Bust of Creed

My pal John has a 3D printer, and printed this bust of Bodacious Creed.

Though the model he used is little more than a base mesh, which gets modified to look high-rez in my Bodacious Creed Demo Reel using a displacement map and normal map, the print still came out looking pretty good!

Status Update

Howdy folks! Every once in awhile I like to do a status update in which I over share so that those of you interested in my various projects know what's up.

When you think of writers and artists, it's probably easy to imagine us in some idyllic world where we just get to write and create art all day. That would be nice, but the truth is that like most, we have day jobs, loved ones, and a lot of other obligations. As for me, I now have a fun full-time job, and I'm back in grad school full time. (Fortunately, my classes are online, and work is a two minute drive away.) I'm also working on a new demo reel (you can see my current reel on either my personal website or the Bodacious Creed site). Most importantly, I'm a single dad with an awesome son.

I also created some steampunk iPhone cases recently for the iPhone 6 and for the Samsung Galaxy S5, which you can find in my Bodacious 3D shop on Shapeways. (The site recently lowered the price of plastic, so they're quite affordable!)

So yes, busy!

I am getting two weeks off school during the Christmas holiday season, and am going to put o9ut the effort to write more of Bodacious Creed, my forthcoming novel.

A buddy of mine with a 3D printer also set aside about half a spool of plastic to print things for me, so I hope to get a certain Bodacious Creed model done, and then to figure out what else I'd like him to print.

I realize I also haven't been updating this blog with new general steampunk posts, and I hope to do more of that soon as well. I  keep seeing interesting things, but I just have to get to them.

And that's my update. I hope this finds the rest of you enjoying some free time!

Roundtable Revival - Lindsey Stirling

Do you all get the impression that the guy writing Bodacious Creed might be into Wild West Steampunk? That obvious, huh?

And then, I saw a post about a video by Lindsey Sterling called "Roundtable Revival." Sterling is an excellent violinist who does something most violinists don't: she dances while she plays. And she's mastered this art form. Sterling has played with exceptional vocal acts like Peter Hollins and Pentatonix.

The video for "Roundtable Revival" has a western steampunk setting, electric violin, electric guitar, and Sterling's trademark dancing. It's a lot of fun, so check it out here:

November 7, 2014 Update

Here we go with a general update about my various projects!

First, I have a feeling a lot of you are wondering what's happening with Bodacious Creed. Currently, I'm outlining the next few chapters before I write them. I have the general outline, but whenever I get into the details, I realize there were things I didn't consider. This has been true for all my books, but Bodacious Creed has so many characters that there is a lot to think about.

When I started getting into the nitty-gritty of the current chapter, I realized that certain important characters would need to get involved, which led me to figure out that the plot needs to go in a slightly different direction.

Somehow, quest stories, where the characters are traveling the entire story, are easier. They leave other characters behind and go to the next setting. In a story where everything happens in one town, the motivations of a lot of characters need to be considered every scene.

Hopefully I'll be able to add a few thousand words to the word count soon.

In other steampunk related news, I was finally able to put an actual iPhone 6 into one of the cases I designed! Thanks, Costco, for having an iPhone I could do that with. Here's how it looks:

That case is available in my Shapeways store, Bodacious 3D.

I've also been working on a new demo reel for a particular job application, and looking for a full time job. It'll take awhile to finish the reel. Once I do have a job though, I'll be able to prioritize my art and writing better, and hope to get a lot more done on the book!

Bodacious Creed Bust

Recently, my friend John got a 3D printer. He's been printing all sorts of things and experimenting with different materials.

I sent him a model of Bodacious Creed to show him how the low resolution model worked. He went ahead and printed the bust! Again, the resolution is low with little detail, but this is still pretty fun.

A Few Updates for Late October

Howdy, Everyone.

First update: I took my iPhone cases on Shapeways out of beta. The Steampunk Clock case printed well at the Shapeways shop, and based on that, I know that the Violin case will also print well. However, they are still selling for beta prices! If you need a good iPhone 6 case that shows some serious style, you can't beat these.

