Currently I'm working on four projects: SmorgaSword (a collection of sci-fi/fantasy short stories); Soft Stuff for Sysadmins (a technical pocket guide); Quest of the Incorruptible (a Christian commentary); and Beastlord of Underrim (a fantasy novel).
SmorgaSword is waiting on the cover art, which is nearly done; the Soft Stuff for Sysadmins is in the final editing phase; a working draft of the Quest of the Incorruptible is being reviewed; and I've completed a draft of the Beastlord of Underrim.
Here are the current sizes of the projects:
SmorgaSword: 26900 words;
Soft Stuff for Sysadmins: 1700 words;
Quest of the Incorruptible: 7700 words;
Beastlord of Underrim: 49000 words.
I've been working on one project for a while and then switching to another. Going back to something after leaving it alone for a while has helped.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Judy Bolton vs. Nancy Drew
Most folks I talk to about juvenile series have heard of Nancy Drew, the spunky girl detective who travels the world solving mysteries with George and Bess. I've only read the classic stories, but I enjoyed those.
Fewer people have heard of Judy Bolton, also a classic girl detective, but I enjoyed her adventures more. Nancy Drew has been called the perennial teenager, but Judy Bolton grows older in each story. Judy even marries an FBI agent.
The Judy Bolton series ran for thirty-eight titles, during much the same time frame as the original Nancy Drew series. Unlike the Nancy Drew stories, however, one author, Margaret Sutton, wrote the Judy Bolton adventures under her own name. The series might have continued past thirty-eight, but the publishers killed it because Sutton wanted Judy to have a baby. The publishers thought it would make Judy seem too old.
Few classic juvenile detective series had the main character grow up, and I don't know of a longer running one than Judy Bolton. I doubt there was a better.
Fewer people have heard of Judy Bolton, also a classic girl detective, but I enjoyed her adventures more. Nancy Drew has been called the perennial teenager, but Judy Bolton grows older in each story. Judy even marries an FBI agent.
The Judy Bolton series ran for thirty-eight titles, during much the same time frame as the original Nancy Drew series. Unlike the Nancy Drew stories, however, one author, Margaret Sutton, wrote the Judy Bolton adventures under her own name. The series might have continued past thirty-eight, but the publishers killed it because Sutton wanted Judy to have a baby. The publishers thought it would make Judy seem too old.
Few classic juvenile detective series had the main character grow up, and I don't know of a longer running one than Judy Bolton. I doubt there was a better.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Harry Potter
When I first became acquainted with the Harry Potter stories (via the movies, not the books), I was struck by the resemblance to some of my favorite classic series. Not the Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or George MacDonald, but rather the many college series from the early twentieth century.
Those followed a young man or woman through college, and sometimes saw them past it. While the stories weren't about magic, they had eccentric professors, sports rivalries, good friendships, and in some cases, exploits against criminal elements.
For example, the Betty Wales series (written by Edith K. Dunton as Margaret Warde, published between 1904 and 1917), contained the following titles:
Betty Wales, Freshman
Betty Wales, Sophomore
Betty Wales, Junior
Betty Wales, Senior
Betty Wales, B. A.
Betty Wales & Co.
Betty Wales on the Campus
Betty Wales Decides
The books relate each year of Betty Wales' terms at college, and then for a time follow her adventures beyond college. There's no arch villain to be defeated, but the stories are still fun.
Underneath the wizarding world, the Harry Potter stories thus seem a direct descendant of the classic juvenile college series. The framework is there; J. K. Rowling just added her own magic.
Those followed a young man or woman through college, and sometimes saw them past it. While the stories weren't about magic, they had eccentric professors, sports rivalries, good friendships, and in some cases, exploits against criminal elements.
For example, the Betty Wales series (written by Edith K. Dunton as Margaret Warde, published between 1904 and 1917), contained the following titles:
Betty Wales, Freshman
Betty Wales, Sophomore
Betty Wales, Junior
Betty Wales, Senior
Betty Wales, B. A.
Betty Wales & Co.
Betty Wales on the Campus
Betty Wales Decides
The books relate each year of Betty Wales' terms at college, and then for a time follow her adventures beyond college. There's no arch villain to be defeated, but the stories are still fun.
Underneath the wizarding world, the Harry Potter stories thus seem a direct descendant of the classic juvenile college series. The framework is there; J. K. Rowling just added her own magic.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The Soft Stuff for Sysadmins
I'm working on another title, this time a technical book: The Soft Stuff for Sysadmins, Interpersonal Communication for the Working Geek.
On more than one occasion, I've heard an upper-level manager talk about how the technical stuff is easier; the soft stuff (that is, communication) is what's more difficult, at least for us technical types. But business communication for the sysadmin is not about presentation or psychology; it's simply about getting the required information to those who need it when they need it.
