All right, this project isn’t so much steampunk as… Nazi-punk. Which, you know, works.

Anyway, I think I have an alternate history. This could easily change at any time, but here’s the basics:In general, this world is much like ours, except that the aristocratic classes are magic-users. This elitism has been a part of the general conscienscous for a very long time, and has affected several events in history.

As mentioned in the magic article, magic is seen as proof of divine right to rule, and as such the aristocrats have almost always been in the ruling classes (this is not universally true, however — in India, magic users are more common in the Brahmin caste (priests, teachers, and scholars) than the Kshatriya (kings and warriors), and other cultures have had magic-users as a priest or an artisan class. For the most part, magic-users have generally been placed in leadership or military positions.

In the West, male-female relations are different, as both males and females can be energopaths. By the time that the telekinetic Queen Matilda came to the throne of England (Stephen of Blois being a non-magic user), women were treated with near-equality. However, only female magic users have been treated as equals to men. Women who cannot use magic were still treated as inferior.

Around the 18th century, it became fashionable not to practice magic. Once the aristocrats had learned to control it, they made no attempt to use it. It was this lack of magic that allowed the mostly non-magic using peasantry of France to rebel against the aristocrats. However, killing most of the country’s magic users severely crippled the French army. After Napoleon took over, he tried to reorganize the army to cover for this loss. The beginning of the French invasion of Austria went well, but they were crushed in the Battle of Hodenlinden. This caused a cycle of revolution and reformation that only ended around 1890, during the second restoration of the monarchy.

The Allies won World War I, but the army lost large numbers of magic-users. The end of the war called the value of magic users into question, as the non-magic users had been running the country while its generals were gone. This caused another deposition of the monarchy in France, leading them to stay out of World War II.

The non-magic user Hitler took over the government, insisting that Aryans were magic-users and non-magic users with Aryan features. He stormed across Europe. Britain held out for as long as it could, but without help, it fell in 1942.

Hitler invaded Russia in spring of 1941.  He captured much of the eastern areas of Russia but did not make it to Moscow. There have been a series of skirmishes between the USSR and Germany concerning the land, and Russia regained most of their land in the sixties.

The American government made peace with the Axis powers. With Germany controlling much of Europe and Japan controlling Asia, the United States had to tread carefully to avoid war. Several Nazi sympathizers came into power, and eventually the National Socialist of the United States (NSUS) came into power. They instituted a policy of having magic-users taken from their parents and put into state-run schools. There, they would learn to control their powers. The magic-users often recieved leadership positions in the army when they graduated.

The Academy, or Boot Camp, as it is known by the students, was founded in the late ’50s by General Andrew Sinclair, Sr. He still runs the school as its headmaster. The school takes children as soon as they begin showing their powers, usually around the age of six. They keep the children with the same powers together, and discourage socializing outside of that group. Most of these children will never see battle, except for the special Berserker battalions.

Not everyone is happy with the government, however. A small organization of people, mostly government fugitives and non-magic users called the People’s Party are communists who believe that the glorification of magic users is wrong. For twenty-five years, they were led by Edward Jones and his wife, Julia. After they were killed in 1969, their daughter Edith took over. The People’s Party doesn’t pose much of a threat against the government, but their protests and subversive acts, as well as their support of criminals, is a nuisance.

Wow, I got history of the world, history of the government, history of the Academy, and history of the Resistance movement. I think I’ll do personal history of the main characters next.

Is it because I’m never on vacation? Is it because I’m desperately trying to avoid doing work? Or am I trying to keep my mind off the fact that I’m going to have to go back to school? Perhaps I’m just doing this so I don’t have to go to sleep at a reasonable hour (say, about midnight).

I remember once — I think it was the summer before fifth grade, but I can’t be sure — where I wrote a novel in three days. It was complete crap, and it was only about 30,000 words long, but it was something.

Now I’m occupying myself with a story that’s related to neither of my two current projects, but is really fun and easy to write for. It’s a fantasy with entirely too much Meg Cabot (shut up) in its DNA, but I can crank out words for it.

Anyway, just some general musing. I’ll get back to work on worldbuilding week, I promise. History of the world and of the party is pretty much worked out.

