Mar 02 2024

WIP Update – 01 Mar 24

I did a little proofing on Tico1. Not much because there was something about a graduation ceremony that folks were making a big deal about. I would later go on to implement the edits to JJ2 and TWH. I’ll work on the Space Arc stuff I’ve done tomorrow. Not exactly thrilling content, I know, but maybe I’ll do a little actual writing as well. Stay tuned.

Feb 27 2024

WIP Update – 26 Feb 24

I finished my sweep of JJ2 and started in on TWH. I’m hoping that the reread will help open up the path I need to go forward. Perhaps I should’ve focused on that in the evening, but instead I found myself making adjustments to the tags in a lot of the entries here. There were some changes I’d made since the time of those posts and for archival purposes, I wanted to make sure they were properly accessible. For instance, both EM and JJ were originally written without plans for sequels, but now that sequels have been written, it would stand to reason to think of them as EM1 and JJ1, so I made a point to add tags for both. Also, it was interesting going back over the record of my progress 8, 9 years ago. Hard to believe it’s been so long. Also, as far as progress goes, some things never change. Anyway, I’m going to try brainstorming while doing further adventures with the spellchecker. Stay tuned.

Feb 25 2024

WIP Update – 24 Feb 24

I had a busy day. Not only was I implementing all those edits I’d been collecting over the week for TG, JJ1 and JJ2, but I also decided to actually make use of my word processor’s custom dictionary (a practice I fell out of because I got tired of starting the process all over again every time I had to migrate to a new machine). In this process, I caught some typos that would’ve slipped past me otherwise, not just in the three stories above but also in CeleKing1-3, EM1-3 and NagaTen. Just dealing with the Cross Arc was enough to keep me occupied for the time being, but I’ll deal with the other Arcs in the near future.

While I was doing that, I made a significant change. Well, it’s significant behind the scenes but only required one or two changes in the stories themselves. You see, back when I was writing CeleKing3, I decided that it would be simplest to use the year of adoption for the designation of Imperial weapons, i.e. the P777 was adopted in NE 777. However, CeleKing3 originally took place in NE 723. Yes, I could’ve just changed the designations of all the Imperial weapons, but instead I decided to shift the whole series one hundred years into the future. This might seem like a drastic step, but it actually made sense with the wider lore of the Cross Arc. You notice how there’s no mention of the Hybrids in the CeleKing series? Well, if I set the series after NagaTen (NE 745) and EM3 (NE 767), you can imagine a very good reason for that. Since there’s no mention of Hybrids in even later storied like JJ2 (NE 968) and TG (NE 1032), it starts to paint a bit of a picture. That being said, instead of changing a few weapon names in a couple chapters of CeleKing3, I had to go into the peripheral materials and change all the citations in the encyclopedia, timeline, genealogies, etc. Most of it was just applying a 100-year adjustment to the dates. I didn’t add any new members to the Imperial Family, though. Now the Yuanguang Emperor reigns for a whopping 167 years, but with juvenation therapy, it’s not all that wild. He dies at the age of 266, but Wuzong (who Yasuko killed in CeleKing2) was still rather peppy at 231 (though Erdi’s juvenation therapy had improved by then, so that makes a difference). Another significant change is that Princess Anmei (wife of the Yuanguang Emperor’s brother) wasn’t killed during the purge of the Sun Faction but instead in an assassination attempt on the future Emperor Wude. (She still gets posthumously honored as Empress Bian when Wude takes the throne, and it prompted me to add a whole thing where Wude’s successor Wuzheng was the son of a concubine and all the mess that led to. Fun times.)

I think I may start doing sweeps in the Space and Tellus Arcs and see what that brings up. I’ll then try to gear myself to focusing on TWH next week. Hopefully there won’t be any more head trauma cramping my style. Stay tuned.

