tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58412552009-02-21T04:31:08.300-08:00Newbie Writes A NovelThrill to the sight a foolish young man attempting to bang his first novel together. It's got con artists, abandoned towers of alien-forged glass, sorcery, skullduggery, lies, treachery, true friendship, unrequited love, puns, several guilds of whores, and sharks! Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1084863509521201062004-05-17T23:56:00.000-07:002004-05-17T23:58:29.520-07:00Fucking Blogger!
Another week-long lockout. Apparently, the service has updated; it now looks like Fisher Price's My First Blogger or some damn thing. I'll have to explore before I praise or complain any further; I did at least manage to paste in and post something that's needed to go up for a while.
Nonetheless, these interruptions are intolerable and I'm actively looking into other blog Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1084863299866630882004-05-17T23:07:00.000-07:002004-05-17T23:54:59.866-07:00In Which The Author Shoots His Big Mouth Off On A Promised Topic: "Consolatory Fantasy"
Ursula K. LeGuin once wrote:
"Soon after A Wizard of Earthsea came out in England it received a review in a science-fiction periodical which took the book to task for being "consolatory" and "reassuring". Well, fair enough, I thought, if the consolation is false, if the reassurance is unwarranted; but are Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1083580486527954082004-05-03T03:34:00.000-07:002004-05-03T03:49:21.560-07:00Spring Has Sprung
I got my blog back.
I got my blog back.
I got my blog back.
But you knew that already, because there's an excerpt for you below.
Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1083580504386358782004-05-03T03:21:00.000-07:002004-05-03T11:45:50.296-07:00Excerpt From Chapter 8: Out the Window
(Locke, now an adult, has a delicate deception to perform on behalf of the mysterious Gray King, but has to feign illness to back out of a prior commitment to Capa Barsavi, master of Camorr's underworld. He and Jean are visited by Anjais Barsavi, one of the Capa's sons; Locke has taken a drug to help him convincingly play sick. Anjais is apparently quite Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1082307345740777992004-04-18T09:49:00.000-07:002004-04-18T09:59:47.280-07:00I have my Blog back! Huzzah!
But no real time to post just yet, kids. I have to go fetch a cat from a friend's house and help the amazing Jenny take care of about a zillion aquarium frogs at her school.
Happy birthday to the lovely and insightful Cora Buhlert, whose mastery of English makes me painfully aware of the pitiful remnants of my high school German education! Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1081815573356094292004-04-12T17:01:00.000-07:002004-04-12T17:28:07.530-07:00Wow.
Man, how times change. I was cruising the local used book store this afternoon, scrounging with a self-imposed limit of one solitary book (this month's budget is tight). First it was going to be Hemingway, then Nathanael West, then Conan Doyle... and then I found a trade paperback of K.W. Jeter's Dr. Adder, "FULLY ILLUSTRATED!" By Matt Howarth, of all people. I'd donate bone marrow for Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1081761750402292752004-04-12T01:36:00.000-07:002004-04-12T02:26:23.796-07:00For Gabe, Part One: The Practical Bit
I have heard the voice of Gabe Chouinard crying out in the wilderness of blogdom, and I've got two cents for him. Aren't I a nice guy? No? Shut up. Do read Gabe's last 2-3 posts before continuing, if you haven't already.
I'm working on the "How?", and with luck so are others. (I say "with luck" because I've *seen* nothing...)
I've come to believe that Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1081409423469130162004-04-08T00:26:00.000-07:002004-04-08T00:34:11.093-07:00In Which I Seek to Master Blog Fu
Does anyone out there know how to create some sort of permalink for Blogger posts, so that I could put some links in my sidebar that would go directly to my excerpts, to appease my inner anal-retentive organization freak?
Or is that something only paying customers can do?
Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1081155959519409232004-04-05T02:02:00.000-07:002004-04-05T02:10:46.170-07:00Second Excerpt
The "Brat Masterpieces" interlude below is now finished; the second excerpt is the much longer second part of said interlude. You'll find it after the "*****" in the text.
After conferring with a valued someone who knows what's he's talking about, I've decided to post a grand total of five excerpts from the novel here. I hope you all find the new stuff as pleasant as the previousScott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1080822789393991922004-04-01T04:26:00.000-08:002004-04-01T04:36:47.716-08:00Yay! The Babylonian Captivity of my blog has ended! Just a night or to ago, I was talking to Darren (check my links), and he was complaining about a similar problem with his. I hope his works now, too. Do I get cool stuff every time I bitch Gabe out in my comment threads? Not that I need the reward, of course... anyhow...
My first novel excerpt is up below. I know I said I'd do three, but I'm Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1080821960619332032004-04-01T04:09:00.000-08:002004-04-05T02:13:57.873-07:00Interlude: Brat Masterpieces
The summer after Jean came to the Gentlemen Bastards, Father Chains took him and Locke up to the temple roof one night after dinner. The roof was walled on every side but open to the sky; Chains’ “blindness” gave him an excuse for not maintaining the garden it was meant to hold. Here he could sit, unobserved, and smoke a paper-wrapped sheaf of Jeremite tobacco whileScott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1079045127186581082004-03-11T14:43:00.000-08:002004-03-11T14:48:37.013-08:00Bring Me the Head of Gabe Chouinard
Is S1ngularity really dead again? What the hell happened? Who did what to whom, and was Bob's Glock involved? Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1078991782479960552004-03-10T23:55:00.000-08:002004-03-11T14:28:47.810-08:00The Camorr Patois
This week's bright and shiny bonus feature is my in-progress glossary of the slang of Camorr. I made a conscious decision not to tart up any of my dialogue with "dialect" cuteness ("Oy, it warsh a narsty rum' tosh, guv, bort I gort a noice shoiny penny out'er it!"); I've found that the trouble with creating fantasy slang/dialect is that it ultimately tends toward a state of Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1078877828789022562004-03-09T16:14:00.000-08:002004-03-09T16:20:16.420-08:00In Which The Author Achieves Internet Stability, More or Less
I'll be resuming my old posting habits, more or less; online for at least a bit almost every day of the week. And now a reading from the Book of Blog:
"Blessed are the poor in updates, for they shall receive a multitude of make-up posts, and the author shall strive to be at his most amusing, so that they shall not deprive him of hisScott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1078265268077441042004-03-02T13:24:00.000-08:002004-03-02T14:10:46.060-08:00"A map... why does every fantasy have to start with a map?"