Magic in my world is a highly revered art, and magic-users have traditionally been part of the privileged classes, although by no means are they the only aristocrats. Magic was often used to support the divine right to rule in monarchies, and if an heir was born without magic, they were passed over in the succession. However, further study of magic, starting in about the 1400s, revealed that it is not purely genetic, although it does tend to run in families. Exposure to magic, the favor of a god or force, or tempermental factors have all been theorized to contribute to magical ability.

Magic users (or energopaths) are fairly rare: an energopath being born out of a magical family is almost unheard of, although non-magic users born within magical families are rather more common. However, when someone has magical abilities, generally they are quite strong. In general, magic users must be identified and trained early (around the age of six) to prevent them from harming themselves or others. This is especially important with people with psionic powers, such as telepathy, as a lack of control can cause severe mental damage both to the user and to others.

No one is entirely sure how magic works, but the most widely accepted theory is that energopaths can control a specific type of energy (magical energy) which allows them to manipulate other types of energy, such as kenetic or thermal energy. This also includes a hypothetical “mental energy”, which would explain the abilities of telepaths and empaths. This is supported by the fact that magic users tire quickly when using their energy, and may faint or even die if they overexert themselves.

There are several different types of magic. Magic in general runs in families, but the specific type usually occur randomly. Some types of magic include:

Telekinetic magic: Telekinetics can move objects with their mind. Beginners can generally only fling things in a general direction, but more experienced telekinetics can have finer movement. Some telekinetics use their abilities for art, twisting their materials into a desired shape. A good telekinetic can make finer artwork than anyone could by hand. Some telekinetics, such as hydrokinetics (water telekinetics) or xylokinetics (wood telekinetics) specialize in certain materials. Telekinetic magic takes up relatively little energy when compared to that needed to physically move something, but telekinetics tend to overestimate their own strength.

Telepathic magic: Telepaths can read people’s thoughts. It is believed that telepaths can sense a type of mental energy unknown to non-magic users. Untrained telepaths are flooded with all of the thoughts of the people around them. Training often consists of learning how to focus on a specific person’s thoughts to the exclusion of others. Telepaths can never completely drown out the thoughts, but they can learn to focus in society. Telepaths can also learn to guard their own thoughts, which is almost impossible for non-telepaths. Another type of telepath is the empath, who can sense other’s emotions. This ability is more fuzzy and fallible than the telepath’s abilities, but empaths can have the ability to influence other’s emotions as well as sense them. It is very important that telepaths and empaths are identified early to avoid mental damage. In general, telepathy takes up very little of the telepath’s energy, but focusing on a specific person or thought uses it up much more quickly.

Interpathic magic: Interpaths can maipulate and change the energy around them. Specifically, they can take in energy from outside sources and release them in a different form. For example, an interpath can absorb thermal energy from a fire and convert it into kinetic energy, which can knock something over. If an interpath takes in too much energy and does not release it, the interpath can become overly energetic and have low concentration. An interpath that releases too much, however, can become tired, or even become unconscious. Interpaths are very difficult to detect. Although they are constantly absorbing and releasing energy, it is usually in the same form, and in a more or less equal amounts. Usually children are tested if they are born into a magical family and seem either overly hyper or overly lethargic, as both may be signs of a slightly uneven energy flow. Some interpaths, such as pyropaths or healers, specialize in transferring specific types of energy. A good healer can mend cuts or kill bacterial diseases. Another specific kind of interpath is a “mirror”, who specializes in reflecting energy away from themselves. This includes mental energy, making them impervious to telepaths and empaths.

“Berserker” magic: Some energopaths have the ability to go into a high-energy state. This makes them very gifted fighters, usually referred to as berserkers or valkryies, as they become faster and stronger and have the ability to shrug off wounds temporarily. However, this magic is also very dangerous. The user cannot choose to go into this state — it is triggered by a rush of adreniline. The berserker can induce the state by exercise or stave it off by meditation or deep breathing. Some berserkers use drugs to control their attacks, but this is not encouraged. Also, once in the state, they cannot leave it until they faint. As this ability requires a lot of energy, this can happen fairly quickly. Finally, the user cannot tell friend from foe while in this state, except through rigorous training and conditioning. A useful method is to train a berserker to tell their army apart from the enemy is by uniform colour, or skin colour. Berserkers require one of the harshest disciplines of any magic, but the result is amazing. Berserkers are believed to be a type of interpath.