My Shapeways shop is Bodacious 3D.

Second update: I'm currently looking for a full time job outside the house. I simply can't find any great jobs online. Much of my focus for now must, by necessity, be diverted from my writing and art. However, I did plan out the basics of the next three or so scenes for Bodacious Creed, and am eager to write them. One in particular I've been eager to write since I started the book. Bodacious Creed is never far from my mind!

I will continue to keep everyone updated on interesting steampunk happenings and more, as time permits!

Subconscious Slowdown

When it comes to writing novels, I have an interesting problem. I'm sure other writers face this, too, but I've never heard anyone talk about it, or read any articles about it.

This is the one thing that slows down my writing the most.

I'll be going along with my writing, with scenes planned out and ready to go, when I have to stop for the moment or the day. When I come back to the scene, I feel as though I can't continue. It's not writer's block, per se, it's something in the back of my mind saying, "There's something not right with this scene." It usually takes my subconscious a few days before it tells me what's wrong. At that point, it's easy enough to figure out how to fix it, and then to go forward with the story.

Some writers will say it's their characters guiding them, wanting to go in a different direction. My issue may be the same, but the characters wait awhile to point out what's wrong.

Now that I've articulate this, maybe next time I can speed it up, like, "Hey, subconscious, why isn't this scene working?"

All right, that's my rant for the day. Time to go fix the scene that has been vexing me this last week.

Half Rats: The Music of a Steampunk Time Traveler

Today, we'll start with this question. What is filk music? Starting in the early 1950s, sci-fi and fantasy fans began writing their own music with speculative fiction themes. There are songs about everything from 'Lord of the Rings' to 'Battlestar Galactica,' and filk sessions are popular at many sci-fi conventions.

Now, for the real question of the day. What is steampunk music? Picture people in the late Victorian era writing Vaudeville-style songs about the works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. Much of today's steampunk music is just like that.

Musician Half-Rats writes and records his own brand of steampunk tunes alone, ostensibly because the rest of his band died due to "a rather unfortunate incident involving time travel."

He also dubs his songs "neo-Victorian." They tell the story of a man living through the late 19th century, into World War I, and forward to the 21st century. Half-Rats finds inspiration for his dark lyrics inspiration in the works of 19th century authors like Edgar Allen Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In addition to Victorian and Gypsy influences, much of the music is recalls modern composers like Tom Waits and Danny Elfman.

Steampunk fans can listen to samples of Half Rats's "Ague" album at CDBaby and purchase individual tracks or the entire album. You can also visit his Facebook fan page, and read more about Half Rats and Ague on Steampunk Wiki.

Steampunk Clock 3D Printable iPhone 6 Case

Over the past week, I've been working not only on Bodacious Creed, but on 3D printable items to sell on Shapeways. I re-branded my store there to "Bodacious 3D," and created several steampunk-themed iPhone cases.

On Tuesday, I went all out and created one that I think is a work of art. The others were much simpler, and I removed them. I want to have only amazing things on in my Shapeways store.

Here's the case:

You can check it out here, and check out my store here.

You may be wondering, why is it listed as in beta? That's simply because I haven't ordered one yet for photos. I'll be doing that in the next week or so, and will find someone with an iPhone 6 so I can show how well it fits.

The template for the case came straight from Shapeways, though, so it will fit the iPhone 6 just fine. The product template then becomes the canvas for my work.

I also discovered Pinterest! Well, a friend told me I should really be on there. Follow my Pinterest here! I'll be posting links to my 3D stuff as well as to my books and other related content.

Today is the last day of my first National University class, which means that I'll have next week off school. I do have an important meeting during the week, and expect my first financial aid refund to come through, allowing me to get a new (well, pre-owned) car, at last. But I should also have some extra time to work on Bodacious Creed.

