Pen, Paper and Sunglasses

Mkay so... Blognovel and other announcements

2011-10-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

As you.. two.. (yes, I see you, my only two followers <3) may already know, it's November and that means.... *drumroll*.. NANOWRIMO!
That's right, kiddos, National Novel Writing Month has reared its crazy head and it's sucked me in once again. What this means is that I'm skipping Blognovel (like you hadn't noticed already.. amiryte? :D) and focusing on writing my wrimo novel.

It's not a new book, it's the continuation of the second book in the Morning Star Chronicles. I can't remember if I've said this before but I decided to revamp a big part of the story in order to set up the ending that I want. I also just wanted to try and write a bigger novel rather than just a standard 250-ish page one like the last one.

Anehwhoz, wish this writer luck on his quest during Insanity-month and hopefully I'll have another book ready for editing by the end of November.

As incentive, I'm going to give you both (cause I just have you two.... :D) a free copy of the unedited version IF I complete the challenge (50k words in 30 days).

So.... yeah... *drinks caffeine*... I'm gonna go bang my head against the desk in hopes of alleviating this headache and then I'll just write a couple hundred words more before bed.

GOODNIGHT YOUNGLINGS, may the ink be with you. <3

Nyarrr, skipping blogposts!

2011-09-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

Yargh, maties! I know I haven't been posting the past week, but I was... well... I can't remember, actually.
I know I missed the writing of the next chapter of Ze Blognovel (pronounce that with a French accent) because I had to finish a project for school on Saturday because my awesome friend had an awesome 21st birthday on Sunday, so you'll have to excuse me and make due with a double chapter this weekend.

I'm still under the impression that I don't have much of an audience (you don't say.. 8D) but whatever! For the audience that I DO have, I shall continue to write!
So.. sorry for the skipping of last week, but look forward to the epic double-chapter of Jack of Diamonds this weekend.

Gabe out. :3

As promised, BLOGNOVEL DAY!

2011-09-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've decided that, instead of writing one big story, I'm going to write five smaller ones, which will combine to form one complete novel. I'll start off with four stories happening at the same time from four different perspectives (four people) and in the fifth the story lines converge and the four characters also meet. I'll only post the prologue today and I'll aim to make each chapter about 2000-3000 words long (which is about 4 to 6 A4 pages in word).
Synopsis of complete novel:
In a world overrun with unearthly beings, ruled by men and women who wield the power of ages, four seemingly unrelated people in four different countries are each sentenced to a fate more cruel than death. After having committed unforgivable crimes, they are cast aside by their royalty, their friends, their family and their entire country. To overcome their fate, they must combine their knowledge and talent and escape from a place more savage than even the depths of hell. But to do so, they must first make amends for their unforgivable crimes. However, in a world where power determines the fate of the individual, redemption can be harder to find than one might expect.

Jack of Diamonds

Prologue

Never before had he trembled as much as he was trembling now, on his knees in front of the king’s throne. His forehead touched the cold, gray stone of the floor and he had his eyes fixed on the grainy texture of it. He knew the carpets of the throne room were always replaced or removed on the day of the hearings. He almost feared to even draw breath as he awaited the verdict that would determine his life.

In the kingdom of the Dragonscale King, men, women and children alike had been put to death for no more than speaking their minds in the wrong place at the wrong time. He knew that a lowlife killer’s chances would not be in his favor.

He subdued the urge to glance up when he heard a hushed murmur start within the crowd that had come to either watch the hearings of the day or to make a plea of some kind. Their voices did nothing but add fuel to the fire of panic that already raged through him and it was becoming more and more difficult to refrain from leaping to his feet and making a run for it.

He knew better. They would slay him before he had run even five yards. He knew there were archers watching down on the hearing from the upper balconies and he knew that, since the king was personally attending the hearings, there would be dozens of guards both in the throne room and throughout the castle, not to mention the surrounding villages and roads. He doubted a bee could sting Dragonscale and make it out of the room alive.

When the murmur died down and an eerie, breath-taking moment of silence followed, he again felt the near-irresistible urge to run for his life. He forced his body to stay bowed to the floor and tried to focus his mind on what was going on.

“You, named Rowan, son of Gavin Maylander, have been accused of the murder of Sir Elwood Longend.”

The accusation weighed heavy on Rowan’s shoulders because he knew it was true. The hearing was no more than a formality and in actuality he was only waiting to hear his sentence. He flinched when the king started talking again.