Most magic users display only one type of magic, or predominantly one type. However, some magic users display abilities in one or more areas of magic. These energopaths, colloquially referred to as “jacks”, usually have less power in each area than a magic user specializing in one, but they are useful for their ingenuity with their powers. When jacks are trained for the military, they often end up as planners or tactitions.

So, there you have it. I wrote it a bit more formally than usual. And the military slang for each of those groups is, respectively: tells (telekinetics), snoops (telepaths), ids (empaths), sponges (interpaths), mirrors (the reflective interpaths), berserkers/valkryies, and jacks.

Anyway. More when I get the chance.

Anyway, this cake is great this is what I would like to cover in this fine month of August:

• The history of the world
• The history of the Party (make up a better name for it)
• The history of the Academy
• The history of the Resistance (make up a better name for it)
• The magic system
• Relations between the upper class (magic users) and the lower classes (non-magic users)
• Personal history of the major characters

So, as you can see, I kind of have a lot ahead of me. I think I’ll take on the history of the world/Party next post. I have family over, so I don’t know how long it’s going to be until I post again.

Full name of Character: Roseanne Baker
Reason, meaning or purpose behind the name: Family name from her mother’s side
Nickname: Rosie when she was younger, Rose on occasion
Reason for nickname: Time.
Occupation: Until recently, she was a student advisor at the Academy, helping new kids get settled in. Now she’s been recruited to help find the group of runaways.                                                                                     Social class: Lower-middle class, originally.

Appearance

Age: 18.
How old they appear: Younger, maybe about sixteen.                                                                                  Eye Color: Green
Glasses or contacts? Neither
Hair color length and style: Blonde, curly, down to her chin.
Weight and height: 100, 5’5″.
Type of body (build): slender
Skin tone and type (i.e., harry, slimy, scaly, oily, fair, burns easily): Fair, freckled.
Shape of face: Round baby face.
Distinguishing marks (dimples, moles, scars, birthmarks, etc.): Freckles, some small moles.
Predominant feature: Her smile.
Is s/he healthy? Yes.
If not, why not? Or why are they healthy? Exercise, balanced diet.
Do they look healthy? Why/why not? Yes.

Favorites

favorite color: Pink.
Least favorite, why? Orange.
Music? Light jazz and romantic.
Least favorite music? Boring or sad music.
Food: cake
Literature: Fluffy romance novels.
Expressions: Not sure.
Expletives (curse): Son of a bitch. But she only says it when she has to.
Mode of transport: Zeppelin or car.
Hobbies: dance, music, theatre, novels, art                                                                                                How do they spend a rainy day? Reading, talking to friends on the telephone, sketching, listening to music.

Personality

Are they a daredevil or cautious? She likes trying new things, but she isn’t exactly a thrill-seeker.
Do they act the same alone as when with someone? She’s calmer and more serious when she’s alone.
Habits: Biting her lip, giggling when nervous, talking too much.                                                               Drinks: Milk, water, juice, occasionally white wine.                                                                                      How much: However much she needs.
Greatest Strength: Her ability to fool people into thinking she’s stupid. Also, she’s very good at making friends with people.                                                                                                                                        Greatest Weakness: She can get too attached to people, although she generally gets over it. Being too forward. Annoying people.                                                                                                                                      Soft spot: She has a lot of minor soft spots (children, animals, her friends), but she rarely lets them get control of her.                                                                                                                                                        Is their soft spot obvious, why/why not: It can be pretty obvious, when she wants it to be. Otherwise, she can usually ignore it.
If not, how do they hide it: If she wants to hide it, she just represses it.
Biggest Vulnerability: Compassion, neediness

Background

Hometown: Not sure. Haven’t quite figured out where, exactly, they are.
Type of childhood: Happy. Her family were frustrating, but loving.
First Memory: Her dog, Missy, running away.
Most important child hood event that still effects him/her: When she discovered her powers at age twelve.      Why? Because she was taken to Boot Camp, where she was initially excluded from the group, but then she met Charles.