Steamfest Roma 2014: This Is How Italy Does Steampunk

Rome, Italy, recently hosted "Steamfest Roma." More places need Steampunk festivals, so go Rome! The Italian site for Rolling Stone Magazine has terrific pictures of the event, where many steampunk fans came in costume. The images give a good sense of sheer variety of attire. Yes, there were a lot of top hats, a lot of glasses with round lenses, and a lot of goggles. There were also leather and metal masks, jewelry, corsets, and general steampunk fashion. Some wore gadgets, and some gadgets were actually modern technology given a steampunk look.

The festival featured food, music, booths, and much more. Not everyone came costumed, a sure sign that the event brought in many people who wanted to learn what steampunk is all about as well.

The Steamfest Roma Rolling Stone page features dozens of pictures. I had no idea that Italians were so into steampunk, but I just love it. I wish I could have gone!

If you'd like to read more about Steampunk Roma, here are a few links. If you don't speak Italian, I recommend using Google Chrome and the translate feature.

Steampunk Roma 2014
RomeGuide Blog
Vaporteppa

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About the Creedverse

The Creedverse is what I call the world of my upcoming steampunk novel, Bodacious Creed.

I've had the Bodacious Creed website up and running for over a year now, but I had left a few pages blank. Today, I began to fill those in. Why has it taken so long? The main reason has to do with writing the book. I had to set up certain rules for how my steampunk universe would work, and though I had a good idea what those would be, they weren't ironed down enough.

How are the robots (automata) powered? How do they function and think? Are there any other historical differences? Is that steampunk device "The Luminiferous Ether" somehow incorporated?

Now, you can read some fascinating specifics about the technology and science of Bodacious Creed! Just head over to the site and click on the link for "The Setting."

If you also want to subscribe to the weekly "Steampunk in Art and Writing" newsletter, you can do so at the bottom of the site's home page.

What Is This Hullabaloo?

I'm a big fan of steampunk and of crowd funding. Big shocker, I know. Though I'm a 3D modeler, I also love hand-drawn animation. I have to share this project I recently found that taps into all three.

Hullabaloo is an animated steampunk adventure film staring female protagonists Veronica Darling and Jules who use their wits, courage, and science during their journey. I don't want to go on too much about it here, because you need to get to its Indigogo page go check it out.

Here are a few more details, though. Hullabaloo is the personal project veteran Disney animator James Lopez, who has worked on films like The Lion King with Disney. His vision is to create a fantastical steampunk adventure and to promote interest in traditional 2D animation.

The project has already gained its funding, so at this point, it's a matter of helping Lopez take the film farther, and to get some great backer rewards. With just $5, you'll get an advanced online screening of the film. The $125 reward includes a pair of steampunk sunglasses. At $5,000, you'll get producer credit on the film. Rewards are cumulative; at each tier, you get all the rewards from the lower tiers.

I'm excited about seeing the film when it's finished, and I think you will be, too!

P.S. Subscribe to my email newsletter for weekly updates about this blog and my upcoming novel, Bodacious Creed. You'll find the form at the bottom of the Bodacious Creed website.

Sexy Steampunk Dress, Gloves, and Bodice

How's this for an outfit?

You can get it for $199 at the Brute Force Studios shop on Etc.

They have a lot of fantastic steampunk creations, like a functional steampunk keyboard arm band using Bluetooth technology, made to order. I'd be tempted to get one myself, but $1,200 is out of my price range.

I often wonder about all the non-functional gears in steampunk styles. Would people in a steampunk world wear decorative gears and gear-patterned leather and cloth? It looks cool, so yeah, they just might. In my own art I try to restrict the gears and such to functional machines, but I don't think in terms of style so much.

Anyway, I love this outfit. I'd love to see people out and about in the every day, mundane world sporting steampunk fashion. Oh, the lady here also looks a lot like Anna Boyd from Bodacious Creed. Love that.

Patreon Update

My astute readers may have noticed that I've changed the title of the blog to "Steampunk in Art and Writing."

I will still share all my Bodacious Creed updates here! I wanted to officially expand the content though to include anything interesting I find online about the steampunk genre.

