Flights of Fantasies

So where does your fantasies wander? Mine have wandered into the far future, into another dimension, even into space. Many of my stories take place in some kind of alternate reality, where the history is very different. Currently I'm working on the one thing I haven't tested yet - this world.

This world is tricky. I try to mix in major events as they happen, to kind of anchor the story in time. I must confess however, that I didn't think to do that for the first four or five years within the book, so you'll have to forgive me if I missed something. I don't recall any huge natural events that might have affected my character from 2008-2012/13. I suppose I could ask a friend though. Eh - maybe I will and maybe I won't.

Let me tell you, creating a world in some other dimension or time, or even some other world, is far easier. It's not that you don't have to keep track of the same kinds of events, the turning of the seasons, earthquakes, or major weather events, but you can put them in where you want, make them what you want - as such, they become convenient. In the real world, such events are set in concrete and your character needs to react to them, provided he is close enough to be affected.

However, if you blast your fantasies off into space, you need to remember such mundane things as plate tectonics and the creations of mountains and valleys. Believe it or not, they affect weather a lot more than you might think, as does orbital velocity and proximity to the sun.

So, where is your favorite world to write in?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The New Year

Happy New Year, everyone. It's about that time. In keeping with the holiday, I decided I'd look it up and see what I could find. I knew the beginning of a new year was, and in some places, is celebrated on different days in different places around the world. What I found out was really rather amazing. Thanks to Christianity, The day of our new year was decided by the circumcision of Christ. I didn't know that. Such occurrences can be put to use in your writing as well, whether Christ is included in your story or not, or whether the event is a circumcision or some other rite such as a rite of manhood. I use puberty as a major event in a life to trigger some occurrence. Since I have quite a bit of magic in my writing, I picked puberty as the time in a young person's life for it to show up; so many things change at puberty. Whether you pick that time of life or not is up to you; your story is yours.

Throughout the ages, the most popular time for the new year revolved around the spring equinox in March, either right on the moment of equal day and night, or at some point shortly thereafter. I'm sure the logic was that being the beginning of the planting season - new life and all that it entailed.

Many middle eastern cultures celebrated the new year as late as April and some even in June. I'm lumping these cultures together so if I screwed something up, please forgive me.

With the influx of Christianity, the popularity shifted to January and it was some time before it finally settled on what it is today.

My point is, it's important to do your research when including holidays, just as it's important to include the logic behind them, even if it's an unconscious logic. Rituals and customs are different in different countries, and they could be no other way.

If you are writing about another world, the same truths must hold there too. Never assume that an entire world will have the very same culture and beliefs, though they may have the same laws. There will always be different religions, different views, and different holidays and customs. This entire world might recognize Christmas but that doesn't mean that they observe it. Just as the new year around the world is accepted as January first, once upon a time, and for completely logical reasons, it was something else.

Never be afraid to add such variety into your stories, just make sure you keep it straight. If you need an outline or notes to do that, by all means keep them. Who knows, they might provide the fodder for a sequel.

Happy Writing

Acronyms in Fiction

Acronyms - abbreviations in all caps most of the time, but sometimes not, and sometimes with a number. Here is a list of a few examples as found on Wikipedia:

* Pronounced as a word, containing only initial letters
o AIDS: acquired immune deficiency syndrome
o ASBO: Anti-Social Behavior Order
o NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
o Scuba: self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
o Laser: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

* Pronounced as a word, containing non-initial letters
o Amphetamine: alpha-methyl-phenethylamine
o Gestapo: Geheime Staatspolizei (secret state police)
o Interpol: International Criminal Police Organization
o Radar: radio detection and ranging

* Pronounced as a word, containing a mixture of initial and non-initial letters
o Nabisco: National Biscuit Company
o Necco: New England Confectionery Company
o Mavica: Magnetic video camera

* Pronounced as a word or names of letters, depending on speaker or context
o FAQ: ([fæk] or F A Q) frequently asked questions
o IRA: When used for Individual Retirement Account, can be pronounced as letters (I R A) or as a word [ˈaɪrə]
o SAT: ([sæt] or S A T) (previously) Scholastic Achievement (or Aptitude) Test(s), now claimed not to stand for anything.
o SQL: ([siːkwəl] or S Q L) Structured Query Language.