Education: The Academy, aka Boot Camp
Religion: Christian-ish.
Finances: She has enough money to get by for now, but she’s far from rich.

Family

Mother: Iris Baker, nee James
Relationship with her: Used to be close, but drifted apart after she left home.
Father: Richard Baker.
Relationship with him: Same.
Siblings, How many, relationship with each: Mark, 30, distant because he left home when she was 3
Children of siblings: Elizabeth, 12.
Other extended family: Two aunts, Roseanne and Lilly, on her mother’s side.
Close? Why or why not: Used to be close, because they all lived in the same village. However, they lost contact when Roseanne went to the Academy.

Attitude

Most at ease when: She’s among friends, and can speak freely.
Most ill at ease when: She needs to watch herself, or when she doesn’t know what to do.
Priorities: Get a good job, be happy, get married, have children.
Philosophies: Everyone has a good side. Of course, everyone has a bad side, as well.
How they feel about themselves: She’s a little insecure, and cares too much about what other people think, but she’s generally happy.
Past failure they would be embarrassed to admit: Whenever she was mean to someone.
Why? She doesn’t want anyone to know how cynical she can be.
If granted one wish what would it be, why? That she could be friends with everybody.

Traits

Optimist or pessimist? Why? She likes to pretend that she’s an optomist, but really she’s quite cynical.
Introvert or extrovert? Why? Extrovert. She loves to be seen, and always manages to place the focus on her.
Drives and motives: She wants to be liked. But, failing that, she’d like a good job, a nice husband, and a big house.
Talents: Roseanne is actually quite intellegent, and is very good at pretending she isn’t. She can usually charm most people. She’s a Mirror, meaning that she can reflect magic away from her and onto the caster.
Extremely skilled at: ettiquette, conversation, tactics, taking charge
Extremely unskilled at: not talking, taking things seriously
Good characteristics: smart, sociable, cheerful
Character flaws: vain, cynical, shallow, ditzy, needy
Mannerisms: giggling when nervous, playing with her hair, biting her lip
Peculiarities: has little to no qualms about shooting someone, but gets upset if someone doesn’t like her
Biggest regret: I don’t know.
Minor regrets: Several — mostly being mean to people she wanted to impress.
Biggest accomplishment: Graduating from Boot Camp intact.
Minor accomplishments: Graduating from cotillion, getting a job in the Academy.
Darkest secret: She’s not as nice as she pretends to be.
Does anyone know? A few people can guess, but mostly it’s a secret.
How did they find out: Just a general feeling, or a few comments she lets slip.

Self-perception

One word they would use to describe themselves: Likeable.
One paragraph of how they would describe themselves: I’m Roseanne. I’m happy, friendly, and nice. Well, mostly nice. Sometimes I can be kind of mean, but it’s only because people are being annoying. I do try and make everyone happy.
What do they consider their best physical characteristic and why: Smile, because it can both brighten up someone’s day, and it can hide her true thoughts.
The worst one? Why? Her freckles, because it ruins her complexion.
Are they realistic assessments? Her freckles aren’t that bad.
How they think others preserve them: Friendly or annoying, depending on the person.
What four things would they most like to change about themselves: Her freckles, her nervous habits
Why? She thinks her freckles are ugly, and she thinks her nervous habits make her look undignified.
If they were changed would they be the same person, why/why not: Yes, because what she’d change about herself is completely superficial.
Would changing of number 1 make them more happy? Why/why not: No. She’d probably just find something else to fixate on.

