I’ve been working on moving Wayrift back to a Wordpress layout — something I’ve been going back and forth on for a while. There are a lot of positive reasons to make the switch:

• Updates are easier
• RSS feed is automatic (I’ve been hand coding the RSS feed and often forget to update it due to this!)
• Site layout, while a little more limited, is cleaner (IMHO)
• It opens up the ability to track visitors, install stats and all the nice features that Wordpress offers… which a regular HTML site lacks
• Makes it easier to get the content out there to Google and other media sources

Just a slew of reasons… things I’ve learned are perks to using a Wordpress layout for any site. I’ve made the switch for Darkstar… and I’m working on making the switch with the revision of Dreigiau as well. I’m hoping most of my site will eventually go the way of PHP and Wordpress by the end of this year.

Now… the great changes that Entrecard brought. First, they added a Web Comic section! This was something that totally thrilled me — rather than having my comic tucked away in the Graphic Arts area, where it technically didn’t quite fit, Entrecard has actually gone as far as aknowledge the Web Comic niche. I haven’t used Entrecard as much as I should have for Wayrift since I discovered this. But I will be working on my drops soon. Shimmer has been a part of Entrecard for a while… but I’ve decided that right now, I really would like to focus on moving things forward for Wayrift in particular.

Secondly… Entrecard now allows the merging of multiple accounts! This has been a majorly big help for me as I’ve owned 3 different accounts on Entrecard and it’s been quite frustrating to maintain them all. I do approve of the manor that they’ve approached this as I know that due to the structure of accounts, this wasn’t an easy task to undertake. I’m especially glad that they allowed us to link accounts that already existed as that means we could keep our credits, comments and everything else in tact.

I look forward to working on moving things along for the revised Wayrift Wordpress site. I have a lot of comments to restore and a few tweaks to make… but once that’s done, hopefully the site will be whole and in a format I won’t need to change again for a long time.

I’m not sure what came over me today. But early this morning I got it in my head that I was going to start plugging away at the Dreigiau Book 1 Revisions. Again, I have no idea where this came from considering I haven’t even thought about Dreigiau (besides normal updates). It must be all of Rach’s talk about Books of Runne that made me realize it’s awful hard to push on with other new projects when the beginning of an existing project needs to be overhauled.

Part of the reason for this is because I’d like to convert Dreigiau to a Wordpress format, just like Darkstar was. Darkstar shows that Wordpress can be used as a “book” layout with the proper coding and plugins. But before I can set up a site for Dreigiau, I have to be sure all of the chapters are written, edited and in the proper posting order. Because I plan on fleshing out some sections of Chapter 2, even adding chapters where needed, that means I have to get moving on revisions before I can start transferring the site over.

Looking back at writing that is over six years old makes me cringe. Not that I think I’m the most spectacular writer in the world at this point. But I can just see how stiff and lacking the early chapters of Dreigiau are now.

Don’t mistake an edit for a re-write, though. I do not plan on re-writing a majority of the material. I don’t have time to do anything of that magnitude. Besides, I tend to get grouched at by people if I alter things from the original too much. ^^;

I also don’t plan on making this a scheduled project of any sort. I just want to be able to work on this idly whenever I feel like sketching up new material or working through an edit. So I have no real time frame in which I believe this will be completed. Up until now… it was something that hadn’t even begun. So I guess I’m doing better now than I was before?

And if anyone just happens to be interested in what’s going on in a writer’s head during revisions, here’s my Book 1 Changelog!

Question!

Have you ever had that itch to revise work in a long-term project and how did it work out for you? Why does it always seem like something was good at the moment of creation… only to seem really bad a few years down the line?! (Darnit!)

photo credit: china_puwa

One thing about blogging I have discovered is that you learn a lot about yourself and other people when you dare to take that step out into the blogosphere. I’ve met a lot of great folks over the past five months. I’ve experimented with blog platforms, niches, layouts and directions… finding one after another that certain things did and did not work from an artist and writer’s perspective.

One thing I know for sure now is that one blog is all that I can keep updated at this point in my life. Sometimes it’s hard enough to just do that one. While starting a second venture always sounds exciting and rousing at the beginning, it’s not long before you have two mouths to feed instead of one. So I must admit, the idea I had for starting Figpress was a good one, but lack of time has made it impossible to sustain as a regularly updated blog on its own. So late last night, I finally made the choice to consolidate my two blogs yet again. All the posts that were part of Figpress have now been integrated into this blog… and any more fantasy writing topics will be explored here in the future.