There's a musician out there whom I owe an entry. I've been too busy to create videos. I enjoy creating them, but I find that they take a lot of work, and that I can share information much more quickly by writing about it and sharing images and links. So, that's what I'm going to do.

As such, I've updated the my Patreon account. You can now support this blog and all the writing, art, and steampunk entries by pledging $1.00 or more per month. There will be vlog entries as well, sometimes, but not very frequently, so think of them as a bonus.

You may be wondering what I'm doing with the rest of my time! Well, I'm a single father, so raising my son is the most important thing I do. I've just started a new masters program in special education, as I plan to work as a special ed teacher for children with mild to moderate disabilities. I do some freelance writing to make ends meet, and, of course, I'm working hard on Bodacious Creed: A Steampunk Zombie Western. I hope, hope, hope, to have the book out around next August! I continue to create 3D models as a hobby.

Visit the links in this entry! If you support writing, the arts, and are a Steampunk fan, please support this blog on Patreon  as well!

The Wrong Direction

I don't know how many other writers have this problem, but it's happens to me usually a few times in any book I write.

I know what I want to write in a particular scene, and I start writing, only to know in my gut that it doesn't work. Intellectually, I don't know why right away, but my intuition tells me it doesn't work. So, I scrap the scene and have to rethink the plot.

Over the years, I've gotten a lot better at this. While I wrote my first (unpublished) novel, I had a lot of false starts. Instead of doing much planning, I'd just try another direction, and eventually one would feel right.

I'm afraid that in the last few days I've gone about 2,100 words in the wrong direction with Bodacious Creed. I realized that the latest scene doesn't feel real. It feels contrived and therefore just doesn't work. Fortunately, I now know to think about why that is, and to fix whatever the underlying problem is.

Yes, I know. I'm being very general here! That's to avoid spoilers.

By going back to basics to fix that underlying problem, I've realized I'll have to make a few changes to what's come before, but that's always part of revising. What I came up with though is much better than what I had before, so I'm planning out more of the book and continuing on.

Perhaps what it comes down to is that I'm not much of a "Two-thousand words per day or more" author. Because if I do that, I often end up going in the wrong direction. That works great when I have a solid plan of what's going to happen, but if I don't have it all figured out because it's complex, or because the characters are resisting, I need to step back and plan again. I hope I can have the first draft done by November! If it takes a little longer though, it's for the sake of a stronger story.

Shooting for 2K Per Day

Okay, I just got another scene written, a bit painful, a bit sexy, lots of fun. The next scene is probably going to be pretty long, and I think the start of Act II Chapter 2. (Should Act and Chapter use the same type of numerals? I don't know.)

The next scene though is a major scene with Creed. Lots of trouble. Action. And those are all the spoilers you're getting.

It struck me today that if I'm able to write 2K words per day from now until I finish the novel, and don't have to take too long musing about the plot, I can have the first draft done by November 1, the start of NaNoWriMo, one year since I started the actual writing. I could come up with some other NaNo project, something shorter, and after that get back to Creed and start the revisions. It's a matter of scheduling my time. I believe I can do it.

Active Planning

I'm going to confess something to all of you right now. Many of you, I know, are eagerly awaiting Bodacious Creed. It is coming! What I want to confess is how intimidated I've been by Act II!

Act I came along so smoothly! Yes, about 2/3 of the way into it, I decided to go back and make some minor changes, but then I got the rest done.

With Act I finished, I looked at the outline I had written for Act II. Though Act I was mostly how I had planned it, I realized that the the planned scenes for Act II didn't work with the characters anymore. A writer learns more about his characters as he writes, and things that made perfect sense early on seem out of character later.

The confession: I've felt intimidated with Act II! I have a lot going on in my life, as we all do. I'm going to be starting a new master's program in September to get my second masters, this time in special education. My car broke down and I need to get a new one, which will happen when school starts. My writing day job has been taking a lot out of me. My son and I live in So Cal, but don't have air conditioning, which has been awful. And since I am a single dad, I'm always busy with my awesome son. So, there's always something going on, and while I need to put effort into Bodacious Creed as well, I've been negligent. There are so many characters and situations to juggle that, strangely enough, I avoided jumping back into Creed's exciting world!

