Good morning, Readers!

Image by max_gloin from Pixabay

Thursday! Yay!

Tomorrow night I stream (on Twitch), and I'm really looking forward to it. It's a fun game (Assassin's Creed Odyssey) and the gang that gathers weekly is a very fun group. It generally is the social highlight of my week... and has been since before the pandemic, actually.

This week has been great for writing so far, but I'll talk more on that during my check-in next Tuesday.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a Nintendo Switch, primarily because I've been made aware of an awesome puzzle game series (The Room​), for which the first few in the series are available on the Switch ​and the most recent instalment is available on PS VR, which I have, and which I would absolutely love to play.

​It's money I don't need to be spending, especially since I'm saving up for a new Mac. But... 

I am having that weird feeling of extreme hope currently. Perhaps it's because I'm writing this on the evening of the 20th, with Joe Biden having been officially inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States, and things might just start to be turned around. It might be because writing has been going so damned well, and I'm riding that high. For the record, that high can be incredibly high. There's nothing like the feeling of writing going well for me.

It might also be because I had a second cup of coffee after lunch... so...

Still, I'm getting the weird bubbly feeling in my chest and a weird sense that something awesome is just around the corner. That feeling, incidentally, has rarely ever resulted in anything wonderful happening, so I'm side-eying this feeling pretty hard. But I was also grinning like an idiot the whole way home and felt very much like skipping.

Does anyone else get that feeling? Am I alone here?

And that's it. That's all the random stuff I have to talk about today. Life is falling into its usual pattern - and so other than my writing, my very odd dreams, and random good feelings, I don't have all that much to talk about.

Good thing today is the last blogging day, and I've got the weekend to create something to discuss.

For now, though, I'm off to do more writing. Gotta ride that wave while it lasts!

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I'm over at Black Gate Magazine today, talking about a pretty cool thing my local SFF community has managed to do for us.

Good morning, Readers!

I think I'm going to dedicate my Tuesday posts to keeping myself accountable with my project by posting about it here. Things are going so well, I'm worried that it'll sound like I'm showing off. I promise I'm not, I'm just really excited about how well things are going at the moment, and I will share when things aren't going well. So far, though, things are going stupidly well.

I blew through last week's word count goal again, though not nearly by as large a margin as the week before. It's still well above what I had set for myself, and I am stoked.

This story is a lot slower than my other ones - there aren't as many action pieces. But I'm loving it all the same. It's letting me explore new things, and I find it refreshing and exciting, even though it isn't very action-y. My new little planner is perfect for keeping count, keeping me accountable, and organizing my days/to-dos. It was a good purchase, I think. 10/10. Will be doing that again.

The inspiration hasn't died. I'm finding myself eager to get writing. The story is constantly in my mind, still. Writing this one is not a slog. It's been that way with other books. And other books were breezier. This is towards the breezier end of the writing for me, which I'm very much enjoying. A good way to get back into writing again.

My monthly goal was 20 000 words. As of the end of last week, the second week of January, I've just edged past it. With two weeks to go, I'm wondering if I might be able to double it. It's unlikely, but I'm pretty sure I can come close. If I can, I'll have crossed the halfway mark of the novel (more or less. Actual final word count is really up to the story itself), and may, if I do nothing more than my goal counts for the rest of the book, have a completed novel an entire month before my self-imposed deadline.

Then the problem becomes editing the damned thing.

That done, the problem will become finding an agent to represent it, or a publishing house willing to publish it.

And there's the rub. I've not had any luck with any of the other novels in trying to secure an agent. This is the stage that I always seem to fall down at.

But I'm not going to think about that. What I am going to do is celebrate a bonza writing week with a well deserved pizza and some wine (I’m writing this on Sunday evening, by the by).

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

We're back with my second watch through of The Untamed. I figured, even though it's only been three weeks since I started, we still might need a refresher, so...

The Story So Far

A bloke named Mo Xuanyu was kicked out of the Jin Clan for unknown reasons. Mistreated by his family, he sacrifices his body to bring back to life a man called Wei Wuxian (hereafter WWX), whose death some sixteen years ago was a cause for celebration amongst many, in order to get revenge on them all.

The Mo household is, meanwhile, haunted by a sword ghost which we learn is infused with the energy of the Styrgian Tiger Amulet, a device of WWX's creation in his first life. Cultivators from the Lan Clan are called in to take care of the haunting. Quickly out of their depth, even with WWX's help, they call for their master, Lan Wangji (hereafter LWJ) for help. Turns out, LWJ and WWX have quite the history together and WWX's remembrances of LWJ are bittersweet.

