Category Archives: Writing

Call To March

I had this idea for a short story. I started it about an hour before the Wednesday night game I play in. This is a first draft with minimal editing for the most grievous typos. I’m curious what you think of it.


The youth, slim of build and lean, not yet muscled from long marchings with pack and armor looked to the grizzled veteran. Young Jaran idolized the aged veteran, survivor of many battles, who bore a white scar over his sightless left eye.

Hurry lads, grab your packs and cinch them well before the call to march ends!

How far today, Goram? came the call in unison from the youthful members of the company.

Goram shook his head and spat. Blast you children barely weaned from your mothers’ tits! Didn’t they teach you anything before they sent you? The drummer beat five times before starting the call to march. The call to march tells us that the tune is the tune of 10,000 steps. We’ll here that tune played all through five times before we rest for the night, or make ready for a fight.

Jaran was amazed at the ease with which Goram had all the answers ready for a new soldiers first march to the field of battle.

Soon, Goram was checking the packs and how well they were packed and cinched to each soldier. Chiding a few for awkward or loose placement and sending them to the back of the column to quickly fix their packs and not be a hazard to their fellows marching behind them.

Jaran was well versed in packing and his only challenge had been to learn the best way for a soldier to order their packs. His father was a carter and taught him all the knots and ways to tighten them. He needed no knife to make efficient use of a long rope or cord. Goram was quick to notice this and set him to teaching the others. I’ve only seen sailors tie such knots til now, Goram had said to him. Jaran lived far from the sea, the only ships were those plying the rivers.

Goram was their leader, of this company, third of the four in their battalion, which was last of the 4 in their regiment, the fifth of the kingdom. Each regiment had a long and storied history.

Those of the fifth regiment wielded spears. Each bore two shorter spears for throwing, and one long heavy spear for their tight formations to bristle towards other units. They could also spread out and wield their heavy spears like long slicing knives with their long broad pointed blades. This was an old style of fighting that was mostly ceremonial in the movements. Modern war meant packing tight, and only Goram Oneeye had ever seen it used in battle when he was a new warrior like Jaran.

Goram had even marched to the tune of 100,000 steps to reach that battle. He didn’t speak of it, but others whispered it out of his hearing. Goram was the last survivor of the fifth regiment that day, half blinded by a long gash his face hanging from his skull. Faint from loss of blood and the exertion of survival. A cavalry charge had broken the unit, but they rallied with the ancient fighting style, spreading out to withstand the horse born warriors when they wheeled about. Many were out of step with their movements that day and the cavalry cut them down, but Goram and the 25 were well practiced and cut down many from their horses.

No one dared hum or whistle the popular tune, let alone sing “Goram and the 25” for fear of what Goram would do to them. It was said he bore the scalps of many fools who dared even think that tune lining his pouch to hide the sound of his coins. Jaran often imagined what Goram would do. It was a popular tune in many villages and taverns. It told the tale of Goram and 25 who stood with him who fought with all their might against the heavy horse of Zamrithel, the kingdom of which the people of Barnitok were once again at war.

It was only the endurance of Goram who slew 20 horse riders himself that broke the back of the pride of the enemy, the Red Riders all cloaked in flowing red cloaks and red plumed helms. Goram was raised up by the king’s bodyguard who had entered the desperate fray at a near run battle. Then the High Physician tended to Goram who pled for his fallen friends to be the first to receive care.

At least, that was the legend told by the songs and poetry of the minstrels, and repeated by those stumbling home from many taverns. Jaran wanted to ask the old veteran just how true the tales were, but he feared yet honored the memory of the fallen companions of Goram. At least some of it was true, he bore the scar over his left eye, and wore the golden chain that even knights would salute.

Goram just endured these interruptions to his day, “All in a days work for a faithful soldier of the king” he’d say in a tone somehow both mocking and reverential.

Most others in the company steered clear of Goram, afraid he might kill them with a look from his blind eye. It was said among soldiers in other companies that if he looked at you with only his left eye that he could see your soul and if it please him, he could pluck it from your body and you’d drop dead. The more superstitious believed this, or acted like they did. Jaran knew better. He’d heard too many such stories from his father and in the taverns when his father would pay for a meal when what mother packed ran out.

Jaran wanted to know Goram better, but wasn’t sure how to do it. All he knew was that if he paid attention and listened, Goram had much to teach him about war, life, and even love. Goram could spout oaths with the best of them, but could also speak like a poet. Mostly, he only had practical advice about properly tying one’s boots to avoid blisters and packing ones pack to avoid cramps. If one didn’t march with the gear packed just so, they’d end up dead if a fight was at the end of the march.

Goram’s voice brought him back to focus on the preparations for march. Shouting out orders and cursing the fools who still had problems with their packs, he got the company into two columns abreast. “Alright now, lads. The march of 10,000 steps begins … now!” as he stepped forth to begin the march.

