Yes, squirrels. That may seem like an odd reason to do, well, anything, but hey - I guess that could be used to describe me, too.
Considering quite a few of the stories on SOL, I believe I'm not the only odd one, either. Frankly, who wants to be average though? If you're average, that means half of everyone you'll ever know or meet are better than you. I may be odd, but I don't like those odds. I also don't like that it means I'd be better than the other half.
Back to squirrels before I get too far down that tangent.
Across the street from where I live is a small forest that seems heavily populated by small furry fauna of various types. One particular example, is a precocious little squirrel getting ready to move out with her beau for the first time. For shits and giggles, let's call her Maggie. Finding a nearby tree that other than being quite dead and having odd-looking branches, our squirrel adventuress Maggie decided it's the perfect place to nest. Like several other women I've met, Maggie further decided some time early Thursday morning that her new home needed just a few tweaks to be perfect.
That morning, for me, began with a bang. Or, rather a loud pop less than 80 feet outside my window. Suddenly, the pole transformer across from my house started sparking and smoke poured out, followed by similar behavior from my computer before power loss. Sadly, like my PC, Maggie was quite horrifically burned and couldn't be resuscitated.
The moral of the story, is not to chew on live elec - no, wait. The moral of the story is to backup your files more often. Luckily, I have everything from two weeks ago, but there's a lot missing. So, I'm pushing back next posting a week. Sorry.
P.S. I don't recommend chewing on live electrical cables either. But hey, to each their own.
Regards,
Dan Bayou
Thank you all for your kind comments!
I was expecting at least one troll, and was pleasantly surprised when the worst feedback I seem to have gotten was that it was too short. Since that seems to imply that you want more, I don't see any way to take it critically. It's like telling an attractive female on a first date that you find her interesting and want to spend more time getting to know her. Unless your creepy as hell, that's a heck of a compliment!
I do consider this to have been a prologue rather than the first chapter, and thus, was shorter than a normal one will usually be.
A special thanks to REP for his (her?) proofreading. I've made those changes, and a couple more from my friends and family IRL whom I have shared this with. Some of which were about continuity errors in timeline. (like being nine y/o, eight years after birth, getting in fights during summer vacation after school starts up, etc.) Figured I'd just upload the revised version with the next chapter, which will hopefully be Sunday the 27th.
Several of you have asked about backstory/world building, or at least more info about the metas, what makes them tick, their abilities, classification system, etc. Right now, I'm more inclined to give this kind of information organically, as in part s mentioned in conversation, maybe have certain details mentioned in a class lecture, or on CNN in the background, etc. As a reader, I generally find stories that use this approach are richer, and more enjoyable than ones who give you a wall of text at the beginning. Hmm, except in a series. When they seem to go over the same ground in every book, it can get old pretty darn fast.
Okay, I've talked myself into it. :P My next update will also give some world building details as a skip-able section at the beginning of every book. Not everything, but enough to wet your whistle, without drowning you in details.
Finally, on scoring, It is currently at 6.95, which considering how short and incomplete it currently is, I'm ecstatic about.
I do agree that it is way too soon to use that as a basis for how it will end up, and until it's finished, I think I'll just use it a guide on weather I can keep the quality up.
So, thanks again to everyone whose clicked, commented, or reviewed.
No matter what you do,
To thine own self be true.
Dan Bayou
I must say, I can only think of one activity with the same emotional load attached to publicly posting something you have written for the first time, and hoping you get a positive response, and that's another terrifying first.
Closing your eyes for a moment, undressing and allowing a stranger to see you and all your accompanying baggage; putting yourself in a stranger's hands, and hoping your trust isn't misplaced; when it finally happens, you hope that you are at least physically comfortable (but usually aren't.) When it's finally over, usually you're not really sure why you're exhausted and stressed out, but still basking in the glory of the sensation. Sadly, after a while, it usually becomes common, except for the notable exceptions, both good and bad.
I'm talking, of course, about flying. [insert rim-shot here]
Anyway, hello to all you, my adoring public who was just waiting for me to submit the first chapter of my first story. I'm the individual known here as Dan Bayou, a pseudonym picked by my youngest sibling as she wanted me be 'down by you' after I moved away. I know, right? How much more awesome can this guy get than to have a horrible pun in his chosen name?
Please don't answer that.
My writings have been influenced by everything from Tolkien and Heinlein to Baen Authors like Wen Spencer and John Ringo, Self-published authors like P. S. Power, Laurence Dahners, Mackey Chandler, and ... well, I guess there's a lot of em. And that doesn't even mention the authors on SOL and FS! Japanese, Chinese, and Korean web novels have definitely influenced me as well. Hmm. At this point, it might be easier to list the things that haven't influenced me.
So, the story, well, series actually. I have three or four chapters of this particular one I'm editing, as well as a layout for the rest. There's also parts and snippets of at least a half dozen stories in this series spread across three drives and a box of spiral bound notebooks out in the garage of at least ten completed novel length stories that I'll get around to posting. This is to let you know that I'm not going to be a maybe one-and-done author.
I don't plan to have any kind of set schedule for writing, mainly because I don't have any kind of set schedule for anything else, and that's worked so far, and I don't need that kind of aggravation.
So, dear Reader, here's to you.
Please be kind with your comments and reviews.
Dan Bayou