Through some contrivance of happenstance, WWX ends up meeting and insulting a boy from the Jin Clan, who he later learns is his nephew. He also runs into his adopted brother, Jiang Cheng, who it turns out, is a complete dick. Still WWX escapes, his identity still a secret. His nephew and the young cultivators from Mo's Manor all end up getting attacked by a dancing fairy statue, which has been eating souls. Turns out, though, that was just an illusion. In the fight, WWX summons help from Wen Ning, also called The Ghost General, who WWX believed to be dead. Turns out, nope.

WWX runs into LWJ (literally), and it's obvious that LWJ recognises WWX.

Cue flashback in which we learn that WWX and Jiang Cheng were very close once, along with their older sister, Jiang Yanli. The three are on their way to the Cloud Recesses - home of the Lan Clan to attend cultivating lectures.

​Right, we're caught up. Let's continue.

So, we're in a town that apparently everyone on their way to the Cloud Recesses passes through. The episode opens with WWX and company being kicked out of an inn they've rented to get some rest because some young Jin (Jin Zixuan) lordling has decided he wants the whole damned tavern to himself. The boy's a bit of a pompous ass.

An advance party of two female cultivators arrives, and WWX manages to charm his way into regaining a room for him and his siblings to rest. Only, no... Jin Zixuan apparently needs those rooms as well. So, the siblings must pack up all the same.

The lordling arrives with an enormous retinue. Seriously. How many attendants does a single bloke need. Anyway, he shows up and runs into the siblings.

Well, if Jiang Yanli doesn't have a crush on this pompous ass...

Anyway, despite once again stating their case, Jin Zixuan still kicks out the siblings. This, and an awkward solo encounter, leaves poor Jiang Yanli quite upset.

And holy shit! Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan are engaged? An arranged marriage between their parents? WTF?

So, unable to get the rest, WWX and his siblings make haste, arriving at the entrance to the Cloud Recesses before sunset. Technically, they should be able to get in, making it before curfew, but no, they've left their invitations in the damned tavern now occupied by Jin What'sHisFace.

LWJ arrives on the scene. Here they use a shot from one of WWX's remembrances in an earlier episode, and also slow motion, so you know this is the boy sees boy moment in the series. As it turns out, LWJ is leading the way in a morbid procession, in which a cultivator is carried in on a stretcher, his neck all marked up with what looks like cracks. You know, like a rock would have cracks.

WWX ponders aloud after someone murmurs about death, that the man on the stretcher isn't actually dead, but subjected to some wicked sorceries. This apparent braininess gets LWJ's attention. WWX seizes the moment to try and talk his way into the Cloud Recesses, but LWJ is having none​ of it.

HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH! LWJ put a silencing spell on WWX to shut him up. No talking your way into this one, WWX!

Unable to to get even an inch from LWJ, WWX heads back to town to get the invitations while Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng and their retinue wait outside of the entrance to the Cloud Recesses, denied entry until the sun comes up the next day. Wait... what have we here? LWJ reappears. Does that mean they're allowed in? What does that mean for WWX?

WWX returns to find the campsite empty... and he's carrying two bottles of the liquor he really wanted to try but couldn't because of Jin Peacock-Boy. Hold up. These kids are, like, thirteen in this part of the story aren't they? Who the fuck is giving thirteen year olds rice wine? Not the point, I know, but someone needs to slap their parents.

Deciding to go find his siblings, WWX is stopped at the gate by a powerful magical ward... which he then easily  breaks. We next see him climbing over the roof to get into the Lan Clan manor. He makes sure the coast is clear before he hauls himself onto the roof.

The coast wasn't all that clear, apparently. LWJ is there, staring at WWX. After WWX awkwardly greets him, LWJ informs the wayward would-be student of the Lan Clan rules he's broken. WWX tries to fix it by offering LWJ a bottle of his Emperor's Smile wine, for which he's chastised for attempting to bribe an enforcer of the law; another infraction.

Guess there's nothing for it. The pair are going to have to fight. In the fight, LWJ breaks one of WWX's bottles of liquor, which really upsets WWX. They finish their fight beside a large stone tablet, upon which the 3000 rules of the Lan Clan are listed. Unable to brook WWX's chattering, LWJ puts a silencing spell on him. Again. Man, I wish I had a spell like that. The peace and quiet I would get in my life...

Under arrest, WWX is taken to Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen - LWJ's uncle and brother respectively - who were examining the body of the poor unfortunate cracked cultivator on a stretch LWJ brought in earlier. Turns out, WWX was right - wicked sorcery. There, WWX is given the opportunity to plead his case. Lan Xichen is very reasonable about it all, but WWX is still punished. LWJ assigns him the punishment of writing the three thousand Lan Clan Rules three hundred times. After the punishment is assigned, WWX spies the body on the stretcher and begins his detective work.