“Only 5 cycles of the tune today. Keep sharp for enemy scouts and ambushes. We should be making camp once the fifth cycle is done, unless I’m greatly mistaken. Damn you, Cartlog! Why didn’t you make water before you put on your pack! Double time and get back in line!” He muttered just loud enough for Jaran and those nearby to hear, “I’m too old for this shit. Just one more battle the captain said…” But the self conversation trailed off as he barked orders at another fool who didn’t make water before the march started. You’d think they’d learn, Jaran mused.

Another Blog

As I have written in several recent blog posts, I had surgery for prostate cancer. To keep this blog’s focus on gaming, I started a new blog to share my story from diagnosis to prognosis. I hope to learn more and also help other men navigate prostate removal surgery from my experience.

If you’re a man, or otherwise interested in men’s health issues, check out my new blog: Men’s Health In My Perspective

I also have social media for the new blog, so you can follow on Twitter and Facebook.

I’m currently doing a brain dump of all the ideas for the new blog, so I may not have another new post here for awhile.

Leap of Faith

He glared with impunity as he leapt from the cliff, falling from his foes and denying them their vict’ry — making the most obscene gesture in his culture, scratching his elbow.

It was debated among so called scholars whether it mattered which elbow. Some claimed the left was the rude gesture, others the right, and a few said it just didn’t matter. Visitors in this area were castigated if they were ever caught scratching their elbow in public. The appropriate method to avoid offense would be anything but using one’s fingers. Vigorous rubbing with the palm of one’s hand, a tree, or nearby building could be used — and no one complained. And no one had any clue why it was considered rude or when it started. All they could agree on was that it was the worst insult you can give someone.

His foes looked on, first amazed, then insulted as he clearly and distinctly scratched first his left elbow and then his right. Then he crossed his arms and scratched both elbows.

It was at that moment that the seam of his satchel, weakened by a recent glancing blow gave way. Suddenly all the coins he had so recently liberated fell away as he so sadly realized what had happened.

His escape plan was going perfectly til just now.

NOTE: I woke up with the phrase, “He glared with impunity as he leapt from the cliff.” Then the idea of a rude gesture and scratching one’s elbow. I don’t know what I was dreaming about, but it was too good of an opening to not quickly dictate it into Evernote.

Dirk Derringer And The Hartufan Plot

+Matt Jackson [G+ page deleted before archived] has quite the writing talent and is generating a Science Fiction pulp serial, with an obvious White Star influence. He is publishing it both on his blog and a site called Wattpad.

I am honored that my encouragement to write more has helped him to come up with more ideas.

My recommendation is to go read this serial!

He can write and make cool maps!

One Page Dungeon Contest – 2015

Last year about this time, I wrote about the 2014 One Page Dungeon Contest, and thought about an entry, but none of my ideas would gel.

I am thinking about the 2015 OPDC with just over two months until the deadline. It is a single page, what’s the big deal, right?

Well a single page requires the most bang for the buck so to speak. One needs a density of information without a density of facts. A hook that evokes ideas, and a map that gives what words cannot. I have a small degree of artistic talent, but it is not a honed or practiced talent, so my efforts are hit and miss.

A one page dungeon also screams for brevity with a conciseness that cuts to the point immediately. As is evident from many of my blog posts, I am skilled at the WALL OF TEXT. It takes effort for me to distill things to the bare essentials.

I could make a submission that is merely an entry, but I want to make a memorable entry that is a contender. Heck, who am I kidding? I want to win!

So I know I need an idea that is just novel enough and easy to convey/explain in a single page. I have some faint wisps of ideas that if I can bring them to fruition and execute them as well as I imagine them, then I have a shot.

Between now and then are my goals of the 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge and a daily article on this blog between now and April 1st, and other game activities. Plus the Tenkar’s Landing Crowdsourced Sandbox Setting is now ramping up to work on the actual town of Tenkar’s Landing. I need to do my part with an idea or two.

Again Alliterative Acronyms

Adventurous Adventurers Adventuring

Belated Blathering Blogger

Caverns of Cavernous Creepy Canyons

Devious Devils Defenestrate

Eerie Echoes Enervate

Fiery Fiends Flatulate

Grumpy Giants Girate

Hairy Hermits Harass Haughty Heroes

Island of Irate Isolated Islanders

Here’s one I found mixed in my DM notes ( I don’t have any notes indicating if there was supposed to be more.):

Livid lizards licking livers

While wild wombats wobble

And arthritic antelope anticipate.

NaNoWriMo 2014 Winner!

50,123 words for NaNoWriMo.

I have made the goal of writing 50,000 words in November. Now I just need to wrap this thing up.

50,000 words is not as difficult to achieve as it sounds. Getting to the point that there is an interesting story that others will want to read and enjoy it, that is the trick.

Now to get this story moving to a conclusion….

I hope to have a complete first draft by the end of the month.

#NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo 2014 Update

I tried NaNoWriMo in 2010 and didn’t get past the second day, I did 3,133 word. Things came up that soon derailed my efforts.

My novel idea is one I have had since college, just a few years ago (ahem!), and ideas and things keep coming to mind. I would see articles online, and email them to myself to add to my Novel label in Gmail.