I learned a lot from the short time I was working on Figpress. Namely… the difference in motivations between that blog and this. I began this blog with the goal of getting some experience in web writing and to have a few pieces to show in hopes of landing some freelance work somewhere down the line. Then I shifted ideas after becoming a part of Entrecard and other blogging groups, hoping to appeal to other bloggers as readers. And then I remembered that I wanted to be a freelancer, so I shifted back to a more formal concept. So… WW has gone through a lot of styles and plans… but none of them have fit the feeling that I really want for my blog.

I was discussing things with Rach today and one of the major things on my mind is that this blog stands too far outside of all of my projects at Sygnus.org. This, to me, feels wrong… because my projects there have been my major net identity since long before blogging even existed. So my goals are to find a way to do the following:

• Integrate styles and content from Figpress
• Find ways for my Sygnus projects to support this blog and vice versa
• Discover the real direction, attitude, voice and feel that I want for this blog.

Basically… I need to do some soul searching… figure out where I stand and where I want to be. Especially where it comes to finding ways to make all my projects mesh together with this blog.

Now that you’ve heard my rambling… as you can see, I’ve started by giving this blog a new look. The truth is, though I stared WW to find a pathway into freelancing, I was able to hook all of my freelancing work WITHOUT the support of this blog at all. So, once more, I’ve decided to go for something more artsy and less formal in my theme.

Question!

So… what sort of discoveries have you made as a blogger? Are there projects you’ve started only to work yourself into a dead end? Do you end up learning more from “failed” attempts than from “successes”?

I’d love to hear about it!

photo credit: Daquella manera

Happy RSS Awareness Day!

Those of you who already use RSS and know how handy it can really be to send and receive updates through RSS — good for you! But the truth is, only a small number of people use RSS across the internet. Be it because they have not heard of it or simply don’t understand the benefits or how to use it — numbers of RSS subscribers are low and only slowly growing.

I was one of those who did not use RSS until late last year. I just didn’t know how to use it or how handy it could be once you got everything set up in a proper RSS viewer. Now I can’t live without it. I keep track of all of my favorite webcomics and blogs through my Google Reader account. There are probably a lot of other feed readers around, but I seriously LOVE the Google Reader. It’s become the one localized RSS feeder website that I check a number of times everyday.

It’s like getting the scoop on all of your favorite websites as they update real time! How can you beat that!?

What is RSS?

Rssday.org defines RSS as the following:

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a format used to deliver information from websites and pages that get updated regularly. An RSS document (which is called feed) contains either a summary or the full content from a website.

The main benefit of RSS is that it enables people to stay connected with their favorite websites without having to visit them. Once you subscribe to a particular RSS feed, you will automatically receive updates from the website that publishes the feed, whenever they release new content.

For more information on how it works, including a great video, visit the website at http://rssday.org/.

What is on RSS?

Most major sites update via RSS now days. In fact, whenever I find a new webcomic or blog that I know I want to keep track of, the first place I click is my Google Reader Subscribe. Other applications, such as Feedburner make it quick and easy to make this happen.

Most of my own websites have RSS Feeds through Feedburner including:

Wayrift
Shimmer
Wayfarer Wings

I’m hoping to one day update all of my projects via a reader in the future.

So what are you waiting for? Find an easier way to keep up with all your favorite websites today! Just look for the little feed button!

I also want to thank Tam for posting a kind review on one of my Figpress articles for the Saturday Sink!

If you’re a writer and you haven’t already checked out Fighting With Writing I highly reccomend giving this fun blog a read!

Eleven full Chapters. Ten Intermissions. And three short Aftermaths.

Done.

I do admit that many of the final chapters I took as edits from their original drafts. This was basically because there wasn’t going to be a lot of deviation between this version and the previous version on how the story ended. (Not to mention anytime I think of changing something, Syn grouches at me!) So with some sprucing and cleaning of old writing, I pieced it all together.

I do think there’s going to be a good bit of editing. And a brand new site layout will be released on the anniversary date, next Friday. So stick around — just because I’m done drafting doesn’t mean there won’t be months more worth of material to read!

Make new friends, but keep the old.
One is silver, the other is gold.

It’s a children’s rhyme talking about friendship.. but it can be relevant to fictional characters as well. Afterall, characters that authors become close to are like internal, personal friends.

Some writers enjoy taking their characters for the long ride down the path of life. They keep the same characters for many years and develop them slowly, fully throughout their writing lifetime. Other writers enjoy creating new characters for each new world or writing project they undertake. Their thrill is in meeting new people and developing new characters in different directions each time.

This piece is going to focus on the authors that like to develop long-term characters… and how their characters are affected by time and changing interests.