Interaction With Other People

How do they relate to others: She’s normally friendly and open with new people, and talks with them. However, she can also be more reserved, on occasion.
How are they perceived by strangers: Overly friendly, sometimes annoying, ditzy.
Friends: Her friends sense that she’s smarter than she lets them know, but they’re mostly actually dumb. They think she’s nice and cheerful. Charles understands her the best, seeing her intellegence and cynicism, but he isn’t her “friend”.
Wife/husband/lover: Mostly the same as her friends.
The Hero/Heroine: They see her as a vacuous upperclassman, and then she joins the search for them. When she socializes with Laura, Laura finds her intellegent and charming, but then sees her darker side.                       How do they view the Hero/Heroine: She likes Laura because she’s good conversation. She pities Ken, but she doesn’t let that affect her job. She doesn’t care one way or the other for Andrew or Jay.
What do people like most about this char: She is nice and helpful.
What do they dislike most about them: She appears superficial, and her cheerfulness and neediness can be irritating.

Goals

Immediate: To capture Ken and his friends and return them to his superiors.
Long term: To get married to someone important and have a family.
How do they plan to accomplish them: She will help Charles capture Ken, which should make her known. Then she will meet people and become important in society.
How will others be effected by this: Ken and the others will have to be killed.

Problems/Crisis

How do they react in a crisis: She buckles down, assesses the situation, and makes a decision.
How do they face problems: She approaches them systematically and tries to figure out a solution.
Kind of problems they usually run into: Navigating through her social circle’s personal problems, dealing with the new recruits to Boot Camp, tactical problems in battle.
How they react to new problems: She calms down and figures out a solution as quickly as she can.
How they react to change: She takes it in stride and uses it to her advantage.

General:

Favorite clothing, why: Her pink dress, because it goes with her hair and looks good with her skin.
Least favorite, why: Her uniform, because it does nothing for her figure and clashes with her complexion.
Jewelry: She has a gold ring which her mother gave her. She wears it most of the time. 
Other accessories: A purse, a gun.
Drives: She is eager to please, and also to better her social status.
Where do they live: At the Academy.
Where do they want to live: In a big house.

Spending habits, why: She loves clothes, but she can only go shopping every once in a while, because she doesn’t have much money left over from her job.
What do they do too much of, why: Talk and spend money on clothes.
Most prized possession, why: Her ring, because her mother gave it to her.
People they secretly admire, why: She admires Charles and his ability to keep his emotions all the time.
Person they are most influenced by, why: I don’t know.
Most important person in their life before story starts, why: I don’t know.
How do they spend the week just before the story starts: Helping new recruits to Boot Camp and talking with her friends.

Just imagine her as Glinda, only slightly more psychotic.

I’ve been bouncing this idea around for a while, but I haven’t actually started writing it yet. Next I might work with a villian from my actual WIP (perish the thought).

So, without any further ado, my first villain.

Full name of Character: Charles de Paul
Reason, meaning or purpose behind the name: Parents thought it sounded nice
Nickname: None. Charles doesn’t like nicknames.
Reason for nickname: None.
Occupation: He’s in charge of making sure the student at the Academy behave, as well as tracking down runaways.
Social class: Upper-middle class.

Appearance

Age: 19.
How old they appear: In his twenties, but more because of his prescence than his body. He’s an old soul.
Eye Color: Brown
Glasses or contacts? Neither
Hair color length and style: Brown, cut short.
Weight and height: 130, 5’11″.
Type of body (build): skinny
Skin tone and type (i.e., harry, slimy, scaly, oily, fair, burns easily): Fair, clean.
Shape of face: Pointed chin, wide forehead.
Distinguishing marks (dimples, moles, scars, birthmarks, etc.): Crooked nose.
Predominant feature: His nose.
Is s/he healthy? Yes.
If not, why not? Or why are they healthy? Exercise, healthy meals, relatively low stress.
Do they look healthy? Why/why not? Yes.

Favorites

favorite color: Red.
Least favorite, why? None.
Music? Classical. Bach, usually.
Least favorite music? Contemporary, Romantic
Food: steak
Literature: Greek tragedy and history.
Expressions: I don’t know.
Expletives (curse): Damn, probably. Charles doesn’t curse much.
Mode of transport: Zeppelin.
Hobbies: chess, literature, music, miltary history
How do they spend a rainy day? Practicing chess, reading, working on his strategy, practicing his powers.