* Pronounced as a combination of names of letters and a word
o CD-ROM: (C-D-[rɒm]) Compact Disc read-only memory
o IUPAC: (I-U-[pæk]) International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
o JPEG: (J-[pɛɡ]) Joint Photographic Experts Group
o SFMOMA: (S-F-[moʊmə]) San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

* Pronounced only as the names of letters
o BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation
o DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid
o OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer
o USA: United States of America
o IRA: When used for the Irish Republican Army

* Pronounced as the names of letters but with a shortcut
o AAA:
+ (triple A) American Automobile Association; abdominal aortic aneurysm; anti-aircraft artillery; Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
+ (three As) Amateur Athletic Association
o IEEE: (I triple E) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
o NAACP: (N double A C P) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
o NCAA: (N C double A or N C two A or N C A A) National Collegiate Athletic Association

* Shortcut incorporated into name
o 3M: (three M) originally Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
o E3: (E three) Electronic Entertainment Exposition
o W3C: (W three C) World Wide Web Consortium
o C4ISTAR: (C four I star) Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance

* Multi-layered acronyms
o NAC Breda: (Dutch football club) NOAD ADVENDO Combinatie ("NOAD ADVENDO Combination"), formed by the 1912 merger of two clubs, NOAD (Nooit Opgeven Altijd Doorgaan "Never give up, always persevere") and ADVENDO (Aangenaam Door Vermaak En Nuttig Door Ontspanning "Pleasant for its entertainment and useful for its relaxation") from Breda
o GAIM: GTK+ AOL Instant Messenger
o GIMP: GNU Image Manipulation Program
o PAC-3: PATRIOT Advanced Capability 3 i.e., Phased Array Tracking RADAR Intercept on Target i.e., RAdio Detection And Ranging
o VHDL: VHSIC hardware description language, where VHSIC stands for very-high-speed integrated circuit.

* Recursive acronyms, in which the abbreviation refers to itself
o GNU: GNU's not Unix!
o LAME: LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder
o WINE: WINE Is Not an Emulator
o PHP: PHP hypertext pre-processor (formerly personal home page)
o These may go through multiple layers before the self-reference is found:
+ HURD: HIRD of Unix-replacing daemons, where "HIRD" stands for "HURD of interfaces representing depth"

* Pseudo-acronyms, which consist of a sequence of characters that, when pronounced as intended, invoke other, longer words with less typing (see also Internet slang)
o CQ: "Seek you", a code used by radio operators (also is an editorial term meaning "Copy Qualified" in print media)
o IOU: "I owe you" (true acronym would be IOY)
o K9: "Canine", used to designate police units utilizing dogs
o Q8: "Kuwait"

* Initialisms whose last abbreviated word is often redundantly included anyway
o ATM machine: Automated Teller Machine machine
o HIV virus: Human Immunodeficiency Virus virus
o PIN number: Personal Identification Number number
o VIN number: Vehicle Identification Number number

Now that we have a bit of an understanding of what they are, how could they be used in your writing?

To begin with, if you're going to use them, make sure they are spelled correctly and used correctly. Some have become a part of our every-day speech and most everyone knows what is meant by their use, even if they couldn't offer you their meaning if asked.

Some I would never use, and that's not because they refer to things I don't write about; it's just that unless you are writing a technical manual pertaining to the subject, most people wouldn't understand the acronym unless it was spelled out, and even then, they might not know what it was.

Some of those listed above, I can't even pronounce the spelled out version. And those with numbers in them; they are too close to texting shorthand and in my opinion, that has no place in a book. It makes me glad I can't use a cell phone out here. If I had one, someone would be sure to text me and it would drive me nuts.

Now, let's talk about how to use them in your writing. As I said before, make sure they are spelled correctly and if you happen to be making one up, make sure you aren't accidentally mimicking one that already has a meaning.

In dialog - all books that aren't textbooks have dialog - just using the appropriate letters may not be enough. For instance AAA is pronounced in two different ways with two different meanings. Be sure what comes out of your characters mouth is what would be heard. Most of those in this list have a pronunciation where it matters. For dialogue, it's pronunciation that is important. And in the occasion where the acronym is somewhat less than familiar or made-up, it is important to clue your reader in to what your acronym stands for. The last thing you want your reader to do is stop and go get a dictionary or go on reading and be slightly confused, if not totally lost.

Personally, I prefer to avoid them altogether, but then there weren't too many acronyms in the days of knights and high magic, nor was there any on Planet Wer, haha. I guess you'll have to read them to see though - just as soon as they come out.

Do you use Acronyms? Tell us what you do to make them clear for your readers.