Because making maps is a jolly good time, if you're an anal-retentive oddball like me.
After fiddling with Photoshop for a few hours, ladies and gentlemen, I'm pleased to present a very nearly finished map of Camorr, the city in which I lay my tale.
http://www.geocities.com/thesnarkhunt/camorr.jpg
Camorr is a city-state on the IronScott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1076644506613635972004-02-12T19:31:00.000-08:002004-02-12T19:57:38.903-08:00In Which I Return Again, The Internet Cicada...
Still without good solid 'net access most days. Sorry. Everything else in life is quite swell, though. I just need to finish the hassle-work for this damn Juno account and get my starter package from them.
In other news:
I'm cleanin' up the Hugo Awards, baby-- I'll get 'em all by the end of this year, honest Irishman, even though that means Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1076040590575531502004-02-05T19:16:00.000-08:002004-02-05T20:12:13.046-08:00In Which The Author Lectures Again, Damn Him to Hell
Lo, the girlfriend has commanded an appearance, and I have appeared. I've been mostly offline for a bit; connectivity at home it utter shit and won't be fixed until next week at the earliest. After that, I'll just be on a dial-up, but at least I'll be on something consistently.
Life is good and work proceeds splendidly. I just finished the Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1074498548292886432004-01-18T23:36:00.000-08:002004-01-18T23:51:05.716-08:00A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Cave Troll
Oh, good. My comments have disappeared again. Time to investigate a non-retarded comment solution.
I finish my move on Wednesday night, and will resume hard-core crazy writing on Thursday. Odd as it might sound, I've come to enjoy working myself to the point of physical exhaustion. I live for days where I can just roll out of bed, write for Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1073448019381333562004-01-06T19:25:00.000-08:002004-01-06T20:00:39.140-08:00In Which the Author Won't Stop Reflecting, Dammit
Novel writin' has resumed with a vengeance; the week-long pause helped settle a lot of concerns and cook up a pile of new ideas and approaches. I don't have what I would classify as "structural problems;" the plot is unfolding swimmingly. It's the minute details of stylistic construction and language use that drive me to distraction. I've just Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1072927402443299392003-12-31T19:22:00.000-08:002003-12-31T19:25:38.020-08:00In Which The Author Surveys The Roster of His Fallen Foes
The 78 books I read in 2003, in chronological order, not counting a dozen or so large reference books for the novel. Not the 100 I was shooting for, but not bad all the same. My reading really slacked off in November and early December, but has picked up again quite recently.
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
Swords in the Mist by FritzScott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1072603989464213392003-12-28T01:18:00.000-08:002003-12-28T01:33:26.160-08:00In Which the Author Admires the March of Technology
Novel-writing operations have just been moved over to my brand-new eMac.
And it is beautiful.
A 60 gigabyte hard drive isn't particularly noteworthy nowadays, but it gives me pause. The machine I was previously working on (the one I'm typing on right now) has "only" 10 gigs, of which I never managed to use more than 2.5 at once-- OS and all Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1072158323034732592003-12-22T21:28:00.000-08:002003-12-22T21:54:39.843-08:00The Lord of the Rings: The Return of My Bitching.
Three and a half points of extreme aggravation, plus further praise.
1. "Arwen's life-force is now linked to the Ring."
What the hell is this bullshit? I don't object because it wasn't in the book; I object because it doesn't make any fucking sense. How could her "life force" become "linked" the the Ring? This was transparently a plot device Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1071783115044918302003-12-18T13:15:00.000-08:002003-12-18T13:32:09.433-08:00The Lord of the Rings: The Return of Kicking Your Ass.
Saw it last night with the better half and a friend of hers in tow. The theater lobby was a bit like the steerage scenes in Titanic as the ship starts sinking-- I arrived at 5:30 seeking tickets for 7, but all the shows until 9 were already sold out. So we had a long dinner, and then 9 it was. Fortunately, we arrived an hour early to take Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1071517040344151602003-12-15T11:22:00.000-08:002003-12-15T11:37:33.700-08:00Blogging About Bloggers Blogging Me; Blog the Blog Blog Bloggity Blog.
Ariel, that perfidious Albionite behind the Alien Online, is actually referring folks here as though I have anything worthwhile to say yet. He also blurbs the novel, as he sees it:
"Ethical dilemmas, swashbuckling fight scenes and rogues aplenty, all set in an alternate C16th/C17th quasi-European world, by the sounds of Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841255.post-1071011445075032182003-12-09T14:51:00.000-08:002003-12-09T15:10:57.263-08:00"Kill Me Sooner!" the supporting character begged...
I've just made substantial progress in "unlocking" the plot of the second half of the novel by moving the hasta la vista, baby scene for Capa Raza's little magician buddy to a much earlier point. My original idea for the climax was to have it all come down to one final night where all hell breaks loose-- Locke and Jean catch the Bondsmage, Scott Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03174960629558710978noreply@blogger.com