Personality

Are they a daredevil or cautious? Cautious. He hates having to change his plans.
Do they act the same alone as when with someone? Mostly.
Habits: Getting lost in thought when someone’s speaking.
Drinks: Wine. Yes, I know he’s too young.
How much: One glass with dinner, usually.
Greatest Strength: His ability to hide his emotions.
Greatest Weakness: His belief that everyone is stupider than himself.
Soft spot: Beauty. He doesn’t like to destroy pieces of art, furniture, houses, etc.
Is their soft spot obvious, why/why not: Not really. He’s good at keeping his emotions under control.
If not, how do they hide it: He keeps a blank face most of the time.
Biggest Vulnerability: Pride

Background

Hometown: Not sure. He seems like a New Englander.
Type of childhood: Happy enough.
First Memory: His grandfather dying, and his parents trying to hide it from him.
Most important child hood event that still effects him/her: When the soldiers came to take him to the Academy.
Why? Because he is now trained as an officer, spent twelve years in Boot Camp.
Education: The Academy, aka Boot Camp
Religion: Apathetic.
Finances: He’s pretty much set for life, but he’s not hugely wealthy.

Family

Mother: Anne de Paul, nee Willis.
Relationship with her: Non-existant.
Father: John de Paul.
Relationship with him: Non-existant.
Siblings, How many, relationship with each: None.
Children of siblings: None.
Other extended family: None that he knows.
Close? Why or why not: Not close, because he left home at six.

Attitude

Most at ease when: He knows exactly what’s going on, and no one else does.
Most ill at ease when: He’s dealing with calm people.
Priorities: Become a general in the army, serve the government.
Philosophies: Keep to the law, except when you have to deviate.
How they feel about themselves: He’s doing well.
Past failure they would be embarrassed to admit: Was caught skipping class when he was eight.
Why? Because now he is a law official, and realizes the worth of the law.
If granted one wish what would it be, why?

Traits

Optimist or pessimist? Why? Pessimist. He sees everyone else as idiots that he has to put up with to get anything done.
Introvert or extrovert? Why? Introvert. He prefers to keep his emotions to himself, to put his enemies at a disadvantage.
Drives and motives: He wants to succeed and become a general in the army. He believes that he is the only one smart enough to lead government troops.
Talents: Charles is a genius, and is very good at strategy. He is also an Id, meaning that he can sense other people’s emotions.
Extremely skilled at: strategy, reading people, keeping in control, thinking ahead
Extremely unskilled at: making split-second decisions, dealing with change
Good characteristics: intellegent, calm, loyal
Character flaws: proud, vain, cruel, unadaptable
Mannerisms: folding his hands together when upset
Peculiarities: almost never changes his expression
Biggest regret: Charles doesn’t like dwelling on the past.
Minor regrets: Same.
Biggest accomplishment: Getting a leadership position immeadiately after graduation.
Minor accomplishments: Graduating from Boot Camp, mastering his Id powers.
Darkest secret: He feels some regret when he has to kill people.
Does anyone know? Hopefully not.
How did they find out: None.

Self-perception

One word they would use to describe themselves: Collected.
One paragraph of how they would describe themselves: I am intellegent, possibly the most intellegent graduate of the Academy. I am a strategist above all else. I am calm. I would never betray anyone, be it myself or anyone else, unless I absolutely had to. The law is supreme.
What do they consider their best physical characteristic and why: Eyes. They can see everything, but give away nothing.
The worst one? Why? His nose, because it makes his face look off-center.
Are they realistic assessments? Yes.
How they think others preserve them: Calm, emotionless, intellegent.
What four things would they most like to change about themselves: His nose.
Why? His nose makes him look undignified.
If they were changed would they be the same person, why/why not: Yes.
Would changing of number 1 make them more happy? Why/why not: Yes.

Interaction With Other People

How do they relate to others: He looks down on most people, considering them inferior. This disdain usually slips out in the form of passive-agressive insults.
How are they perceived by strangers: Aloof, cold.
Friends: He doesn’t really have friends, but people who know him better than strangers find him calm and focused.
Wife/husband/lover: None.
The Hero/Heroine: They see him as an authority figure at first, but then they see him as a heartless killer who is prusing them for his own gain.