We change scenes.

Okay, so there's no attack as such. We just see Wen Ruohan in his hellish throne room. He has a few more cultivators with cracked necks standing around doing nothing. Hovering just above a small lava pit is a thing we learn is a fragment of something called the Yin Iron. It is the Yin Iron that is giving Wen Ruohan the ability to do whatever he's doing to these cultivators. There's a young woman he's giving instructions to. He's sending her to the Cloud Recesses to attend the lectures... except not. She's supposed to find another fragment of the Yin Iron. She asks that she take her younger brother, who has been unwell since childhood. Her request is granted.

Cut back to the room in which the Lans and WWX are pondering over the body, and the body sits up and opens its eyes. The eyes are white. Spooky. It's decided the best name for such a poor unfortunate soul is 'puppet.' So, someone out there is making puppets of cultivators. It's Wen Ruohan, but they don't know that yet.

WWX is sent to his quarters, and we see LWJ standing outside, looking up at, presumably, the moon. What follows next is a really, really sweet brother moment. This is the point where I nearly fell in love with Lan Xichen. He's worried that he's been too strict with his younger brother (because, you know, LWJ is such a humourless stickler for the rules and doesn't know how to have fun). He confesses that he's glad LWJ is around during the lectures, that there will be cultivators his age around, and that he can make friends.

Then he says, and I kid you not, that he has a good feeling about WWX. He notes his brother's expression and then asks if WWX did not prove LWJ's equal in the sword fight. LWJ does not appreciate that, and he stalks off.

​AND LAN XICHEN SMIRKS.

Lan Xichen knows what's up.

Oops, we back at the Fire Nation... I mean Wen Ruohan's throne room. Enter Xue Yuan. He's not part of the Wen Clan. He's just working for... with? for them. Wen Ruohan knows the locations of three of the fragments of Yin Iron (he has one, one is in the Cloud Recesses, and I forgot the other place already). Apparently, this Xue Yang knows where the fourth piece of the Yin Iron is, but he's refusing to tell until he gets what he wants from Wen Ruohan. I wonder what that might be?

And that's the end of the episode.

Things I Liked

Again, it's the small character interactions that I loved best about this episode. Lan Xichen's love for his brother is palpable in that gentle moment between them. I loved that scene best of all. I'm also rather taken with how well Wang Yibo is playing LWJ - the stoney face and unyielding personality really work here, and I'm there all the way. WWX's mischief is also great, and plays really well against LWJ's flat stoicism.

Like the things I read, I really enjoy characters done well. They're done extremely well here.

What Could Have Been Done Better

I'm really nitpicking here, like... really nitpicking, but the fight choreography could have been a tad better - a little less reliance on wirework, and some more training would have not gone amiss (though, I really do appreciate that it looks like Wang Yibo has a passing familiarity with some jian forms - jian being the kind of sword used here (a double-edged straight sword, as opposed to a dao, which is technically a sabre) - as evidenced by the way he used his off hand).

Look, I do martial arts, okay. I pay attention to these things whether I want to or not.

Another thing that made me roll my eyes just a tad was the equation of fire with evil. Look, these poor suckers happen to live in a live volcano. Does that automatically make them the villains? Apparently, yes. Probably all those volcanic fumes doing something nefarious to their brains. Still, it's a worn-out trope and it did make me snort a bit.

Overall

Once again, I'm here all the way in this episode. With the continuing introduction of new characters, I liked that the series is letting you sit with each one for a little bit... except for the Wens, really. And that Xue Yang character. I'm sure we'll get more in the next episodes.

Obviously. 

I've seen it before. 

​Anyway, see you next week for Episode Four.

Good morning, Readers.

I am at work today, though Ottawa is in a 2nd lockdown and Ontario is in a state of emergency again. Thanks Covid. Also, thanks to the selfish links who didn't follow the rules. I am at work today because my office deals with construction - including construction projects for schools and hospitals - so we're considered essential.

At least, I hope I'm at work today. There will be, I understand, police who are at liberty to fine people for being out and about for non-essential reasons.

Anyway, chances are, I'm at work.

This weekend will be spent at home, save for grocery shopping, and while I'm a little annoyed about it, while I'm tired of following the rules while selfish toads who think they're above caring about their fellows do not, I want desperately to get this thing over and done with. That means staying in. Wearing a mask. And getting vaccinated when my turn comes around.

This weekend, I have a painting to finish. Well... almost finish. I've ordered some glow in the dark paint, and the painting can't be finished without it. This will be my January painting, and I'm quite excited to show it off when it's finished. But that will happen later. When it's finished.