This book will describe how to accomplish that, based on my experiences as a sysadmin working at NASA.
On more than one occasion, I've heard an upper-level manager talk about how the technical stuff is easier; the soft stuff (that is, communication) is what's more difficult, at least for us technical types. But business communication for the sysadmin is not about presentation or psychology; it's simply about getting the required information to those who need it when they need it.
This book will describe how to accomplish that, based on my experiences as a sysadmin working at NASA.
Monday, May 30, 2011
The Quest of the Incorruptible
I have a new project in the works: a non-fiction Christian book called The Quest of the Incorruptible.
The book is about humanity's struggle against death. That struggle is ultimately against entropy, because entropy is what causes everything we see to wear out and decay and die. People desparately want to overcome entropy. Many talk about ending war and poverty, for example. They want to change the world and save the planet. But war and poverty are simply manifestations of entropy, and entropy is stronger than people.
If it weren't, we could create perpetual motion machines that would provide endless energy and make everyone idle and rich. But we can't. The whole "saving the world" thing is impossible for people; we just can't do it.
The only possible hope for humanity is that there is something stronger than entropy. Since entropy and corruption are much the same thing, that something might be called the Incorruptible.
Does the Incorruptible exist? Can we find it? Will the Incorruptible save the world? And if so, how?
The book will explore all that, and more.
The book is about humanity's struggle against death. That struggle is ultimately against entropy, because entropy is what causes everything we see to wear out and decay and die. People desparately want to overcome entropy. Many talk about ending war and poverty, for example. They want to change the world and save the planet. But war and poverty are simply manifestations of entropy, and entropy is stronger than people.
If it weren't, we could create perpetual motion machines that would provide endless energy and make everyone idle and rich. But we can't. The whole "saving the world" thing is impossible for people; we just can't do it.
The only possible hope for humanity is that there is something stronger than entropy. Since entropy and corruption are much the same thing, that something might be called the Incorruptible.
Does the Incorruptible exist? Can we find it? Will the Incorruptible save the world? And if so, how?
The book will explore all that, and more.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Rick Brant
The Rick Brant Science Electronic Adventures are my favorite classic juvenile series books. The characters are exceptional:
Hal Goodwin, under the pseudonym John Blaine, wrote most of the stories. Hal was a rocket enthusiast, and that showed up in several stories, such as the Rocket's Shadow (hitting the moon with a rocket, in 1947), the Scarlet Lake Mystery (rocket building in the desert), and the Flying Stingaree (UFOs and seafood on the east coast).
The stories are well done, and I heartily recommend them. They are mostly stand-alone, but every now and again something from a previous plot will show up.
Incidentally, the first books in the series are fairly easy to find, because so many were printed. Grosset and Dunlap kept reprinting the first ones as new volumes came out. There were few printings of the last books in the series, however. Those stories are rare and can fetch several hundred dollars (or more) if in excellent condition.
Also interesting is that the Rick Brant stories largely inspired the classic Johnny Quest cartoon adventure series, and those are a lot of fun too.
- Rick himself: an electronics wizard and all around nosy fellow;
- Scotty: the husky former Marine, Rick's foremost pal;
- Barby, Rick's sister;
- Jan, daughter of a scientist, Barby's best friend, and Rick's crush;
- Dismal the dog;
- Chahda: the Hindu boy, mastermind, and good friend of Rick and Scotty;
- Dr. Zircon: the barrel of a scientist;
- Julius, the mathematician;
- Steve Ames, JANIG agent;
- Hartson Brant, chief scientist at Spindrift Island, and Rick's dad;
Hal Goodwin, under the pseudonym John Blaine, wrote most of the stories. Hal was a rocket enthusiast, and that showed up in several stories, such as the Rocket's Shadow (hitting the moon with a rocket, in 1947), the Scarlet Lake Mystery (rocket building in the desert), and the Flying Stingaree (UFOs and seafood on the east coast).
The stories are well done, and I heartily recommend them. They are mostly stand-alone, but every now and again something from a previous plot will show up.
Incidentally, the first books in the series are fairly easy to find, because so many were printed. Grosset and Dunlap kept reprinting the first ones as new volumes came out. There were few printings of the last books in the series, however. Those stories are rare and can fetch several hundred dollars (or more) if in excellent condition.
Also interesting is that the Rick Brant stories largely inspired the classic Johnny Quest cartoon adventure series, and those are a lot of fun too.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
StyleWriter 4
I just purchased an editing product called StyleWriter 4. I checked out the demo and found it excellent at pointing out weak sentence construction, wordiness, and passive verb usage, among other things. StyleWriter also makes it easy to evaluate what it finds.
I've already improved several short stories with StyleWriter, and I'm looking forward to making it a regular part of my writing.
I've already improved several short stories with StyleWriter, and I'm looking forward to making it a regular part of my writing.
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