Prince in Hiding - Coming out in October

Sixteen-year-old Sean stood in the queue, waiting his turn to compete with the saber. He looked up at the bleachers. He had no problem locating his dad; his parents sat in the same place every time. His dad was talking to their flat mate, Gordon. His mom couldn’t make it this time – she had to work. Every year since Sean’s first tournament, his parents gave him a choice. Since the tournament and his birthday were generally only a few days apart, Sean got to pick which event his parents would attend, since it was impossible for them to get both days off from work. Sean thought of a compromise. He really wanted them to watch him compete, so, as a birthday present of sorts, they could take him out for a special dinner afterward.

When Sean, Gordon, and his father returned home that evening, they were greeted by a squad car waiting in front of their apartment building.

“Sorry sir,” the officer said as he met them at their taxi. Sean’s father was a sergeant with the mounted police. The officer looked uncomfortable talking in front of Sean and Gordon.

“Go ahead, officer. We’re family,” said Elias.

“Sorry sir,” the man repeated. He hastily took off his hat and gripped it in his fists. “Sir, you need to come down to the station. It’s your wife, sir. She…she’s dead. You need…”

Sean didn’t hear anything else. The monotone voices of his father and the officer no longer translated into words. He found the hood of the police car and leaned on it, his sword case hitting the pavement with an audible thump.