That has changed, though. Of course, I knew I would get back to the book, but I let the hugeness of Creed's world keep me away. I'm back to it now. I've been spending the last few days brainstorming on what will happen next.

One thing I learned a long time ago about writing is to work with the characters. One of the main questions I ask when I plot is, "What do the characters want, and what will they do to get it?" I don't remember where I learned this from, but it's very effective in creating chracter-driven stories. So, that's what I've been doing, and it's leading the story in directions I didn't expect, but exciting directions all the same. I know have a fair bit of Act II planned and I'll start writing more tomorrow.

Now, I actually have started writing Act II already. I have two scenes written, and those two scenes actually provided the launching point for planning the rest.

I am so excited about getting to some of these scenes. There's a lot of suspense and action. The danger to the hero has certainly increased, as have the stakes of failure.  There are more character deaths in this book than in all my previous fiction put together. So, yes! We'll see how much I can get done tomorrow.

Tonight, I plan to make a few small modifications to the timeline, which I found needed to happen for certain events to line up how they need to. That might add a few hundred words to the book. If so, I'll update the word count here on the blog on I've done that.

If you've gotten this far in this rambling blog, congratulations, and thanks for reading!

More on Bodacious Creed and the Creedverse soon!

First Scene of Act II

I just wrote the first scene of Act II today! That was much fun. I hope to get another scene written tomorrow.

I haven't completely finished outlining Act II yet, but I have the major events figured out. I have enough scenes planned, however to get going. When I've written more, I'll have a better grasp on events and motivations to outline more. I'm juggling more characters and situations than I have in past books, making Bodacious Creed a challenge, one I'm thoroughly enjoying.

Act II Revisions

Howdy everyone!

This is just a quick entry to let you all know that I've been busy revising the outline for Act II.

After I finished Act I and read the original Act II outline, I realized that the story needed a lot more. Subtle changes happen when writing the actual text of a novel. Character personalities really come out. And, \you realize that what was originally planned out no longer really fits.

What this means for Bodacious Creed is more danger, more ruthlessness, and more death.

If you're interested in my process--and I'm often interested in how other writers work--here's a bit of how this is working. I read the original outline and thought, "Okay, some of that is good, and some needs to be changed." Then, I wrote a bunch of notes regarding what many of the characters' goals were and what they would do to achieve their goals, which naturally suggests scenes and conflict. Then, I started fleshing out these various scenes in my notes, and organizing those scenes.

Yep, for my outlining, that's about how it goes.

Now, to get back to work.

Act 1 Is Complete!

I just finished the first draft of Act 1!

Now, I'm excited about filling in the outline for Act 2 and moving the story forward. A lot of exciting stuff is about to go down!

The first draft for this act is 56,200 words.

Moved In!

My son and I are moved in to a new apartment! We were living in a studio for the last fourteen months, thanks to some good friends who were charging us a low rent. However, it was tough, especially since my six-year-old has a lot of energy and needs room to run around. At the new place, he has that. We even went out briefly today for a day-late Father's Day trip to Starbucks, and to get some groceries, and he wanted to come back home!

I've got more unpacking to do, but I've become pretty Spartan in the number of belongings I have. Those who say to simplify and that stuff isn't everything are right. Have the things you need, and a few things you really want, and you'll be pretty set. Plus, these days, you can have most of your books on a tablet, store for you in The Cloud. (Which, as those of us who have been active on the Internet since the mid-90s still think of as "an offsite server.")

Even though I won't be able to get Clark into day care immediately, he's doing so well in the new place that I can actually get significant work done, even with him home. I'm up to 48,600 words in Bodacious Creed, nearly 1/3 of the way done! After I get a little more done around the new apartment, I plan to get to at least 50,000 words tonight. And, now that things have settled down, I expect to get the first draft done in the next two to three months!

