I clicked the New Blog button and was presented with a screen for creating another blog. It wasn't what I expected. I wonder how many people need multiple blogs or have time to write for each of them. But anyway.
So far, this has been a hard year in a lot of ways, but I'm making progress. I'm 105.75% of the way through the rough draft of the current book. I went a little over the word count, but that's okay. It gives me flexibility in what to trim down. The rough draft is finished. Yay! This book is one I mentioned before that was a bit of a break from Messengers. It's a mystery/romance or a romantic mystery. It's set in a small, fictional town in South Carolina far from the beach but near a lake. There's a murder, but it's not really a whodunit type of murder mystery. It's a Christian inspirational cozy sort of thing, although I really need to look up the exact definition of what constitutes a Christian cozy book before I try to call it that.
I'd have been done sooner, but I had to do a lot of research into police procedures. That took longer than I thought and kind of dragged on. The vast majority of it never made it into the book. Actually, it's almost invisible in the sense that the actions of the police take place mostly off stage. I needed to know how the police interact with suspects and how they investigate and such in order to make the detective and the police department believable instead of ridiculous. That reminds me. Did you know the police department and sheriff's office are different entities and have different jobs? I didn't! That's what I get for never having pursued a life of crime. I've never been arrested, so I had a lot to learn about how a jail works and all that. The result of the research is that the police in the book do their jobs, but I don't explain why they do certain things.
The next step is to go over the rough draft and proofread and edit and knock it into shape. I'm not sure how long that will take, hopefully a week or two if I don't find any massive structural flaws. I did a certain amount of editing and proofreading along the way. After that I want to put it away for a month and let it grow stale so I can see it with "fresh" eyes and find all the hideously embarrassing things I missed during the first edit. However, there's some good news. Somebody on a writers forum I occasionally visit posted a link to a cheap, professional editor. I'm not rich, but I think I'll be able to try them out with this book. I'm excited about that. Part of my research aside from the police stuff was to read some books on the market today and get a general feel for what's out there. Too much of it needed more editing. It wasn't that the writing was bad. It was a polish thing. Some of it needed some major work, but there's one guy in particular who does a good job but needs that last little bit of polish to push him over the top. He's not the only one, of course, but he stood out because his stuff is good enough that I read more than one of his books. I don't want to put something out there that's "almost good enough" but falls short on silly little things.
I know I don't blog a lot. I try to wait until I have something to say instead of just slapping something up. Now that things are going faster, I should have more to say. Like what will I be doing in that month I'm letting this book rest? Working on the next one, but that'll have to wait for another day.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Catching Up 2
I did a little house cleaning and deleted some old posts that aren't relevant any more. Mostly it was announcements for free book giveaways.
Amazon doesn't auto-update books any more. I thought that once I made changes to a book it would be pushed to everyone who already purchased it in the past. I used to get book updates for other people's books. I guess it costs Amazon too much to do it. I may be able to get them to do it for me anyway. They will update my own copy of my own book on my own Kindle, but I have to request it. Once I'm ready, I'm going to ask about pushing the new versions for everyone who already has a book.
In the last blog I said that any corrections to Chronicles 2, 3 and 4 "should" be up by this week. Going through 1 took longer than I thought, and it seems everything is getting in the way. The revised edition is now live. I think 2 will go up this week, but 3 and 4 won't. I've found one text mistake and a couple of minor spacing mistakes so far. It would go faster, but I've done some polishing along the way. It's hard not to. :)
Amazon doesn't auto-update books any more. I thought that once I made changes to a book it would be pushed to everyone who already purchased it in the past. I used to get book updates for other people's books. I guess it costs Amazon too much to do it. I may be able to get them to do it for me anyway. They will update my own copy of my own book on my own Kindle, but I have to request it. Once I'm ready, I'm going to ask about pushing the new versions for everyone who already has a book.
