spikedmango

Chapter 17

spikedmango — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:48:36 +0000

Apparently, chapter 17 wasn’t really being all that emo at all, it was all me. But I finally got it up, and I even turned in my essay. I think it was okay. I have a project and another essay next week (it never ends) but I want to start working on the next chapter anyway. And I’ll probably be beta-ing a chapter for my beta reader.

I was finally nice to Michael! AHAHAHA. Actually I was starting to feel kind of guilty about that. I’ve been so mean to him over the past few stories, which people have not been that shy about pointing out, er. But he’s finally gotten together with Tanner, and I cannot tell you how long my beta-reader has been waiting for that, eep. (She even named Tanner. His original name was Jason. Not at all appropriate.)

Blood would certainly have been spilled if I hadn’t started being nice to Mikey very soon, as witness by this comment from her beta: “But there would be hell to pay if Mikey didn’t get the happiness with Tanner he deserves after your literary TORTURE.”

And, finally, revealed Gavin’s ~most mysterious~ background with Walker — well, some of it at least. I have contemplated doing a short story revolving around Gavin and the period between his Turning and when he Turned Avery, but I don’t know that I’ll actually do it. I don’t think I could be historically accurate, for one thing, and if I ever rewrite the series I’m pushing everyone’s ages down anyway, so I’m not sure what time period they’d be from anymore.

Next chapter (unless something changes drastically): Avery and Vlad see each other for the first time after Avery came thisclose to biting Dana at the hospital.

Chapter 17 Is Being Emo

spikedmango — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:33:28 +0000

Yeah. Chapter 17 is being emo — specifically, Gavin, and Gavin isn’t supposed to be emo. D: I sent the half I have written to my beta for repairs. Until then I am a bit stalled, I have too many people in one room and I need to separate them so Private Conversations can be had.

Oh and speaking of my beta, she nominated me for the FictionPress Supernatural Stories Awards, under “Best Vampire Story,” “Best Written,” and “Most Memorable Characters.”

In the meantime I am squirreling out possible scenes for later in the chapter, studying for midterms, fretting about writing crap for journalism class. Also being bad at replying to e-mails and not procrastinating.

Oh I took down the contact page because I kept getting spam e-mails with random collections of letters and crap, not real messages. I don’t know if it was an actual person or like a spambot or something but it was getting annoying. There’s a PM function at FicPress anyway.

Busy Week Ahead

spikedmango — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:47:56 +0000

So I have 3 exams, a 900-1500-word article, and a project due next week. D: It is a rather crazy project that I think I am going a little overboard with but ahahah too late to turn back now. It is also a work in progress so if you visit before afternoon on the 2nd of March it will not be done yet.

I am halfway into the chapter, though, and I finally sent back my beta-reader‘s chapter. Spring Break starts next Saturday so I’ll definitely be able to work on it then in between familial gatherings and such. *long exhale*

And then after Spring Break I have about 10 minutes to do a giant article where I have to hunt down teenagers in their natural environment (because my TA is strange and thinks that teenagers will want to talk to us) and ask them stuff about… stuff. :/

In the Works: Ch. 17

spikedmango — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:49:40 +0000

So I am working on chapter seventeen and kicking myself in the head for not being further along with it already. I know it hasn’t actually been that long, but I really want to be faster with my writing in the future and not have horrifying gaps like I’ve been having.

Currently betaing the next chapter of The Three Powers for Medieval-Rogue, writing a paper, and freaking out (a little) about a project I have due in late March. Also wasting copious amounts of time reading random fanfiction. Oh, work ethic. Where did you go…?

With my paper in the works, I don’t know if I’ll have the chapter ready to send to my beta by the weekend, but I’d like to think I can have it half-done by Saturday. I hate setting deadlines for myself because when I do I always blow them spectacularly, and then I feel really guilty about it. Paper due Thursday, I probably should’ve written on it today, but it’s only three pages and we don’t even need a thesis statement… mmmrgh rambling.

Chapter 16 Update

spikedmango — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:11:25 +0000

Upated Blood Ties on Saturday with chapter sixteen. Realized, vaguely, that updating the blog once a week means with coming up with something to talk about in the blog. I have a couple pages of chapter seventeen written and I know where I’m going, but I was lazy this weekend and didn’t do any homework (or anything, really, other than get worked up over the stimulus bill) so I’ve got to catch up on my school stuff this week.

It’s weird to think this is the last story in the Blood series. Unless something magical happens and I think of a new plotline. I’m debating, internally, whether to clean it all up and attempt to get it published. The thing is, Bad Blood is in such bad shape (to my eye) that fixing it would take… a lot of time and work. There are plot holes and subplots that don’t need to be there and I didn’t, for some reason, keep any notes as I wrote, so information within the story itself is inconsistent. And then again I have other stories I would like to work on.

But before I do any of that, I need to finish Blood Ties. (Although before I do that, I need to read Plato. For my Writing for the Web course. Yeah, I have no idea.)

Donating blood today! (My iron had better be high enough…) Edit: My damn iron was only 11. :/ Curses…

Bloodlines

spikedmango — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 03:57:47 +0000

A reviewer asked for a family tree for the vampires. I actually already had one made up, but it was ugly and in paint and had spoilerish notes on it, so here’s a gussied-up version. It was supposed to take five minutes. It ended up taking way longer because I got it into my head that Minerva totally would’ve written this down at some point. She had fancy handwriting, y’all.

Now, why would Minerva have Gavin’s family tree? The Morgan group was rather at odds with the old psychic. Not terribly enthralled with her — and Jamnis once pointed out (a looong time ago) that Minerva manipulated people. *cough* Blackmail!?! Or maybe it was just a hobby of hers.

Note that these are not complete. This is only what Vlad was able to scrounge up after the fire. And of course Gavin would never tell Minerva his past, and she didn’t even know Walker, so unfortunately the two men’s pasts are still a bit shadowy.

Blogging 101

spikedmango — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:20:17 +0000

I’m taking a course which, for ease and humor, my friends and I have taken to calling Blogging 101. One of my projects is, indeed, to create and maintain a personal blog throughout the semester. This spurred me to begin experimenting with WordPress, since I wasn’t sure which site I wanted to use or expose to my class. Except I don’t think I want to link my professor to a site with ‘spikedmango’ in the title (even though it bears absolutely no reference to alcohol, just so you know). We haven’t learned the details yet, as in, what does “personal” mean, do I need to document my daily activities or is it simply a “and today, in Blogging 101, we…” kind of thing.

So that is just where this blog came from.

Yes. Hmm.

Eventually I will customize the header. I just don’t know what I want it to look like yet.