“How do you plead?”

Rowan swallowed, hoping to force back the lump in his throat far enough to produce understandable talk. Like the rest of his body, his voice trembled with every beat of his heart.

“I plead guilty, my lord.”

Murmur arose among the crowd, louder than before. The onlookers were astounded. No person had ever dared plead guilty to any crime, regardless of the severity. To admit to crime was to invite the executioner to your doorstep for afternoon tea.

The three thuds of the king’s staff meeting the stone of the floor silenced the room in instants. Rowan didn’t need to look up to know that everyone was fixated on the king’s words now. He knew that in the past decade, only one person who had pleaded guilty to a crime had been spared the sharp, or blunt if you were unlucky, edge of the executioner’s axe.

“Before the eyes of all witnesses present, let it be known that this man has pleaded guilty to his crime of murder and has been judged to be so.”

No murmur arose this time and Rowan, feeling the hopelessness of his situation, glanced up at the king. He was met with a gaze as cold as the ice of Frosthorn.

“Rowan Maylander, you are hereby sentenced to ten winters in the dungeons of Unwyvern Castle, where after, on the first day of Fall Solstice, you shall be executed at first light.”

Rowan’s eyes widened when the first part of his sentence reached his ears. He had expected a quick death at the hands of an executioner, but to be sentenced to the dungeons of Unwyvern was less preferred than a one-way trip to the underworld. It was the most cruel and vicious place in all the lands of Redfire.

He started to rise, opening his mouth and sucking air into his lungs to voice his protest, but his actions were cut short when a soldier’s iron-clad fist slammed into the back of his neck, sending him into near-unconsciousness.

He could feel the cold, gray stone of the floor grinding against his shins as the guards dragged him away and his wrists touched the cold steel of the fetters they were being trapped in.

Half dazed but fully aware of the malice that awaited him; Rowan Maylander felt the immediate and utterly irrevocable need to escape his fate or die trying.

Time for some updates on book 2 of the Morning Star Chronicles

2011-09-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't said this before, but I'm editing the second novel in the series I'm writing.
It was a bit short before and I felt the need to explain a few things in a bit more detail. I'm also re-writing a few scenes because of a change in plan for the final part of the series.
Right now it's at a bit over 50,000 words and I hope to get it up to at least 80,000 but the real goal is 100k.
I'm going to fuse part of the original plot idea of the third novel with the second novel and then create a different ending for the series than I'd originally planned.
I think this will work out quite nicely. Wish me luck! :3.

PS: Tomorrow or Sunday is.. *drumroll* BLOGNOVEL DAY! I'm open to suggestions about the genre, so feel free to speak your mind. :)

Nyargh! I'm getting too old for this.

2011-09-06T15:49:00.000-07:00

Hello.. you! Whoever you are, thank you for visiting me blog. :p
I've decided to let the customization happen when it happens, rather than break my skull trying to figure out how it all fits together. I realize I'm not exactly old enough to be considered a tech noob, but my head is so full of other stuff right now, there's just no room for blog customization. So you'll have to make due with this plain layout for now.

Alright, so, where to start? As you probably don't know, I've written a novel before which is currently titled: 'Chronicles of the Morning Star: Lightbringer' and in short, it's about a young man named David Galan who seems to suffer feel superior to the rest of the world, until he meets a certain girl who changes his view on ordinary life and everything beyond it. He discovers his heritage and his destiny, and through suffering and growth finds the courage within him to shoulder a burden too heavy for any man to carry.

...I've kind of spoiled a little bit of the second book with that last line, but it's really easy to figure that part out anyway, so it's not really that bad.
I finally started extending the first draft of the second book in the Morning Star series, though I'd slept extremely poorly, so fatigue eventually got the upper hand.
I'll keep you guys posted on how things go and starting this Saturday I'll begin what I'd like to call my 'Saturday Blognovel", which means that every Saturday I'll sit down for a while and write a chapter from a random story that I'll just be making up as I go. The date is subject to change because my mom usually stops by on Saturday to visit and I can't do much writing in peace with my little brother hanging around me, so I could move it to Sunday instead. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you tomorrow with a new update. ;)
~Gabe

Confusion!

2011-09-03T16:20:00.001-07:00

I've never started a blog before, at least I don't remember starting one (harhar), so bear with me while I sort out how to customize everything.