In the last blog I said that any corrections to Chronicles 2, 3 and 4 "should" be up by this week. Going through 1 took longer than I thought, and it seems everything is getting in the way. The revised edition is now live. I think 2 will go up this week, but 3 and 4 won't. I've found one text mistake and a couple of minor spacing mistakes so far. It would go faster, but I've done some polishing along the way. It's hard not to. :)
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Catching Up
Long time no blog. I see the last one was in Sept 2012. My dad had massive open heart surgery in Oct 2012. I helped take care of him. He recovered from it but passed away in Sept 2013 from euthanasia. There's a long story behind that. When he got to the hospital, all his test results were normal except for his CO2 count. The hospital didn't want to treat him, but they eventually did and and released him. He picked up a staph infection while there and had to go right back in. They didn't treat him that time. They used a legal maneuver to take away his food, keep him awake for long periods of time and pump him with steroids to kill him. Long story short: the death panels are already here. Think I'm paranoid? The hospital never billed for any of it. They took what insurance paid and never sent a bill for the rest. Enough of that for now. It's too depressing to go into.
Early in 2013 Linda A. that I dedicated the series to also passed away. The A stands for Alkire. She wanted to be anonymous, but she deserves a lot of credit that I can give her now. Besides my dad's surgery, 2012 was a very hard year on its own, and with the losses so was 2013.
What's going on now with the books? I just uploaded re-edited versions of Chronicles 2, 3 and 4. The revised Chronicle 1 should go up in a few days or maybe next week after I check the changes in it to make sure no new errors crept in. I need to go through the new live versions of 2, 3 and 4 and make sure they are as they should be. I have to check those before uploading 1 because it will cause an update on anyone's Kindle who has it, and a lot of people downloaded 1 for free. I want things to be right in case the people who didn't read it start reading and move on to the rest of the series.
There are no major changes. The original plan was to fix some "errors" where a couple of characters did or said things that didn't properly reflect the Way. I put them in to show that they weren't perfect and were still learning and growing. But I was never comfortable with it and finally said enough was enough. Since I haven't worked on the books in a while I was able to see all kinds of embarrassing things that needed polishing. It turned into a re-edit. Most of the changes are polishing type things like changing awkward verb tenses and smoothing things out for better readability. For instance, I dropped "he said" at the end of sentences that didn't need them or turned "Ceinwen said" into "she said" where it made more sense and was more readable. I deleted a sentence here and there and fixed some trivial continuity errors. Overall the books are more professional and read more smoothly.
The story is the same. Changing anything would take virtually forever. There are too many details for that. However, at some point I'd like to hire a professional editor.
What's next? I'm still at about the halfway point on the space novel rough draft. I think I've blogged about it. It's set in the future of the current series in the time of Calan Sterrit. I also am about halfway through the rough draft for an inspirational romance set in the present day. To pen name or not to pen name? That is the question. :) I was working on that as a break from Messengers and making extremely good progress until my dad had the CO2 problem. I'm going to try to work on the space novel and the romance at the same time. Finish the rough draft of one then switch and finish the other. Go back to the first one for an editing pass then do a pass on the other. I think it'll help keep my eyes fresh for things that need fixing. If nothing else terrible happens, I should get them both out the door this year. Unless I get an agent for the romance. I'm thinking about that. Maybe for both of them. I believe I'm at the point in my writing where it would make sense. We'll see.
What about the MMO? Back burner. Hero Engine changed the fee structure so I couldn't bring people on the project without paying even more money.With that and everything else there's just not enough time right now. However, the license is still active, and more success with the books should get things on track.
Early in 2013 Linda A. that I dedicated the series to also passed away. The A stands for Alkire. She wanted to be anonymous, but she deserves a lot of credit that I can give her now. Besides my dad's surgery, 2012 was a very hard year on its own, and with the losses so was 2013.