How do they view the Hero/Heroine: He sees Ken as something to be collected in order to be promoted. He thinks Laura has potential, but her rebellious streak gets in the way. Jay is completely useless and out of control, while Andrew is a cowardly weakling.
First impression of the char: Don’t know.
why?
What happens to change this perception:
What do people like most about this char: He is efficient.
What do they dislike most about them: He is frustratingly calm, and you can never know what he’s thinking.

Goals

Immediate: To capture Ken and his friends and return them to his superiors.
Long term: To get promoted to general.
How do they plan to accomplish them: First, he will capture Ken, which should place him firmly in the superior’s good books. Second, he will continue to do his work well and efficiently, displaying his strategical talent, until he rises through the ranks.
How will others be effected by this: Ken and the others will have to be killed. Charles is not afraid to trample on others to acheive his goal.

Problems/Crisis

How do they react in a crisis: If he has time, he replans. If he doesn’t, he tends to break down and make mistakes.
How do they face problems: With a plan.
Kind of problems they usually run into: How to plan a battle, how to capture runaways.
How they react to new problems: In the spur of the moment? Panic.
How they react to change: Badly.

General:

Favorite clothing, why: His uniform, because it makes him look smart.
Least favorite, why: I don’t know.
Jewelry: None.
Other accessories: Gun, usually.
Drives: He is eager to succeed.
Where do they live: In the army barracks.
Where do they want to live: In a nice house when he isn’t at war, and in a tent when he is.

Spending habits, why: He likes buying good food, good wine, and some entertainment, but he doesn’t need to buy many clothes.
What do they do too much of, why: Over-indulge in food and wine.
Most prized possession, why: His chess board, because it belonged to the man who taught him strategy, the former General Anderson.
People they secretly admire, why: He envies Laura’s ability to react quickly to change. He also admires The Principal and his ability to intimidate others.
Person they are most influenced by, why: General Anderson, various historical figures.
Most important person in their life before story starts, why: The Principal, because he is his immediate superior.
How do they spend the week just before the story starts: Finding trouble-makers in the halls, waiting for his first runaway assignment.

Anyway, one of my characters just turned out to be in love with someone they’re not supposed to be in love with. Part of me’s excited because, hey, the little characters are all grown up now and can make their own decisions! And it does actually fix a lot of plot holes. But on the other hand, it sort of pisses me off because… well, he wasn’t SUPPOSED to be in love with her. No matter how glad I am that my characters can reveolt, it’s sort of the thought that they know better than me that makes me mad.

So, yeah. That’s my post. Nothing deep and profound today.

Anyway, for lack of anything better, I’ll talk about different types of comedy. Yay.

I just started thinking about this, apropos of nothing, the other day. I’ve noticed that, in movies especially, there seems to be three broad categories of comedy: smart comedy, good-stupid comedy, and bad-stupid comedy.

Smart comedy is exactly what it says. It’s comedy that makes you laugh by being genuinely insightful about human existence and emotion. It’s the sort of comedy that you’re allowed to like, and will admit to liking. Of course, there’s always the risk of going for smart-comedy and ending up with unfunny and prentetious, but not to worry. There will always be a small subset of people who like what you’ve done, albeit only because they’re “supposed to”. But that’s a rant for another day.

My favorite “smart-comedy” is Stranger Than Fiction. It’s a story about a guy who’s the main character in a novel. It’s smart, it’s funny. And, like all great comedies, it can be truly heart-breaking. Packed with an all-star cast and headed by Will Ferrell, who gives an outstanding performance as the meek accountant Harold Crick, it’s a great movie that plays with our ideas of reality and destiny, while still being pretty damn hilarious. It’s one of two scripts that I will kick myself forever that I didn’t write (the other being another one of my favorite smart comedies, Grosse Point Blank).

And then there’s good-stupid comedy. Everyone knows this. It’s basically just crudity and pop culture references. But you still laugh anyway. You know you shouldnt, but it’s genuinely funny. The best make you wonder if it was a work of genius or the work of a twelve-year-old. I find Anchorman, another Will Ferrell movie, to be a great example of this confusion. I mean, it’s so dumb… but they CAN’T expect anyone to take it seriously, can they? Gah, it makes my head hurt just thinking about it.