So, friends and backers, please hang in there! I know I originally thought I'd have this done by August this year, but that was before I realized that the book would end up running so long, and before some of the financial troubles I ran into. It is on its way!

Oh! I'm also running a GoFundMe campaign to help with moving expenses. We really needed all the donations we've received so far. I still need to pay the deposit (they're very understanding here to wait for it), and to replace my car, which broke down irretrievably during the move. I'll be working hard at my online job to pay as much as I can, but of course, any help would be wonderful.

The main reason I mention the campaign here, though, is because I'm offering a bunch of Bodacious Creed related rewards, many of which are actually worth much more than you'd pay otherwise! These include custom 3D character models, appropriate for 3D printing!

Act 1 Timeline Finished!

Good news, everyone!

(I could absolutely see Professor Farnsworth from Futurama in a Steampunk and Wild West setting.)

I just finished the timeline for Act 1 of Bodacious Creed in Aeon Timeline. What that means is that it'll be pretty easy for me to finish writing this act in the next week.

Once that is done, I have two acts to go! I've had a busy year, but I'm stepping up the speed at which I'm writing. Of course, then, it will require rereading and lots of rewriting and editing, but one step at a time, right? I'm happy with the story, and I think you all will be, too.

I realize the wait is going to be longer than I thought at first, but I'll make it totally worth it.

I just added two scenes to Bodacious Creed, and a few thousand more words! I should hit 40,000 soon!

I have been very busy with my day job, writing a lot of articles. We're in a lull right now, after having just finished up a huge phase of one project, so kudos to the writing team I'm proud to be part of. While I'm waiting for the second phase to kick into gear, I have extra time to devote to Bodacious Creed, so I'm taking advantage of that.

The last scene is one I had been looking forward to since I started plotting. It's dark, and exciting, so that was a lot of fun.

Exciting New Scenes

I've been doing a lot of writing lately for my day job, which is how I earn a living week to week. I write articles, and the more I write, the more I earn. Rest assured, I'm working on Bodacious Creed, too, though I've had to slow down on the writing for that.

Today, I figured I'd get a Bluetooth keyboard for my tablet so I could do my day job outside the house. I got the keyboard, went to Starbucks, and tried pairing it with my tablet. (I have a Nook HD+ from Barnes & Noble, and excellent tablet, particularly for it's very low price.) The keyboard and Nook just wouldn't pair. I think that, once I can afford it, I'm going to get the keyboard designed for the Nook.

Anyway, I had the notebook I've been writing new scenes for Bodacious Creed in, so I got to work. I have a few thousand more word to type in, which will end up getting longer as I type them in. I forgot a few details as I was speed writing, so I went back and wrote some keywords in the margins to remind me to include them.

I've plotted the story out such that there are frequently exciting new developments for the reader to enjoy, and that makes the writing extra fun. No spoilers, though, which kind of sucks for me, since I'd love to rave about what I wrote today. The thing is, you'll read it. When the book is done, revised, and polished, this will all be out there.

I Lied

So, I lied yesterday, to all of you, but mostly, to myself.

It seems it really is my pattern to, now and then, write some new scene that just springs from my head, and to have to scrap it. I really write a lot better when I plan ahead, and I think that's because I really have to think about what my characters would do before I set it to paper or screen. The upshot of writing these scenes is that they often reveal something to me about the characters, or help me to find solutions for nagging plot problems, which this did.

There's 1,400 words shifted over into another file, my equivalent of the cutting room floor.

I've already made up some of that, though, and plan to make up all those words today. Plus, it cleared my head and allowed me to envision how to approach the actual scenes I had planned. I'm writing one of the first sequences I envisioned when I decided to make Bodacious Creed a novel!

Back to the Story!

I just wrote the next scene of Bodacious Creed! I just have to say that it's exciting finally getting back to it.  I wrote about 1,400 words today, and this is reflected in the updated word count, 35,600.