Gordon wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, I’ll get you inside.”

~~~~~

Opening paragraphs - Tell me what you think.

The Impossible Task

Yeah, that seems to be my tag in writing. My poor characters are leading the impossible life AND I'm having such fun torturing them to boot. haha

I've started going through some of my shorter stories. I'm thinking of getting them into eBooks one of these days - maybe not this summer - I go back to work Sunday and my days are fairly full until September. Maybe I'll get one or two out there - we'll see. Here's a sample. Tell me what you think. Would you buy them? What would you like to read?

THE FORCES OF DARKNESS

This is a tale about a young man doomed to feed on the sin and sadness in the people around him, but to survive the darkness, he needs purity and innocence too. And to complicate things, he can only go out at night. Any light, even the light of a candle, is painful. How can he lead this kind of life? Where does he find the innocence so vital to his survival - the sadness is certainly easy enough to find? What happens when he runs out of darkness and sadness? He must move on. But love isn't going to be left behind so easily, after all he's going to be a father.

ARTHUR

What would life be like if the customs and traditions of Camelot and King Arthur stayed the same into the twentieth century? King Uther sends a patrol of mec-knights out to test the strength of the barbarians outside the wall. His son, Jake and his unit happen to be the next patrol on the roster, but things go badly and the king denies reinforcements. Jake doesn't want to be the last survivor, but he is forced to heal, and the magic takes a terrible toll. When awakened, he makes it out of the hospital, out of the high city, and nearly to the wall before he runs out of energy, little that he had. His subconscious wants to live, but the only way that can happen is if he forgets all the sorrow and disappointment. Jake becomes Arthur, oblivious to his past, he starts his life as a peasant and house champion. He buys a building, and with his winnings he fixes it up and begins to carve a name for himself as an owner of a building and a businessman. His life is very different, very happy, until he runs into his past.

SECRETS OF THE MIND

Agent Todd Dunn is captured, and with drugs, the enemy tries to learn his secrets. But he has been trained for this. No secrets, not to anyone, not until he can be sure the person he's talking to is the right person to talk to. But how do you tell if the world you see and the people you talk to is the real thing or a drug-induced figment of your imagination? Follow Todd as he desperately tries to hack his own brain and escape from the nightmare.

SYSTEM NAUTILUS

(Just in case you want to take a trip into outer space) Ride along on the Nautilus. As space travel became more common-place the systems for running the ships became more complex and complex systems took up massive amounts of space. There was one system capable of the task that took up very little space - the brain. Cat brains made an excellent system for a fighter. Dog brains were good for larger ships like freighters. But more complex brains were needed for the larger luxury liners and the massive warships. Chimp brains simply weren't complex enough, and using two or more created problems. The next logical step was, of course, the human brain, but there were volunteers aplenty. Paraplegics and war veterans, the old and the very poor would volunteer in return for wages being sent to family members or at the very least, their own preservation. Systems were rumored to live many times longer than normal. Eventually, volunteers weren't enough so systems were grown. Knowing nothing but the ship they were grown into, they grew and learned as their ship was built. System Nautilus was one such system, and he was happy with his existence, but then one day he met a girl. And then his ship was struck by an asteroid. The girl saved his life, but what was life without his ship?

January Writing Contest Winner - Eliana from Ambitious Writers, Goodreads

Title: Republic of Music
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: M
Word Count: 1924
Summary: A modern fairy tale.

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there were two kingdoms who hated each other. They loathed, abhorred and detested each other to such an extent that there aren't enough synonyms to continue describing how they felt towards each other. And like most conflicts, this animosity was the result of their differences, and the eternal struggle to better than the other. These kingdoms were called Rock Realm and Popville. No one remembered when exactly these two places began hating each other, for all they knew, the hate had been going on forever.

Only in very rare history books, which weren't available for everyone, did it say that the kingdoms had once been united. And as you know, when history isn't taught or remembered, truths become stories, and these stories become legends. Eventually, these legends may even become nursery rhymes who no one takes seriously. No one even knew about these books, and no one cared. They were happy having someone to hate.

Realm of Rock stood tall near the ocean, with strong black buildings made of stone. Every house had graffiti painted in the walls, doors, or roofs. The people called themselves Rockers, and to honor their kingdom, they also dressed like their homes. Everyone wore black, with a green or red touch here and there, and their hair was always multicolored or dark. The nobility was forced to wear spiked hair do distinguish themselves from the rest, and the longer the spikes, the better. Some spikes were so long they were prone to attract lightning, so most of the nobles stayed indoors during thunderstorms.

If you were to walk down a Rocker street, you would have had a sensory breakdown. The smell of hairspray and vodka hung heavily in the air. The smells were particularly stronger near the bars, and not surprisingly, every neighborhood had at least two bars. Two were required by the government, but some neighborhoods even had six bars, one for each block. Everyone played music so loud, that it seemed like the sounds came from the walls, but if you listened closely, you realized the sounds came from inside people’s homes.

There were very few laws in Realm of Rock, and the few that existed were always broken, because there wasn’t an organized law force. The only three unbreakable laws were: no playing music that wasn’t strictly rock or similar to rock, no platinum blonde hair, and no crossing the forbidden wall. The king promoted anarchy, as long as the citizens provided him with enough booze, original music and food. And the citizens loved their free-spirited king. The normal work days were Sunday and Saturday, and they had the rest of the week to relax, drink, play music and enjoy.

On the other side of the wall, which concealed the cacophony from Realm of Rock, was a forest surrounding a mountain. The kingdom of Popville was built on top of Gaga Mountain, so high in the sky that it was hidden by the clouds. The air in Popville was cool, fresh, and the days seemed longer there because it was so close to the sun. Contrary to the dark architectural style of Realm of Rock, Popville was built out of glass. All the homes were different shades of pink, and sparkled crystal clear in the sunlight. Instead of bars, every neighborhood had hair salons and dance studios. You might here some music here and there, but mostly, Poppers kept to themselves and their phones. Sometimes you would see a small group of people breaking into song and dancing in the streets. Everyone had blonde or highlighted hair, and wore tight, bright colored clothes which brought out their naturally tanned skins.

