Live well

Nothing about writing here, but a fun reunion we had. You're never too old unless you feel too old. So, courtesy of someone borrowing my camera for a short while, I raise one for you.

Another giant passes away

Arthur C Clarke has died at age 90. See New York Times for a longer article.

A matter of direction

I have finally started placing characters on paper. Well, on hard drive anyway. That a matter of direction should take me a year to find out is disturbing, but maybe those changes are the ones most difficult to see in advance.

Four years ago I started out writing the story of a visitor to fantasy land. Makes sense? You've read them. One or more persons from our world end up in magic place where adventures occur. Mixed in with adventures you, the reader, get to know this magic place through the eyes of your peers. So, I twisted the idea a bit, but basically it is what I wrote.

Looking in. In order to ensure familiarity you place a character the reader can easily identify with in a strange environment. Some of you have probably even been given the advice to do this. My problem was that it simply didn't work out very well.

Now I'm rewriting that story, but this time is is about people living in fantasy land being visited by strangers from the outside. Mixed in with adventures you, the reader, get to know how strange some things we take for granted can be for someone who belongs to a different culture.

Looking out. In order to focus on the strange you highlight the normal as abnormal and gloss over the fantastic. I believe this will work a lot better for me. To begin with I have a much easier time creating a fantasy feeling rather than a science fiction one.

It will be an interesting year to come, one where I will look out from the world I have created.

Death of a legend

Below copied from the USENET News group I frequent as part of my gaming interest. The importance of the role playing games cannot be overestimated for the fantasy literary genre.



Ernest Gary Gygax ( July 27, 1938 - March 4, 2008)
is best known as the author of the well known fantasy role-playing
game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), co-created with Dave Arneson and co-
published with Don Kaye in 1974 under the company Tactical Studies
Rules. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of the role-
playing game

He was diagnosed with an inoperable abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Gygax died on March 4th, 2008.

He passed away at 1am in his bed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax


While not technically about V:TES, the world of gaming and game
conventions owe a tremendous amount to him. I've had a ton of fun and
made a lot of friends playing D&D, and by extension all of the other
games I've played and the other people I've met as a result. Many,
many thanks, Mr. Gygax.


- Ben Peal