That's all I've got going on today. Have yourselves a lovely and safe weekend. I'll see you Monday.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I am sitting to write this minutes after my first ever return to Kung Fu. Not in person, of course. With tightening restrictions where I'm living, coupled with a bungled vaccination roll-out means that there won't be in-person training sessions for a long, long time. This was done via Zoom. It was a shorter class 40 minutes, as opposed to the pre-plague one hour, and it was just the one class instead of the usual Kung Fu followed by Kickboxing (so two hours) that it used to be.

Still, I am incredibly grateful for the class happening at all. I'm wildly out of practice, and felt very awkward and uncoordinated, but nevertheless glad to be back at it. I can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit. I'm going to buy a heavy bag and outdoor stand so I can spend some of my evenings punching and kicking something solid. LORDY I miss that so much.

So, I'd like to take this time to thank my elder brothers and my Sifu in Wutan Canada, who have given up their Tuesday and Thursday evenings to teach remotely once again. It's not an easy ask. Remote teaching can be frustrating. I know from experience.

By the way, if you live in Ottawa, and you're hoping to get into martial arts when the area opens up again, go ahead and give our Facebook page a like. We're kinda silent on there right now, but we will be posting there once we have something even approaching a class again.

I'm still dreaming of building us a proper school. It's there. In the back of my mind. At this point, it would take the winning of the lotto in order to achieve this dream, but it's still there. Making me wistful.

I mean, I'll either have to win the lotto or sell a manuscript to Hollywood. Get on that universe. Make it so I can build a school.

Truth be told, my legs are probably going to be very sore tomorrow, when you're all reading this, but it'll be a happy pain.

Tonight, I'll be having a happy sleep. Maybe this time I won't dream about giving my Norwegian friend financial advise, like I'm in any way qualified to do so.

Right, I have a word count to complete. I'm off to write.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

Oh my fucking Gawd, 2021. How can you be this much of a trash fire already?!

Look, things are pretty awful just south of where I am right now, and it's been a concerning week, with increasingly concerning news still rolling out. But there are bright spots. Twitter and Facebook finally banning Trump too late but at least it's something. The neo-Nazi safe space that was Parler has lost its internet hosts and was apparently left wide open for anyone to waltz in. Now everything said on that "private" platform, and who said it (with driver's licenses as proof of identity), all pictures, everything is being exported for law enforcement and perhaps anyone else who wants to get a hang of it.

SUCK IT YOU TREASONOUS MORONS.

Anyway, that's not the point of today's blog post. No, today's blog post is a celebration.

You see, in spite of the trash fire that was the first week of January, I did very well for myself, thank you very much. On the 5th, my pretty little planner arrived. I'm a sucker for a beautiful cover, and it was on sale, and I just really frakkin' wanted it.

I'm using this planner to keep track of my word counts, mostly, but also for my scheduling which, now that I've settled into a kind of work routine, is starting to fill out a bit again. Like, my Tuesdays and Thursdays... and Friday evenings, actually, are all full for the next little while.

Mostly, though, it's for my word count tracking. For the next four months, I have a word count goal of roughly twenty thousand words a month. That breaks down to roughly five thousand words a week. I'm trying to keep it to my work week (so a thousand words a day), with Saturday as a buffer day, giving me some room to catch up if I need to.

This post is a celebration because I didn't need to catch up at all. In fact, I blew through my weekly goal. By blew through, I mean I frakkin' doubled it.

I could have taken this week off if I wanted to and it wouldn't affect my standing currently. I'm not going to, of course. I set myself a goal for this week. What happened last week is of no consequence. It does, though, give me a decent buffer in case something awful happens and I can't write at all. Still, if everything is more or less the same, I plan on making my goal of five thousand words this week.

​So far, I am approaching the third mark of the book. I'm really enjoying it, despite the constant fear that I'm not staying in my lane and it will insult people. I like this story. I like the two protagonists a lot.

I am saving up for a sensitivity reader.

Still, despite the anxiety of not being in my lane, and despite the rage-inducing idiocy happening down south, I wrote. And I wrote a lot.

It's a bit like the dam breaking, I guess. I spent so long not writing, there was a lot of stuff stored up in my brain that is now gushing out faster almost than my fingers can type them out. I'm going to ride this as long as I can!

Tomorrow, I might spend some time complaining that I'm really sore, because it's the first day back at training (online) with my Kung Fu crew in a really, really long time tonight. I expect to be obliterated. For now though, I'm going to hold onto the happy feeling of accomplishment that I've been sitting on for the past couple of days.

For a challenge, what's something you've done in 2021 that you're stupid proud of. It can be anything - drinking more water. Consistently getting out of bed each day. Going for a walk for the first time in ages...  Anything. Celebrate your wonderfulness in the comments!
​
Ciao!