Hello you lot!

I’m still in the process of trying to scrape together some more novel writing advice for this week, but I’m a bit behind – I’ll release something tomorrow morning, if I can. I’m going down the route of character design again here; beyond just protagonists. Remember, I have a character-questionnaire resource available on my “Protagonist motivation” post that you can use; if you’d like me to repost it, let me know!

Now, I haven’t posted a lot of my own writing yet on this blog, aside from that novel Taster a while back. That isn’t to say I haven’t been writing – I have recently finished an online writing course over august in preparation for University, which begins again late september; three weeks tomorrow, to be exact. Now, I might be able to share with you some of the short stories I wrote over the bootcamp if you’d like. I’ve also been working away at my novel – I’m now about 10,500 words in. I’ can’t share anymore of that quite yet since I’ll be happy to share another later teaser once I get the ball of conflict rolling – that’ll probably be the last I share for a while to avoid spoiling my narrative. However, do not despair – over university, to stay “”fit””, I have decided to make a short story every week for this blog! Some of it may be related to “Sophont Memories”, others to quite unusual stuff, but it’ll all be in the name of productivity and accountability.

I will also be beginning to long promised “Book reviews” coming university too – strictly not university materials, of course! I’m sorry I’ve put that off for nearly three months, even if it’s been a bit of a rocky start. Remember, you have the right to call me out if I’m not acting on anything – remember how important I said criticism was for writers! Don’t be afraid; I can’t bite you through the screen and I’m not the type to remorselessly cyberbully people over something as petty as writing criticism! I want to get to know what the people who follow my quaint little blog think of what I write, even if it’s just a few words every fortnight. Tell me what you want to see from me and I might be able to provide.

Anyhoo, on a side note, between writing I’ve been drawing. Here’s my latest sketch of my third novel protagonist in her prime: Dolninna, the Anidd.

(Exactly what it says on the tin)

The Anidd are effectively space dwarves – they live in the habitable underground of a solar scorched world where rivers glow with sacred light. Anidds are arguably the most culturally “Human” of all my aliens. Well, at least intentionally. They worship anthromorphised gods, wear clothes, practise siege tactics and write epic ballads about their successes – basically mundane. Of course, they’re not identical to humans – for a starter, their homeplanet Geb is much richer in metals. Even peasants can afford silver jewellry, whereas the rich deck their halls with platinum and cast idols in palladium. Another difference is the matriachal nature of society. Rather unfairly, one sex was going to come out on top in the early years of cultural development, and in this case the female Anidds won the lottery. That is not to say sexism is any worse than it was (or is) on earth – Anidd cultures have various approaches to the sexes, with some being blatantly unfair to “Bucks” while others provide closer-to or completely equal rights. While Anidds are slightly more sexually dimorphisised than humans, remember that the difference is still pretty negligible in the grand scheme of things – it’s still a product of it’s time and not really justified!

Dolninna is the feudal master of the Isuzu tribe; an initially smaller community than many of it’s neighbours that has sided under her guidance with the expansive Nodon empire. She was a brave warrior in her old days and still is in old age, but has made many enemies – including among some of her Isuzu peers, who are unhappy with having to pander to another nation for protection. A failed coup and the execution of a formerly trusted general takes a bizarre turn, sending Dolninna on an unusual quest, where she has not only to contend with the vengeful spectres of her past, but also intrusive correspondence with the other alien protagonists. Personally, I’ve written her to be a bit bold and pompous to start with as foil to the other two current protagonists, but I’ll wean her off a little over the course of the story. I’m aware of how irritating those sorts of self righteous twats can be.

Anyhoo, enough rambling for today. I’ll be getting on with that advice piece and having my dinner. Remember – let me know what you want!

Have a clean one.