
5 Self-Published eBook Launches:
My primary goal for this year is to increase my editing. I have plenty of novellas and longer-form projects that just need a few coats of polish and cover art. At the very least, I’d like to get these into your digital hands this year:
The Freelance Hunters: The Shadow Over Ironwood
The Freelance Hunters: Bingo’s Charm and other Tales
The City: A Story in 140 Characters ebook edition
Fabulous Powers Vol. 1: Where There’s Smoke…
Scum and Villainy (Working Title)
Most of this content is working its way through the editing process. There will be more details as they get finished up.
50 Traditional Short Fiction Submissions
While I will be working on a lot of self-published work this year, I still want to keep submitting to magazines and anthologies. While I’m not singularly focused on earning my SFWA qualifications this year, completing short stories and sending them out is good practice for a variety of writer’s skills, the most important of which are meeting deadlines and dealing with rejection.
So that’s what I’ll be working on this year. What are your plans and goals for 2015. Leave a comment below, or say hello on Twitter and Facebook!
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The City: 070: Zidane
January 2, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Dawn, Drabble, Kaboom, Midas Corp, Mildred, The City, The Daytrippers, Zidane Leave a comment
Summoned by the CEO, Zidane muscled his way into the office. His own physical size was impressive. He found that he intimidated even here in The City, where such things were of no consequence. There was no inherent value in his strength in the digital environment, it was merely an accurate representation of his stature. But it made people nervous, and it made them forget how smart he actually was. The interviewer girl looked suitably impressed, certainly.
“Ma’am?”
“Ms. Evans was just leaving.” Dawn began to protest, but stopped. Together they watched the top of Midas tower erupt in flames.
The City: 069: Mildred
January 1, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Dawn, Drabble, Mildred, The City, The Daytrippers Leave a comment
The investigation was not going well. Posing as a magazine interviewer, Dawn had talked her way into the office of the matronly CEO of Nexus Software Solutions, a data management company that was both a contractor and a competitor of Midas. From this nearly as loft perch, there was quite a good view of Midas tower.
“You seem awfully young to be a journalist,” Mildred O’Dell said. Dawn squirmed in the simulated leather chair.
“It’s the newest thing in avatars,” she said. It was not a particularly good lie.
“Is it?” Mildred said, and pushed a button on her desk.
2014 Final Results
December 31, 2014
Earlier this year, I made a pledge to increase my productivity this year, and set some pretty lofty goals. I called this project ‘The Page of Awesome’ and kept track of it in my primary notebook. You can find the original post HERE. I also kept sporadic track of my progress in a little box on the sidebar of this site.
So now that it’s December 31st, it’s time to look over my goals and see how I measured up.
Writing Submissions:
This year I wanted to increase my number of story submissions. I made a goal of one hundred submissions for the year, but end up with only fifty. Of these submissions, I had two published short stories released. “The Montressor Method” to Over My Dead Body Online Magazine, and “The Duke’s Fountain,” to Wicked Words Quarterly. Additionally, I have a third forthcoming sale which I hope to share with you in 2015. While I didn’t meet my goal for this year, I still feel alright with this one. My failure to reach the goal had more to do with a reluctance to perform necessary butt-in-chair editing rather than cold feet at the submission stage, so that is where I need to improve to increase this stat in 2015.
Podcasts:
In 2014, I made a goal to podcast more frequently and more consistently. I made a goal of 50 podcasts, and released 35. So again, this was short of my goal, but I am mostly satisfied with the podcasting work I did this year. I still have a lot of work to do for 2015, including some promised voice work for friends and the completion of “The Dark Wife.” I hope to have a few more surprises as well.
Blog Posts:
I also wanted to release more blog posts. I made a goal of one-hundred posts, and published about 130, including this one. My math might be a bit off. I think the primary reason I was able to meet this goal is the steady release of “The City: A story in 140 Characters,” which began at the end of September and is ongoing.
2014 has been a year of ups and downs, great triumphs and deep tragedies. I’m ending the year with a deep sense of personal gratitude to those who have believed in me and encouraged me throughout the year. I’d particularly like to thank my husband Jeremy for his constant support, and the occasional prod when I needed it. I want to thank everyone in Smoky Writers for welcoming me into the group, and encouraging my twisted sense of humor. I’d like to say thank you to Skinner Co and everybody in The Mob for all of their support and friendship, too. I am, and ever shall be, your bro. And thanks to you for reading.
Tomorrow is the first day of 2015. It’s almost time to make a whole new set of goals. But for now, the snow is white and fresh (where it’s falling) and the sun is setting on 2014. Tonight, pour a drink, think of the good that came out of this year, and toast auld lang sine.
The City: 068: Roger
December 31, 2014
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, CPD, Drabble, Roger, The City, Thom Leave a comment
The bomb ticked quietly and inevitably down to zero. The cops stood around, debating what to do, while their ‘demolitions expert,’ dithered in front of the device, like an unprepared child called to the front of the class. But the device, like life, was unlikely to grant an extension. Roger hadn’t been on the force very long. He joined the CPD after quitting conventional police work. He had been unwilling to adjust his ‘attitude problem.’ All that hippie bullshit. At thirty seconds, he made his move. He shoved Thom out of the way and grabbed the cutters. Blue, he decided.
The City: 067: Kimiko
December 30, 2014
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, CPD, Drabble, Govad, Kimiko, Midas Corp, The City Leave a comment
In the labyrinthine bowels of Midas Corp. Tower, Kimiko met the glares of a chorus of office drones, and concentrated on staying polite.
“As I said, there is a threat in the building, and we must ask for you to evacuate the premises in an orderly fashion.”
“What kind of threat,” Govad, that floor’s ranking manager demanded. “You’re the ones assaulting the building!” He thrust a finger in her face like a scolding parent. “If you’d done your jobs in the first place, the trains wouldn’t have been shut down, either!” She took a deep breath. Then she stunned him.
The City: 066: Thom
December 29, 2014
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, CPD, Drabble, Midas Corp, The City, Thom Leave a comment
Thom stared down at the desk in consternation. He was the chief bomb disposal technician for the CPD. Up until now, the job description had been a joke. Explosives, along with most other kinds of weapons, not only didn’t exist in The City, but supposedly couldn’t. But he was an expert in the code used to build and break down buildings in The City, so he was what they had.. He examined the clock face, the coils of multicolored wire, and the cartoonish red dynamite sticks they were attached to, and was sure that this was a different beast entirely.
Hugh J. O'Donnell 