What's going on now with the books? I just uploaded re-edited versions of Chronicles 2, 3 and 4. The revised Chronicle 1 should go up in a few days or maybe next week after I check the changes in it to make sure no new errors crept in. I need to go through the new live versions of 2, 3 and 4 and make sure they are as they should be. I have to check those before uploading 1 because it will cause an update on anyone's Kindle who has it, and a lot of people downloaded 1 for free. I want things to be right in case the people who didn't read it start reading and move on to the rest of the series.
There are no major changes. The original plan was to fix some "errors" where a couple of characters did or said things that didn't properly reflect the Way. I put them in to show that they weren't perfect and were still learning and growing. But I was never comfortable with it and finally said enough was enough. Since I haven't worked on the books in a while I was able to see all kinds of embarrassing things that needed polishing. It turned into a re-edit. Most of the changes are polishing type things like changing awkward verb tenses and smoothing things out for better readability. For instance, I dropped "he said" at the end of sentences that didn't need them or turned "Ceinwen said" into "she said" where it made more sense and was more readable. I deleted a sentence here and there and fixed some trivial continuity errors. Overall the books are more professional and read more smoothly.
The story is the same. Changing anything would take virtually forever. There are too many details for that. However, at some point I'd like to hire a professional editor.
What's next? I'm still at about the halfway point on the space novel rough draft. I think I've blogged about it. It's set in the future of the current series in the time of Calan Sterrit. I also am about halfway through the rough draft for an inspirational romance set in the present day. To pen name or not to pen name? That is the question. :) I was working on that as a break from Messengers and making extremely good progress until my dad had the CO2 problem. I'm going to try to work on the space novel and the romance at the same time. Finish the rough draft of one then switch and finish the other. Go back to the first one for an editing pass then do a pass on the other. I think it'll help keep my eyes fresh for things that need fixing. If nothing else terrible happens, I should get them both out the door this year. Unless I get an agent for the romance. I'm thinking about that. Maybe for both of them. I believe I'm at the point in my writing where it would make sense. We'll see.
What about the MMO? Back burner. Hero Engine changed the fee structure so I couldn't bring people on the project without paying even more money.With that and everything else there's just not enough time right now. However, the license is still active, and more success with the books should get things on track.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Trailers, August Report
In the last blog I forgot to mention that the other thing the Hero Engine lets me do is create trailers for the books to put on YouTube. That's another use for the models I was talking about.
Here's the report for the end of August and the first full month of MMO development. I had two or three days at the end of July that are included.
Anyway, on to September goals.
The Skills window works but is still buggy when called with the Ctrl S shortcut. It needs fixing. I've been messing with it for days.
I need to add more skills and rename at least two, which means updating the Skills window.
I need to work on the experience system for the skills.
I need to get harvesting working.
I need to get a crafting station working.
Harvesting, skills and crafting are all interrelated. This is a lot to do and a lot to learn. I may not get it done in a month.
http://www.messengersofyesh.com/
Here's the report for the end of August and the first full month of MMO development. I had two or three days at the end of July that are included.
- Implemented a simple /logout command.
- At login a Game News browser shows the latest development progress.
- Converted evaluation files into development files.
- Implemented a simple minimap.
- Remapped autorun to NumLock for all users. :)
- Began preliminary work on a skill system.
- Created a window that displays a character's skills(currently 10).
- Worked on world building a small game area that will eventually be the newbie zone(demo area).
Anyway, on to September goals.
The Skills window works but is still buggy when called with the Ctrl S shortcut. It needs fixing. I've been messing with it for days.
I need to add more skills and rename at least two, which means updating the Skills window.
I need to work on the experience system for the skills.
I need to get harvesting working.
I need to get a crafting station working.