The thing is, I had some weird problems with Scrivener. Last week I went to open the file, and it just wouldn't open. I can't fully blame Scrivener, as it happened when I had it open and had a computer crash. Still, this shouldn't happen. You'd think it would have at least opened to the previous version.

With a little tinkering I got it to open up, but, little did I realize, a few scenes were missing. Then, they would start appearing as I added new scenes. I'd go to add the next scene from where I was, and it would be filled with text that was supposed to be in another part of the book. This was Scrivener opening the individual text files that belong in the project, but it somehow overlooked when I managed to (mostly) restore the project file.

So, some of my time today was spent getting those stranded scenes back where they belong.

This scene is interesting in that it wasn't one I expected to write, or even planned. Usually when I start writing a scene like that, I scrap it, realizing it will change the direction of the story. This one actually fits, and sets up something that is going to happen in the next chapter.

So, the upshot of all this is, Bodacious Creed is moving forward again!

Next Vlog Post, Head's Up!

I will be uploading a new vlog soon, something mechanical, something magical, something totally steampunk!

I've written the script and have images ready as well. I will put it together soon and will probably post it on Wednesday in the evening, after people are getting off work.  This vlog is about some magnificent Steampunk art you're all going to love.

The best way to keep up with when the vlogs go live is to follow me on Twitter, like the Bodacious Creed Facebook fan page, or subscribe to the YouTube channel.

What is Bodacious Creed?

The first vlog entry in awhile is ready for you to enjoy!  This tells all about what I will be doing with the Bodacious Creed vlog going forward.

Operating Table WIP

I do realize that I've posted the operating table, part of a large set for Bodacious Creed, recently.  However, I made more progress on it and wanted to share!

So, check it out on its deviantArt page!  Oh, c'mon.  It's just one click.

Anna's Operating Table

How funny it is to me, watching my word count!

I'm going through Chapters 5 and 6, making the changes to Anna's steampunk, scientific discoveries, and I'm writing a lot of new content.  However, since there are changes, I'm also deleting quite a bit of old text.  So my word count is creeping up.  I can hardly wait to get through this section and to start really rolling again.

And yeah, this all reads like the first draft that it still is!  Getting the down is what's important now.  Making the text sing comes later.  But the story, well... toot toot, I think it's pretty damned good.

If you watch my demo reel, you'll see Creed on an 1800s style operating table.  Well, when I actually write a novel, I start improving things and making everything fit together as best I can.  Also, as a 3D modeler and writer, I'm actually building models of some of the things in the book as I write it.  Here's a preview of what the operating table now looks like.  It is a work in progress, so it will be more complicated.

Operating Table by Anna Lynn Boyd (c) 2014 Jonathan Fesmire

That's today's update!  Believe me, there will be more soon.

Oh, if you're not already a fan of the Bodacious Creed Facebook page, please give it a like!

Back On a Roll!

A lot has happened in the last couple of months!  Here, I'll sum up what's happening regarding the Creedverse.

I've been hashing out some of the story details.  If you're a writer, you know that one change can have a serious ripple effect.  Those who have followed the development of Bodacious Creed also know that the character Anna Boyd is an inventor.  I decided the story would be better if she invented something different than what I had originally conceived, and wow... I have to change a lot of details.

It's worth it, though, as this one change is making the story much more interesting, and has introduced a mystery that probably won't be delved into until the second or third book.

With these details in my head, I'm going through Chapters 5 and 6, the last two I wrote, and modifying the story, which will make it easier to go forward.  You'll notice that the word counter here on the blog is going up again.

I'm also creating a large environment model of Anna's brothel, the House of Amber Doves, one of the major locations in the story.  Eventually, I plan to have it on my demo reel.  I don't know, maybe some views of it would even work to help illustrate the novel.

Much of my time since NaNoWriMo ended has been spent job searching, but I have a new full time, freelance job now.  That will make it easier to keep working on Bodacious Creed in my free time.

There are so many exciting scenes I'm eager to get to in this book!  I still hope to have it published in August, though it may be delayed a bit.  I want everyone who reads it to thoroughly enjoy the adventure.