TechnicDragon: Blog

--==( Sibling Magus )==--
I know it might seem odd, but I've finished writing the first drafts for the last chapters of Sibling Magus. I think I might have even over-loaded my editors in this case too, because as everyone knows I usually don't produce more than one chapter a week - and that's more than my average, to be honest.

However, I was determined to have Sibling Magus finished by the end of this month. Well, I have. And just so everyone has an idea of what that entails, I'll say this: there are seven new chapters coming since my last posting. That's right, seven.

More than that, I've made plans on how to tackle the next story, Rogue Magus. I'm going to spend the next couple of months planning and laying out the story, making sure I have all the details I need to put it together, including characters, locations, and issues for Seth to solve, and then I'm going to spend the month of November writing. November, as some writers know, is the month many spend attempting to write a full novel in 30 days. Well, this will be my first attempt and I'm actually very positive that I'll be successful.

Granted, that doesn't mean the story will be posted in a month.

Anyway, just thought I'd drop a line and let everyone know what's going on and what's in the works. I spent over a year working on Sibling Magus and I don't want to do that again. To be honest, it shouldn't take me more than three months to write, edit, polish, and post one of my stories. Unfortunately, things happen and cause delays. I do apologize for that and hope this makes up for it.

--==( Internet Access )==--
My internet bill is due again. Last month, I received enough in donations to pay it off in full, therefore this month's bill is for only one month. The bill is for $72.07 and is due on Aug 26. Donations can be made through Paypal (technicdragon@gmail.com).

Thank you,

TD

--==( Sibling Magus )==--
Chapter 34 has been submitted for posting. Enjoy!

Oh, the internet bill has not only bee paid, but completely caught up! Thank you do all Donators!

TD

--==( Sibling Magus )==--
The good news: I've just submitted another new chapter for Sibling Magus.

The better news: I have several more chapters typed up and waiting to be checked by editors before posting. :)

My editors - bless them all - have been very quick to answer, so things are moving faster than expected. :)

--==( Internet Access )==--
Update: I've receive a very generous donation that almost hits the minimum for this month's bill. Just so everyone knows, I live in the United States. So, donations from Europe, Australia, and other countries will end up getting converted to $US before I find out how much I really have. Unfortunately, the free card I was sent that works with my paypal account now has a monthly fee of $4.95. So, that cuts into what I have to use for the internet bill too. As it stands, I currently have $64.08 to go towards the bill. Another $11 and I've hit my goal for this month. Remember, donations can be made to Paypal via technicdragon@gmail.com.

Thank you,

TD

--==( Sibling Magus )==--
The good news is: I've just submitted a new chapter for Sibling Magus. The better news: I have several chapters hand written and waiting to be typed up, not to mention checked by editors and puzzled over too before posting, but I've got em. I'm determined to have the story finished by the end of August. Period. It may not be the best ending grammatically speaking because I've been having to wait a week or more to hear back from my editors. So, I may be posting chapters that end up getting re-posted several times each. However, it's been over a year since I started posting this story and because of any number of reasons, I'm still trying to finish it. It's time for the story to be finished and for me to move on to the next one.

--==( Internet Access )==--
It is that time of month again. The kids have gone home, I'm getting more writing done, and the internet bill is due (by 7/26). The bill this month is $143.68. I've been consistently behind by a month, and until I find another source of money I'll probably stay that way. I need at least $75 to make sure the connection remains on. Please, folks, I need your help. Make donations to paypal via technicdragon@gmail.com.

Thank you.

TD

--==( Sibling Magus )==--
I'm still having problems with chapter 32. No matter what I come up with, now I'm finding reasons for it not to work. I can only keep working on it, come up with something and move forward. ;)

--==( Anonymous Comments 2 )==--

Anonymous wrote back...

While you made some excellent points in your response to my earlier analysis of your story, I think you are missing the main thrust of my argument. Before I get to that, I would like to address a couple of points you made.

On how magic works in the world: you of course have complete narrative control over how you design your magic system. What you need to do is to preempt obvious arguments from the reader by having a character bring up those points. For example, you state that perhaps a focus might be unbreakable or perhaps it will explode or some other problem. The reader, however, doesn't know this unless someone asks and a character in the story tells us why this is not a viable option. Something as simple as when Seth realizes that the model might be the focus he says "Lets break in tonight an take a sledgehammer to it." At this point the Sheriff or trainer could say "Whoa boy, that is a really bad idea because….". Alternatively, you could have Seth's focus run over by a car or smashed or stepped on or something and come out unscathed, allowing him to ruminate on how indestructible the darn thing is now that it has been magicked.

Your point about the sheriff knowing most of the stuff about the politics is valid, which is yet another reason why I believe from a plotting standpoint, her continuous presence is a bad idea in the story. The story would be much more Seth focused if she went off stage and was out of touch for large portions of the story (looking for clues, undercover work, getting yelled at by the big bosses, …).

As the story is right now, we have had many chapters explaining how much of a beginner Seth is, to the point where the reader's opinion of his magical abilities is damaged. In the earlier works, we saw Seth as some sort of prodigy, but now he is being portrayed as the guy in remedial magic class (his wards don't have much magic, he doesn't know how to do x, y and z, etc.).

What I was trying to convey in my response to your story, was my belief that Seth needs to drive the action in the story. What is Seth's focus? Is it to protect his fonti? In this case, we should see threat to the fonti (Neal is a start, but very late in the story) and Seth's actions to protect (magic? Investigations?) as the character develops in the story. The timeframe of the story is short, but that simply means that his character development has to happen faster.

The other thing is that Seth's character flaws should have consequences. He doesn't want to study his abilities? Someone gets hurt because he can't protect them. He wants to ignore the lockdown? Someone close to him has something bad happen because of it. He wants to avoid emotional entanglements with some of his girls? They start getting bitchy and fighting with one another.

Take these comments in the spirit they were written; to try to help you make your story the best it can be.

Damn, I wish we could talk directly. I've had fantastic discussions with others who've had constructive criticism in the past and I don't see this any differently. :D

Magic Mechanics: Good advice on both points. Too bad I hadn't thought of either one while building up to what's coming. Unfortunately, I cannot comment further without giving away anything.

Sheriff: Another valid point. And another point on which I cannot comment further. :(

Magical Remedial Class: You're right about that, but only from the standpoint that he's not had the years of experience at his age that most other Magi do. Most are awakened and go through Initiation when they hit puberty (typically if not a little later). So, if Seth would have gone through that at that age, then high school would have been a different experience and as a freshman in college, he could potentially find and disarm the Lockdown source on his own, with only minor suggestions from the Sheriff (and no need for a trainer). Is Seth way behind on the curve? Yes. Does that mean he's not some sort of prodigy? Not necessarily.

Seth's Focus: Based on my idea of the primary, secondary, and third plots of the story, things are about to become very consequential. And that's the last hint I can give.

--==( Internet Access )==--
Donations are coming in, however, more is needed. So far I've only received $40.00. The bill is for $114.90. Unfortunately, Paypal is the only way I can accept donations currently (technicdragon@gmail.com) and they're hitting me with a $4.95 monthly fee for the debit card they said would be free. Obviously some policy changes have been made that I'm currently unaware of. If nothing else, I need at least $10 more to help make up for that and the late fee Verizon imposes. Any amount will help though. Thank you.

TD