Harvesting, skills and crafting are all interrelated. This is a lot to do and a lot to learn. I may not get it done in a month.
http://www.messengersofyesh.com/
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Hero Engine
At the end of July I purchased a Hero Engine license: http://www.heroengine.com/. The Hero Engine is arguably the best video game engine on the market for making online games. Does that mean there's a Messengers game coming? I'll get to that in a minute. :)
The first thing this lets me do is create real book covers that the series badly needs. Part of that will involve bringing certain locations in the books to life. The cover art is already conceptualized and includes Wolfing Woods, the Holy Temple in Selah and the Hall of Light in the Royal Palace in Selah. To make the covers I'll need to create landscapes and models of things like buildings, horses and characters. It's possible I could buy certain models such as character models. The 3D game models I've looked at haven't been too expensive, but they're not Hero models. Buildings should be fairly easy but not too easy to do myself. The Hero people just announced an asset store that's coming soon that will offer Hero models for sale. I'll have to wait and see what the pricing is like.
Will there be a Messengers game? It would require some funding. Based on salary figures available online, I'm estimating it would take a minimum of $720k for 2 years of development with a small, full-time team of programmers and artists. Ideally, it would take more like $2mil over one and a half years. This would be for an MMORPG.
In the Meantime
Everything I build for the covers should work as game assets and will be created with that in mind. All the learning I have to do to make the covers will be things I would need to know to be able to help with game development. For the past three weeks I've been trying to get up to speed on how the Hero engine works. Tonight I finished converting evaluation game files into Messengers game files. I now have a programming environment where I can begin to do real things.
This is all going to be a bit of a process. I can make landscapes but not trees yet because the tree creator that Hero provides is being updated and won't be available until at least next month. I can't import models into the game world yet because the Hero engine only works with 3DS Max or Maya both of which cost $3,495. Blender support is coming, but there's no firm date. I'm guessing at least Q1 2013 and probably farther out. But that's okay. It takes at least 6 months to learn Heroscript, the programming language the Hero engine uses, and several months to learn Blender.
I have a small programming background, so I won't be starting from scratch. Unfortunately, it's procedural programming while I would need to do object-oriented things, so in some ways it is starting from scratch. However, I'm on the way. Converting the files required object-oriented concepts I had to learn.
Demo
I'm going to learn Heroscript by programming some game systems while I wait for Blender support or some extra cash for 3DS Max. By the time I get the covers done, I should be well on the way to having a bare-bones, playable demo that could be used to attract funding, if needed.
MMO
When would a Messengers MMORPG be set?
About 200-300 years in the future of the current series during a time of war and uncertainty.
What features would it have? Player housing, player cities, player crafting, a flexible, skill-based(or hybrid) profession system, instant travel, questing, pets and more. It would be a sandbox game with a theme-park quest track also.
http://www.messengersofyesh.com/
The first thing this lets me do is create real book covers that the series badly needs. Part of that will involve bringing certain locations in the books to life. The cover art is already conceptualized and includes Wolfing Woods, the Holy Temple in Selah and the Hall of Light in the Royal Palace in Selah. To make the covers I'll need to create landscapes and models of things like buildings, horses and characters. It's possible I could buy certain models such as character models. The 3D game models I've looked at haven't been too expensive, but they're not Hero models. Buildings should be fairly easy but not too easy to do myself. The Hero people just announced an asset store that's coming soon that will offer Hero models for sale. I'll have to wait and see what the pricing is like.
Will there be a Messengers game? It would require some funding. Based on salary figures available online, I'm estimating it would take a minimum of $720k for 2 years of development with a small, full-time team of programmers and artists. Ideally, it would take more like $2mil over one and a half years. This would be for an MMORPG.
In the Meantime
Everything I build for the covers should work as game assets and will be created with that in mind. All the learning I have to do to make the covers will be things I would need to know to be able to help with game development. For the past three weeks I've been trying to get up to speed on how the Hero engine works. Tonight I finished converting evaluation game files into Messengers game files. I now have a programming environment where I can begin to do real things.
This is all going to be a bit of a process. I can make landscapes but not trees yet because the tree creator that Hero provides is being updated and won't be available until at least next month. I can't import models into the game world yet because the Hero engine only works with 3DS Max or Maya both of which cost $3,495. Blender support is coming, but there's no firm date. I'm guessing at least Q1 2013 and probably farther out. But that's okay. It takes at least 6 months to learn Heroscript, the programming language the Hero engine uses, and several months to learn Blender.