Developing Your Character Skills

Designing and developing fictional characters is a skill, just like any other skill that an author has in his or her toolbox. And like other skills, writers get better at character design and development with time and practice. The more a writer works with characters, the more he or she will learn about how to build a strong foundational psychology and background for those internal, personal friends.

This means that though the oldest characters a writer created may have had the most time to develop, they may not be as dynamic as some of the writer’s newer characters. This is no fault of the character… it’s just a fact of growing skill and knowledge on the writer’s part.

When Authors Change

Character-driven writers are people who are very aware of change and emotional development. Afterall, that’s the whole focus of their own writing - stories that hinge on the way their characters grow, what they learn and how they become different people at the end of all things.

Writers are subject to the same changes as their characters. There’s no getting around what time adds to our knowledge, experience and emotional outlook on life. Similar to friendships that may grow stronger or fade over time as people change, an author’s connection to older characters may also wax and wane with their mindsets and life circumstances.

What may have once seemed the ultra-cool character to write about two years ago is now a shamefully shallow and annoying fellow that you’d roll your eyes at. A character that you may have never even considered developing years ago has stolen your heart away in your newest chapters. Again, this isn’t so much the fault of the characters as it is a change in the way the writer views the world, themselves and other people.

What To Do When Characters Age

Have you found yourself in a situation where your beloved long-term character suddenly seems less attractive than your shiny newly developed characters? And if so, how does that make you feel? Maybe it doesn’t bother you - it might be a sign to move on to newer things. Or maybe it bothers you a lot - a character you have a lot of emotional connections to is being shoved aside…  and no matter what you try to do, you just can’t get that special spark for writing them anymore.

What are some options for writers when something like this happens?

Character Makeover. This can be a tricky thing to do — trying to figure out what makes the newer characters more appealing, and finding a way of bringing the old character up to date. The only problem is that if you change the older character’s dynamics too much too quickly, they’ll no longer be the character they were before.

Perhaps the character doesn’t need a complete makeover, however. Consider what areas you may not have developed and see if you can’t flesh out bits and pieces that rekindle your interest. Real characters are very much like people - there is always something new to learn from them if you know how deep to look.

Character Hiatus. Life runs in cycles - you can see that in modern fads that come and go. We become interested in something and when that interest runs its course, it’s off to something else. But that doesn’t mean that sometime later, we might not rediscover old things and find interest anew.

The same holds true for characters. Maybe what you need is some time away. Go do something different. See new things. Meet new characters. But don’t forget the old characters - you never can tell when they might fit just perfectly in a new project and will demand to make their grand re-entrance.

Character Retirement. It may be the easiest or most difficult thing to do. Letting that character ride off into the sunset for the last time. Does that mean that the character is no longer a part of your writing? No. Just like the friends you make and people you meet, there will be something of that character that has made a mark on your life that cannot be undone. But maybe it’s time to let them rest.

Have you ever experienced troubles with character aging? If so, how did you approach the situation? We’re always looking to hear other writers’ experiences and thoughts!

photo credit: twenty_questions
photo credit: telinga_lebar

photo credit: Long Live the Fighters

That’s right! I have broken my goal of 25K words for this month! So the Mini NaNo is complete. However, the story itself still has a few chapters to go before I can call it quits. I’m currently stuck in the middle of the final battle chapter… I’m not quite sure if I have a feel for what needs to happen and how long is too long. I guess I’ll chalk another one to the editing process.

More information on this can be found on the forums here.

Wayrift is our online web comic that recently celebrated its 6th year anniversary on the net. The comic just started Chapter 29 as of today!

April is almost complete. And so is my word count.

Yes, I know it’s pathetic to stop with only 600-some words left till my goal. But I’m pushing through some heavy material and I haven’t had a chance to really concentrate on much of what I’m writing. With the next piece I have to finish being the final fight, I really have to have my wits about me for it. I’m toying with a lot of ideas on how to approach the battle, especially point of view. But I’ll see what works in the end, I hope.

Despite the fact that my Mini-Nano wordcount is almost done, the story is not. I’m looking at about 4-5 more chapters worth before I can sufficiently close the story. That’s a minimal estimate. I might need a few more. Dunno yet.

A lot of real life stresses (car repairs, lack of AC in my house, etc) have been pressing in on me lately. I’ve been restless… maybe it’s spring fever? Whatever it is, it’s been a real challenge for me to sit and write through the NaNo. I’m still holding tight to my goals, though. I would be so thrilled to get it all completed before the anniversary in May. Looks very promising! Just got to keep nudging myself along.