Each kingdom kept to itself for the most part; except for a few occasions where they were they accidentally collided during festivals. The festivals were weeks of celebration and concerts, and sometimes both kingdoms played their music so loud that the other kingdom heard it. And of course, the rulers from both kingdoms sent their respective apologies whenever that happened. However, one steamy September night, during a Rocker festival, an unprecedented event occurred. Metallica was onstage, and the guitarist, Kirk Hammet was playing a solo. He was drunk as usual, and accidentally raised the volume of his guitar so loud that it went beyond the human hearing spectrum. Everyone went silent, but Kirk quickly adjusted the volume and kept playing. No one even remembered what happened after ten minutes, because everyone was drunk and having a great time.

Up in Popville, people were doing what they usually did. They were buying clothes, getting manicures, or taking their daily dosage of botox injections. Suddenly, their world came crashing down. An extremely loud sound wave hit the kingdom, the ground shook and the glass houses shattered. There was pink glass everywhere, people running and screaming, trying to text their loved ones to see if they were alright. A royal assembly was immediately took place in the barely standing palace. They debated whether the sound wave had been intentional or just an accident. The king, Michael Jackson, said to his nobles and family, “They don’t care about us. Of course it was intentional.” Queen Madonna was frozen in her chair while princess Gaga stood speechless, next to her in the verge of tears. Princess Gaga had been the ambassador to Realm of Rock, and all her hard work to bring the kingdoms closer meant nothing now.

The kingdom of Popville decided to counterattack swiftly, regardless of Realm of Rock’s role in the sound wave. They had had enough of the stinking, wild Rockers, and they would teach them a lesson once and for all. That same evening, pink planes and helicopters flew down from the mountain and launched a series of bubbles containing air toxins down at the audience in the festival. When the bubbles exploded, fumes filled the Rocker’s nostrils and paralyzed them. All they could hear was “Hit me baby one more time” playing in their heads as they writhed in horror. A second wave of bubbles hit the ground, and a pink gooey substance covered everyone. The goo hardened and immobilized those it hit, and everyone ran for cover, trampling whoever stood in their way. Finally, they launched a third wave of bubbles with bleach that disintegrated the stone and washed away most buildings. While the paralyzed and wounded were taken to the bars to be healed, the nobles hurried to wake up the King. Normally they wouldn’t bother him even if the sky came falling down, but Prince Ozzy was nowhere to be found. King Elvis had slept through the whole incident, and had no idea what was going on. What the Poppers failed to see, or deliberately ignored, was that the Rockers had no idea that Kirk’s riff had destroyed Popville. The Rockers thought Popville had just declared an open war, and they were going to fight back.

The next day, as the sun rose in a still shattered Popville, people woke up to a very strange smell. The refugees had spent the night in the spas and malls that still stood. Outside, it seemed like it had rained, but no one had heard rain during the night. Suddenly, a roaring song was heard from the sky, saying “You’re on the highway to hell.” The next thing they knew was that their world was on fire, everything was lit up and blazing. People ran for their lives, and in panic they ran across fires that lit their clothes and hair up. They fell down to the ground and burned in pain, and realized they weren’t really burning. They felt the pain, but the fire wasn’t consuming them. They ran to fountains to put themselves off, but the fires blazed even harder. That’s when they realized all the water had been replaced by Vodka, and that was wad had been covering the streets.

Both kingdoms were severely damaged, and prepared their most lethal weapons in case the other decided to attack again. Realm of Rock possessed a weapon of mass destruction called The Riffoblaster, which destroyed everything in a blast. Popville possessed a similar bomb called Fakemonster that spread acid in a humongous radius, disintegrating anything in its path. Both kingdoms pointed their weapons to each other while they waited to see who launched first. No one knew who ended up firing the first, but both kingdoms launched their weapons at each other. The bombs collided with each other in the clouds, sending down ash and acid rain all over Realm of Rock and Popville. Citizens of both kingdoms ran to the forest, since it was the only place they hadn’t destroyed. They were surprised by the nightfall, and couldn’t tell who was from what kingdom. Everyone looked the same with burned hair and clothes.

Surprisingly, no one asked who belonged to which kingdom. They began to help each other out, getting water from the streams, gathering food and healing the wounded. When the sun came up, the differences were more visible. The tanned ones were obviously from Popville, and the ones with piercings from Realm of Rock. However, no one seemed to care anymore. At noon, they gathered at a clearing, where King Michael Jackson and King Elvis Presley announced a cease fire and a promise to sign peace treaty that would guarantee that both kingdoms would work together to reconstruct what they had destroyed. While everyone cheered and clapped, Prince Ozzy suddenly came out of the trees with a book. He said, “I was drinking down at the palace’s library when I heard the commotion upstairs, but I was way too wasted to come up. Look at what I found.” He opened the book in a marked page, and handed to book to King Elvis.

He read it, and passed it to Princess Gaga, who was standing beside King Michael. She read aloud. “We came from a planet called Earth in a yellow spaceship. Our planet is very similar to this one, except it’s bigger and populated and filled with crazy people. It’s plagued with people who spend their lives working in jobs that make them unhappy, people who don’t dream and people who hurt other people. It’s filled with materialist, dishonest, fanatic people, who refuse to give peace a chance. In an effort to make a better world, we hereby declare this planet The Planet of Music, to honor the one thing our planet has that knows no boundaries, religion, discrimination or ethnicity. We also declare ourselves the first monarchs of the Kingdom of Music, and swear that the laws of this kingdom will be written by us and upheld with utmost love and honesty. Signed by King Ringo, King Paul, King John and King George.”

From that day on, the kingdoms of Popville and Realm of Rock no longer existed. The Republic of Song was founded, and the rulers were elected by the people. They built the Republic in the sky, so they could always look down to where their kingdoms had once stood and be reminded of the destruction they had caused each other. This time, they would make sure history was not forgotten. In a few years they had prospered into a wealthy, beautiful kingdom, and decided it was time to discover the place they had come from. They took turns visiting Earth, gracing humans with their presence for a few decades. Then they faked their deaths on Earth and went back to their planet in the stars, where they belonged.