I have a small programming background, so I won't be starting from scratch. Unfortunately, it's procedural programming while I would need to do object-oriented things, so in some ways it is starting from scratch. However, I'm on the way. Converting the files required object-oriented concepts I had to learn.
Demo
I'm going to learn Heroscript by programming some game systems while I wait for Blender support or some extra cash for 3DS Max. By the time I get the covers done, I should be well on the way to having a bare-bones, playable demo that could be used to attract funding, if needed.
MMO
When would a Messengers MMORPG be set?
About 200-300 years in the future of the current series during a time of war and uncertainty.
What features would it have? Player housing, player cities, player crafting, a flexible, skill-based(or hybrid) profession system, instant travel, questing, pets and more. It would be a sandbox game with a theme-park quest track also.
http://www.messengersofyesh.com/
Friday, May 18, 2012
Victory Over the Squirrels
I think I've become victorious over the squirrels. I have two bird feeders. One is on a pole. The other hangs from a tree limb. I need to move the one on the limb. Nothing I've tried keeps the squirrels out of it. I put very little food in it, just enough to keep the birds interested.
The one on the pole finally seems to be okay. After months of trying different things, I attached a slinky to the pole at the bottom of the feeder. Now, when they try to climb it, they have to grab the slinky and end up riding it all the way down to the ground in defeat. Muahahaha! It's been a few weeks, and the food doesn't run out any more.
http://www.messengersofyesh.com/
The one on the pole finally seems to be okay. After months of trying different things, I attached a slinky to the pole at the bottom of the feeder. Now, when they try to climb it, they have to grab the slinky and end up riding it all the way down to the ground in defeat. Muahahaha! It's been a few weeks, and the food doesn't run out any more.
http://www.messengersofyesh.com/
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Scary Phone Call
The other day I had gotten out of the shower and was drying off when my cell phone rang. Being still partly wet, I couldn't get to it. I wasn't worried since I would be calling the person back within minutes. I finished drying off, got dressed and checked to see who it was. It was from my land line. But I was home alone...
I've seen that movie! I can't remember the name of it. It was black and white. This woman was home alone and kept getting these scary calls. It went on for a long time then the phone company, I think, told her the call was coming from inside her house.
When I saw the call had come from inside my house when I was supposed to be alone, I tried not to freak. But I remembered that movie that I saw something like 30 years ago. I sneaked out the side door and checked the driveway. Through some bushes I could make out the front of a truck but couldn't tell if anyone was in it. I went back inside and called somebody to let them know what was happening. Then I went out the front door.
A couple of days before that I had had a problem with the phone and called the phone company. The call from the land line was from a guy out checking the phone line. He had hooked into the box outside and called from there making it look like it was from inside. Phew! Of course, I didn't tell him about that movie. I never mentioned how weird his call was. I pretended like everything was cool. :)
http://www.messengersofyesh.com/
I've seen that movie! I can't remember the name of it. It was black and white. This woman was home alone and kept getting these scary calls. It went on for a long time then the phone company, I think, told her the call was coming from inside her house.
When I saw the call had come from inside my house when I was supposed to be alone, I tried not to freak. But I remembered that movie that I saw something like 30 years ago. I sneaked out the side door and checked the driveway. Through some bushes I could make out the front of a truck but couldn't tell if anyone was in it. I went back inside and called somebody to let them know what was happening. Then I went out the front door.
A couple of days before that I had had a problem with the phone and called the phone company. The call from the land line was from a guy out checking the phone line. He had hooked into the box outside and called from there making it look like it was from inside. Phew! Of course, I didn't tell him about that movie. I never mentioned how weird his call was. I pretended like everything was cool. :)
http://www.messengersofyesh.com/
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