Feb 23 2024

WIP Update – 23 Feb 24

I made some more headway in my proofing of JJ2, and though I meant to start implementing the edits I’d been making over the course o the week once I got home, instead I got wound up in getting the wiki project I mentioned before underway. I’ve got a fair bit of work to do before it can be unveiled, but things are already starting to come together. We’ll see what mischief I can get into over the weekend. Stay tuned.

Feb 23 2024

WIP Update – 21-22 Feb 24

As I continue to heal from my injuries, I managed to finish going through TG, go on to JJ1, then start on JJ2. Once I’m done with JJ2, that’ll take care of all the stories currently available in the Cross Arc. Perhaps I’ll go over the Tico series next. Actually, I’d like to start making story progress again, so maybe I can try a bit of that, but I do need to get all these corrections implemented. If only the office productivity expert will let me work. Maybe when she decides to take a nap. Stay tuned.

Feb 21 2024

WIP Update – 20 Feb 24

Well, I had a bit of a mishap on Monday. Took a bit of a tumble on my bike. Jacked up my legs and both wrists, tore up my hands, and even got a decent crack to the noggin. I spent half the day in the hospital because some nervous Nellies think a head injury is something to be concerned about. As you might imagine, I didn’t get any story progress done, or much of anything at all. Because I’m a schmuck, I’m not letting my injuries keep me from work, but I haven’t been able to focus on TWH like I was planning. However, I have been making some use of my time by starting to go over Tzipi’s Garden and check it for errors like I’ve been doing for other stories lately. (Chapter 9 is particularly a mess.) Hopefully I will get to feeling well enough to really focus on what needs doing for TWH, but I’d say don’t expect a chapter this week. I may be doing good just to do the proofing. It’s still better than nothing, though, right? Stay tuned.

Feb 17 2024

WIP Update – 15-16 Feb 24

As noted in the previous post, I’ve been kept rather busy of late, and while I may not have been able to sit down and focus on story progress, I have managed to continue my scans through EM3 and then NagaTen. I then had to implement all the changes across EM2, EM3 and NagaTen. (Remember that I have to apply the changes to the original manuscript, the offline HTML backup, and the online version.) Loads of fun.

And of course amidst all this, I have work at work and my resident office productivity specialist at home interfering with me getting to dedicate time to actual writing. Still, it is what it is and at least I’m not left entirely empty-handed, as editing is an important part of the writing process, even if it’s edits done to stories that have been posted for months or even years. Anyway, we’ll see what I can accomplish over the weekend. Stay tuned.

Feb 15 2024

WIP Update – 13-14 Feb 24

Monday I was mostly busy with the review update, much as I’d be on a normal Sunday. Tuesday I still had that one as of yet untitled story on the mind. I’d brainstormed a few scenes, but I didn’t get much written due to a fuzzy someone’s interference. I managed to switch gears to RttW on Wednesday and write a bit on what should go in Chapter 9 or 10. I was also doing some peripheral work to flesh out some more of the game system.

Besides this, I was continuing my work going through EM2 and digging into EM3 as well. I won’t say there’s a massive amount of errors to be had but definitely more than enough for me to be glad I caught them. Periods where I was having to do things like transcribe handwritten work or use my tablet to write warrant a decent share of the blame for a lot of the typos, but since I’m my only editor, sometimes it takes time for me to come back to a manuscript with a fresh set of eyes to catch things I overlooked in the initial passes. Anyway, that’s enough for now. Work is keeping me hopping at the moment, but I have time opening up in other places that should mean good things for me making progress. Stay tuned.

Feb 10 2024

WIP Update – 09 Feb 24

I only did a little writing on Chapter 23 of EM3, but I did spend a fair bit of time sorting out the corrections I’ve been making to EM1 and EM2 and also writing on a little short that came to me in a moment of inspiration and may be developed into something at a later date. We’ll see how things go. Stay tuned.

Feb 09 2024

WIP Update – 08 Feb 24

I made some progress on Chapter 23 of EM3, but work is starting to pick up again, so that means less writing time. We’ll see what more I can get done. Stay tuned.