And, finally, stupid-stupid comedy. Self-explanatory. Schlock like Meet the Spartans. Comedy so unbelieveably dumb that you can’t figure out who pays to see it. Answer: frat boys and bored nerds who like picking it apart.

Of course, the lines can be blurred (South Park is usually a smart-comedy, with elements of good-stupid comedy and the occasional stupid-stupid comedy moment), but those are the basic categories. That I’ve noticed, anyway.

Yeah.

I honestly don’t know what my writing would be like if not for the Internet. I have improved immensely in the two years or so that I have been active on the Internet. Maybe it’s just a natural result of growing up and realizing that my writing isn’t the best thing since Shakespeare, but I think it mostly has to do with getting real criticism from other writers.

I used to give my stories to my friends, and they’d gush over it and say it’s excellent, it’s the best thing they’ve ever read. That’s nice, and all, but it isn’t exactly helpful. Then I got on the Internet. Suddenly, I was getting lots of critiques, and quite a few of them weren’t “OMG UR SO GOOD” (although a lot were — this is the Internet, after all). At first I couldn’t deal with it. Like, at all. I’d ignore it, and then I’d never finish whatever got critiqued. It hurt too much.

But, eventually, something snapped. Somehow, without even trying to, I’d snapped the bonds between my ego and my writing. I didn’t see critiques of my work as someone hating me, my writing, and everything about it. I began to see that the critiquer likes my work, but thinks that it can improve in certain areas. Otherwise, why bother? Maybe it was because I was beginning to critique more, as well, so I understood where they were coming from. I don’t know. But it’s the best thing that ever happened to me, as far as my writing is concerned. This revelation might never have happened if I hadn’t begun posting my work on the Internet.

I also love how the Internet is a level playing field. Let’s take a webcomic, for example. If you are talented, and if you put tons of work into your webcomic, and update regularly, people are more likely to take notice. There’s always the fluke of human stupidity to count for, but, in general, popular comics are popular because they deserve to be. Of course, some of the popular comics have flagged in recent years, but, in general, are based on strong writing and consideration for their fans (I can forgive a comic poor art, but I will never keep reading a poorly-written comic. I can understand missing updates if you have a day job or personal problems, but if the author doesn’t bother giving any explanation, or misses updates when the comic is their job, I’m sorry. I hate it).

Also, the degree of creator-audience interaction is great. From your first fan fic to your webcomic of ten years, there is always the possibility of easy communication between the two. I believe that, although puff pieces bloat an artist’s ego and cause stagnation, I also believe that good criticism is the most valuable tool and author can have. I would consider a creator extremely lucky if he or she has one constructive critique for every twenty empty praises (or empty flames). Having been guilty of both of these types of reviews, I know that con crit is more rewarding both for the creator and the reviewer.

In short, even though the Internet is filled with drek, it is one of the best tools an artistic person can have. To quote one of the many versions of Sturgeon’s Law: “90% of everything is crap, but the 10% is worth dying for”.

Jesus Christ, next thing you know, I’ll be singing about how the sun’ll come out tomorrow.

No, honestly. They’re the hardest part of a novel for me. I struggle with how much information to give, what the characters sound like, sorting out the plot holes, everything. Mostly I wonder if my writing is good enough for the work I’m doing. I want it to be really good, but I know I’m not really good yet. I’m pretty good, but that just won’t cut it.

So I stress about it, trying to get better, thinking that maybe I should put this aside, work on something shorter, something easier, until I get better.

If I keep doing that, I’m never going to get better.

I can’t keep getting wrapped up in my own insecurities to the point where I don’t do anything. I’m a writer. It’s what I want. And I’m young. I’m allowed to suck for now. But if I don’t practice, I’m never going to improve.

Of course, maybe posting something for critique the moment I finish it doesn’t exactly help, either.

So, here’s what I’ll do. I’ll keep it to myself for now, and I won’t stop to think how bad the dialogue or the prose or the plot is. That’s what editing’s for. The first draft is for getting the general idea of a novel down. I can polish and edit as much as I want, but I’m never going to get to that point if I don’t plough through this.

Wish me luck.