I'm going to finish working up on a superhero novel that I've been TRYING Gods help me to get done over the past ten years, and this year I'm feeling it because I am no longer distracted by other story ideas in me head. This is it, kids, I got this.
If you're a writer in Polk County, there's a Lakeland Region you can join and share in various Virtual Write-In gatherings! Look for USA::Florida::Lakeland and sign up with us.
See the rest of you on November 30th when I've got 50,000 and a semi-coherent novel of doom!
I've settled on the plot ideas I've been bouncing around in my head since 2004. It's gonna be a story about a man who meets a woman during the war.
...
Okay, so I'm ripping off the plot of the Book With the Blue Cover (wherever it may be on our shelves). BUT DAMMIT I'M TIRED OF SUFFERING FROM WRITERS BLOCK.
(activates lightsaber before heading into battle) CHARRRRRRGGGEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
Getting to the 50,000 word marker is relatively easy if you've gotten things plotted out, you've gotten the characters lined up, and you avoid the pitfalls of painting yourself into corners that you didn't expect.
I'm hitting the 50,000 finish line a lot earlier than usual as well. Got a full week left of the NaNo campaign to get more of the bits and pieces I've got floating around here.
Next thing up is actually finishing the NOVEL ITSELF - something I haven't done in any previous effort. If I can focus on THAT...
Then I can worry about hiring somebody for the cover art. ;-)
2) I need to submit a proposed book idea and proposed cover (optional, but fun to have).
3) The Lakeland FL Region will reset, which means I got to start managing the threads and the notes and the Calendar again!
4) I really need to come up with a good book idea this time.
Sigh.
For all the times I've NaNo'ed, I've yet to complete a "finished" work past the 50,000 word count. The remainders that follow in my wake are - upon re-evaluation - a bit messy even before the need for actual revisions to where I'm almost embarrassed by them.
I need to - NEED TO - come up with an idea I know I can follow up to its conclusion. I'd REALLY like to get one of these things honest-to-God done.
So, a quick poll to anybody willing to leave a comment. Should I write:
1) A fiction novel, focusing on the Talents superhero 'verse I've been working on?
2) A non-fiction novel of political ranting - which I kinda do anyway - during what will be the most anxiety-riddled election month in recent memory?
Please let me know what you think.
And get ready to NANO people! Word Sprints start in 27 days!
Something I'd been working on since September of this month, as part of the Talents superhero universe I've been tinkering since 2004.
"...There are superheroes in the world, people with Talents. but even with powers, those would-be heroes need to protect themselves with the best armor they can get. But one young woman training up in 1993 is finding out that some armors can't fit her, and she's gonna need a hero of her own to find a solution."
If you're into comic books, you'll know some of the more geeky details of a superhero narrative is "where do they get those outfits?" Well, this is a story about that, and how it's serious business for superheroes.
Also, there's cake in the story.
If you've read Hero Cleanup Protocol, it's from the same 'Verse and has Powersurge as one of the main characters. Timeline-wise, Body Armor Blues takes place in 1993, with Protocol happening in 2002 (or was it 2003? I'll need to re-read). I've got a basic history and timeline for this universe on file, to help me keep track of things (there are three major character arcs, Powersurge is one and Jenny is the other, there's a third I'm still working on).
I really would like, please and thank you ahead of time, for anyone purchasing a copy of the book to leave a review of what you think at the appropriate site. I'd like to see how this one does on the market. Again, thank you!
Available via Amazon Kindle here.
Available via Barnes&Noble for Nooks here. It is published through Smashwords, but for Nook users it's a direct upload so it's easier.
For all other ereader devices, it's available via Smashwords here. .
Starting up hopefully my third year as the reference librarian at Bartow.
Restarting my umpteenth year of trying to get more stories from my superhero 'Verse written. I broke out the old timeline and character sheets from before and am looking at getting pieces of the stories done to build towards a full work.
Just as I'm getting ready to attend next Saturday's Tampa Bay Comic-con, there's been a bit of interest in the comics industry about a revamped look for one of the big names in the DC Universe. Batgirl (technically the second one, Barbara "Babs" Gordon) is getting a new look:
Edit: the artist is Babs Tarr (Babs is drawing Babs!). She's a big deal. Check her out.
Part of it is due to the outfit being so damn sensible: instead of it being a glorified swimsuit, or spandex form-fitting distraction, the new outfit is practical. Leather jacket and armor. Regular boots (although the laces may be a weak spot!). The utility belt (no Bat goes without one) uses an additional leg strap to keep it and the main pouch secure. The cowl doesn't get trapped over the ears. Above all: THE CAPE.
Fans are divided over the idea of a cape. Some supers can't be one without it (Superman in particular). But in terms of practicality... The movie Incredibles spells it out:
NO CAPES!
Batgirl is going to employ a simple, sensible alternative: snap-on, snap-off cape (via Sam Logan).
Fans are ga-ga for the snap-on. My favorite response so far has been from Mike Maihack. He's done a handful of Batgirl-Supergirl (in canon and fanon Babs and Kara are BFFs) one-sheets before, and with the new uniform he couldn't resist:
in Maihack's tellings, Kara's a bit of a fashionista, much to Babs' dismay...
See Kara popping that snap-on? Yup. Fans dig the snap-on.
As for the other reason fans are going ga-ga...
Part of the response is due to the background of Barbara Gordon herself. Ever since her inception in the mid-1960s (the Silver Age), Barbara's place among the fandom has been usually well-received. When the Killing Joke happened - the infamous issue where the Joker paralyzed her by shooting through her spine - the horrified response was universal (even the writer Alan Moore - himself a master Deconstructor, he dissed the capes too - regretted the move). Bat-fans within the industry quickly worked to make Barbara a new heroine - Oracle - while the fans working via fanart and fanfic came up with stories of her regaining the use of her legs. It took yet another multiverse Crisis (DC unfortunately has gotten into the sad habit of rebooting itself every 3-4 years now /headdesk) to return to an earlier reboot making her college-age again and back to mobility.
The fan-love for Barbara comes from her origin. The reason she became Batgirl was because she was a fangirl in costume (from the Hero Sandwich blog):
Artist Carmine Infantino
One things the comics creators try to do is develop a character/hero the potential audience can relate to. When it became clear that kids were superhero books' biggest readers, the publishers created "sidekick" pre-teens (Speedy, Robin, the Newsboy Legion) to act as in-story surrogates. Sometimes it worked, sometimes you'd get a Scrappy.
In Barbara's case, she was relatively unique. Most sidekicks - and heroes that mentored them - came from damaged backgrounds, suffering some terrible injustice or fleeing a deadly fate that would become a motivating factor in their decision to dress up and fight crime.
Barbara was on her way to a costume ball, dressed up as her favorite superhero, when she has to stop Killer Moth - yes, villains from the 1950s and 1960s were a bit lame - from kidnapping Bruce Wayne.
I wonder how many costumers at the Tampa comic-con are gonna have snap-on capes... (don't look at me. I'm gonna try to fit into the Jedi outfit mom sewed for me).