I did figure out how to make the story “work” in 2010 with a central theme it all hangs on. This year, I am picking up the torch and trying to finish this thing. It’s a fantasy/science fiction story.

I am ahead and can’t believe I’ve passed 22,000 words of new stuff, and I didn’t write for a couple days. I have another commitment on Wednesdays – the weekly G+/Roll20 game I play in, so I have at least one day off from writing each week. I write a chapter at a time. I just figure out what the goal/idea is for the chapter and start writing, but picking up where the last chapter left off. I am amazed at the way the ideas are coming together. Most of it is like a detailed outline with more action and little dialogue. I am disciplining myself and not correcting every little error as I type. I only correct words that I need to be right to make sense when I come back to it. I make a tentative chapter title to describe the goal/theme to write for the next chapter. I just start writing and it comes out. It may not be any good, but it mostly makes sense. It is definitely better than the junk I tried to write in the dark ages back in high school.

I plan to write until I finish the last chapter. I figure there are 4 or 5 chapters for the end/resolution/conclusion, but I have a lot of middle to do. I didn’t do a formal outline, I just know where I want to go with it and how it ends. December and January are my busiest time of year at work, so I will let it sit and work on the second draft sometime after January. Famous last words.

What’s funny is that I haven’t picked the name of the hero, so I just write Hero. I figure I can do a search and replace when I settle on a name.

I think that it has helped that I have more than one blog and for this one I have an article almost every day, often writing multiple articles in a single sitting and then scheduling their publication into the future. I did the April 2014 A to Z challenge for two blogs, one for genealogy and this one. I figured out my topic for each day and had most of them done before the end of the first week. Normally, I have a terrible time coming up with topics. But as I get into this blogging thing and striving for an article a day, it seems that all writing is easier.

I use the programmable text editor NoteTab. I set up an outline document with my notes and miscellaneous ideas and one topic per day. If I write more than one chapter, and keep going, I make a new topic for the same day, but do A,B, etc. I then copy and paste each day’s writing into a single document and use the built-in word count feature.

[EDIT 11/10/2014] I wrote this post a few days ago and scheduled it to post today. I am now over 30,000 words. It is pretty clear that I will exceed 50,000 words in writing this book, at least for a first draft. Amazing!

Biographical Outline

One of my many interests is genealogy. I find it interesting to see when and where my ancestors were in relation to history, another interest – I have a BA in History.

There are many free genealogy programs that make it easy to generate a family tree for printing. If you are interested in a family tree for the rulers of a kingdom, or how a tight-nit extended family in a village tie together, or a major NPCs family, or even for players to chart their characters and how they might be related.

One thing I just saw posted on FB was about a Biographical Outline. There is both a PDF for printing, and a Doc file for editing.

It may not be something you use as a GM for more than a few NPCs, but as a player, it might be helpful to chart the events and places your character was involved in.

Such tools can also be helpful if you want to write a novel with a lot of characters that are related, or a historical novel, or a nonfiction biography.

 

NaGaDeMon – 2014

On Wednesday, I wrote about my considering whether or not to sign up for NaNoWriMo 2014. I had mentioned that I had seen things online about similar ideas for designing games. Well, I ran across an article at The Savage Afterworld that discusses NaGaDeMon – National Game Design Month, also the month of November.

While I don’t have a game idea, I thought I’d mention it here, in case anyone else has the inspiration for a game idea and just needs a little push to get started.

I would recommend that anyone contemplating a Kickstarter for a game, use NaGaDeMon as an opportunity to either develop your idea, or to polish your game, so that you have something that you can be proud of and people who support such a Kickstarter will be glad they did so.

I will be signing up for NaNoWriMo 2014 and will be cranking out my first draft of a novel. Just writing about it on Wednesday caused some ideas to bubble up, so I have some things that have solidified in my idea of the story. Not specific dialog, but plot points, or turning points in my story that have to be hist along the way for it to work. I have also identified points that are critical for the success of the story. Some resolution of points that are required to bring it to a successful closure.

For me, a successful closure for a short story, novella, novel, or series of books is where the how and whys are answered sufficiently to leave the reader satisfied, yet still wanting more. How many of us have read a book and when we get to the end are left scratching our head trying to figure out what happened. Some books are this way intentionally, and a well crafted one, you can tell. But if you have ever read a story where the author just couldn’t wrap it up and make it make sense, you know what I mean.

In my story idea, I know how I want it to end, but there is a big hole of how to make it make sense with the rest of the story. This is one of those things that as I write, it will gel and it should not be a problem to make it work. However, if I can’t make the why does this need to happen in the story work, I will have to change how I envision the story ending. If I can pull off the ending I envision, it could lead to a second story/book. That is not my goal, but is an idea that has occurred to me.

I also have tons of other ideas coming to me about my hex in the Tenkar’s Landing Crowdsourced Sandbox Setting. I will have to add those ideas as either drafts or full-fledged ideas to my blog, since some are worthy of an article others may find useful.

I am glad that the ideas are flowing, but it would be nice if they would get in line so I could get them all down before they fade into the ether….