A Wintry Wednesday and Birthday Wishes!

It seems as though the singularity of snow has made itself more common, like a distant relative you care for, in small doses, has come to stay and the special is becoming the ordinary. Not quite. I refuse to let the pleasant shade of jade invade my spirit. I resist. I desist from thinking in those patterns, and I pause to let myself be swept away in the splendor of a snowflake. They are so calming to look at as they float down in a magical, ethereal fashion. If only they could put them into globes, maybe with a little scene, a bit of snow…oh wait.

I took advantage of this beautiful backdrop to infuse and energize my work. The adventure I wrote for Iron Dynasty deals with extremes of temperature and culture, and was a lot of fun to fashion. I’m in a rambling mood. As I’ve told you, the writing of the adventure stuffs and game stuffs is sapping all my energies, and I fear you all are getting the dregs, but I’ve got a few neat ideas to throw some fat into the fire, so to speak. My mind is again churning on some themes, and I’m hoping to start ginning along on those starting next month. Until then, we’ll wander along a bit, you and I, and I’ll share what’s coming up in my head and informing my works. Lately, I’ve been reading an outstanding book called The Dragon Factory which is splendid sequel to Patient Zero and both books I can easily see fitting quite neatly into Agents of Oblivion with minor adjustments. The books are steeped in what I’d call a “realistic approach to weirdness” but they are like hard rock candy for the mind. Addictive and, I’m quite certain, bad for you. Check them out if you get a chance. I hear many folks chat up The Laundry books, and I’ve read one of them, and I’m typically a fan of our friends across the pond, but the one I read didn’t quick work for me like Maberry’s stuff does, but I’ve only read the second Laundry book and promise I’ll read the first after I finish The Dragon Factory. You have to remember, I went into the Phipps’ book with great expectations and I’m an easy sell. I love Cthulhu stuff, love spy stuff (obviously), and I enjoyed the writing style, I just think he was trying to put a square peg in a round hole by trying to emulate the structure of a Bond flick. This is a danger anyone risks when they fall too much in love with certain conceits and structure. Remember that kids. Here’s the big take away. I knew if we hung in here long enough, we’d hit pay dirt. Do not let structure dictate execution. While I am a big advocate of structure, especially outlines and setting forth project parameters to get things going, do not allow them to limit you, or to take you down the wrong path. While it may be more prudent and practical to take the direct route (e.g. the outline), sometimes you need to take the windy, dirt road darkened by a canopy of trees hanging a bit lower than they really should. Break free of conventions and conventional thinking. Remember, all writing is contradictory and advice is worth what you pay for it and the snows continue and I must call it a day as these rambles balance on the razor’s edge of shifting fulling into a full stream of consciousness and you might all go mad witnessing my words gush forth without any boundaries whatsoever. In other words, when you take the windy back roads, at least use your outline as a GPS system and don’t get too buck wild.

I’d like to conclude with a shout out to my daughter! Happy birthday, kiddo! You know who you are. :) When she was born, it was a cold wintry day a goodly number of years back which will make me forever refer to her as “the Ice Storm baby” [insert boring and/or embarrassing anecdote here].

Until next time, dear reader, I bid you adieu!