Stefan Gagne's Fiction Factory

25+ years of novels, games, and other creative fiascos.

Archives for November 2013

the holiday hell corridor

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’tis the season for freezing temperatures, physical discomfort due to illness, crazy family gatherings which simulate the Large Hadron Collider only with toddlers, and all sorts of other madness.

It’s a rough time, to be sure, but I’m going to do my best to keep City of Angles going for you folks. Tricky to do with everything else going on and the lure of seasonally released video games, but darn it, you’re worth it.

With that in mind, one day early, here’s additional scenes for coa//015. I actually have a bit more written but I’m still finalizing the direction of the chapter, so I’ll hold off on that.

Not much else to say this go ’round… I’m sick today and limiting my movement to round trips between the bathroom and the couch. One thing that would perk me up immensely is some story feedback. Thanks in advance!

spam spam spam spam spam spam

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A quick note. My blog’s being attacked by spambots lately, hundreds of posts a day. They’re being caught by my spam filters… but I’ve also spotted some folks leaving legitimate posts which get caught by those filters, too.

If you leave feedback on my blog or my stories and don’t IMMEDIATELY see your reply appearing, you might be caught in a filter. In those cases, please drop me an email so I can clear your reply. Otherwise, I might miss it.

Thanks!

stalling for time (lords)

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So, Doctor Who has a big multi-doctor episode tomorrow, and I am itching in anticipation! Or possibly scabies. But honestly that’s not what this blog post is about, I just needed a semi-pun.

What I’m really here to say is that I’m skipping this week’s writing. I do have a scene and a half ready, but… I’m not sure about the direction yet. This is where I address Marcy / Vivi / Hollister and the tangled little family they’ve made for themselves. Delicate stuff, and I have to pick exactly where I wanna go with it.

Normally that wouldn’t pose a seven-day-long challenge… but this week has also been Desert Bus for Hope, which distracted the living hell out of me. It’s like a week long vacation. I’m gonna need to budget this into my writing schedule next year, I suspect. In the end they raised more than a half a million dollars for Child’s Play, a charity near and dear to my heart, and much fun was had.

While you wait, why not catch up on your reading? Or introduce a friend to the stories, so they can catch up on them. And while you’re doing that… check out the new artwork in the gallery! We’ve got the new Amanda Walker and Grandma Scarlett artwork from last week (links now fixed!) and now… brand spanking new official artwork for Ellie! Awww. She looks so sad.

Lastly, I’m working on doing some more game streaming on my Twitch.TV channel. Unlike dedicated “this is my job” streamers I’m not gonna make this, well, my job. So if you wanna tune in to see me on a web cam flailing about in video games — and occasionally doing a livestream of my writing process! — you’ll wanna click dat Follow button and keep an eye out.

Thanks for your patience, and I intend to have fresh writin’s for you next weekend.

ch-ch-changes

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Change is good. All things must change or die. (Except sharks. They haven’t needed to change for a looong time because, sharks.) So let’s talk changes today.

First, the blog. Doing the wacky titles based on whatever this week’s story update happens to be is cute, but if I want this to be a combination of “Story updates!” plus “News you can use!” plus maybe even “Personal stuff!” I shouldn’t adhere to that pattern. So, dropping that.

Second, the City of Angles website. It’s revamped slightly! A reader commented how he preferred a prominent, up-front notice of what’s new, rather than the heavy emphasis on the full archive of stories. So, I shifted that box to the left, and added some new newsy type information to it. I’ll be tinkering with this more as time goes on, no doubt.

Third, we’ve got new City of Angles artwork! It’s official art for Amanda Walker, and also some fanart by my sister for Grandma Scarlett. So awesome. There’s art for Ellie coming next week!

Fourthly, I’m not sure what to do with my tumblr, and I’d love your feedback on that. I’m new to tumblr, and I want to make sure what I’m doing is re-tumblable, if that’s a word, or at least useful for you guys. It could be a good way to virally spread my stories. Is doing a small excerpt followed by some links the right way to go? Should I just mirror the blogposts? What’s what from what? I am not good at computer. Halp.

Finally, oh by the way City of Angles //015: What Goes Around is now up. Took some time, so thanks for your patience. If you’d like to leave feedback on the story, you can do so at the bottom of the story itself; it’s got comments built right in, just like my blog.

Okay! I think that’s about everything. Oh — when you get some spare time this week, tune into Desert Bus for Hope. It’s a telethon where some sketch comedy guys are playing the world’s most boring videogame for as long as people donate to Child’s Play. Nice video summary here. Speaking as a child who was in and out of hospitals for years and years, this charity can really save a kid’s life (and sanity). Trust me on that. Thank you.

A Link to the Past (and the Future)

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So, no City of Angles story updates this week. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have blog content for y’all!

Recently, longtime reader Kit Flowerstorm was chatting with me on Twitter and mentioned she was considering doing some blog posts about my old Neverwinter Nights modules, particularly the psychological horror game Excrucio Eternum. Those posts are now up and are a fine read, just like everything else on her awesome blog. There’s an intro here and part one here. Leave her feedback and enjoy!

Next, you remember that chiptune band that popped up in //009, the one called crashfaster? They’re a real band that actually exists, actually, and they’ve got a new album coming up which is just awesome. “But Stefan, I don’t like the bleepity bloops,” you may say. “These are noisetastic bleepity bloops of despair and bitterness which poke savage holes in your heart,” I would say in return. It’s some fierce stuff; give it a listen.

Finally, some ponderances from the feedback I got on my last post. I’m going to revamp the City of Angles homepage, likely for the vol//002 launch (coming up early next year!) and am pondering other fun things to do. Forums, perhaps? We had a forum, years ago. Do we have enough active users willing to post to a forum exclusively deifying my divine writing, though? Not sure. Let me know what you think.

Next week if all goes according to plan, we’ll be checking in with Hollister Avenue and a lot of other dangling plot threads.

coa//014 is a daydream believer

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This week is the big splashy exciting bewildering confusing ending of coa//014. Little by little, layers of the City are being pulled back to reveal the truth. Or in this case not so little by little, more like jamming a meathook in there and yanking hard.

Next week I’ll be taking a break, so I can plan the next story and maybe do some editing to prep vol//002’s inevitable book publication. Speaking of which, now you can get a free eBook version when you buy a paperback of ANY of my books. Some authors are being douches and double-dipping you on that, offering a ‘discount’ for buying both. Nuts to that; you own the story, you own the story.

It’s NaNoWriMo time, which I did technically accomplish a few years ago, but I think I’ll be skipping it this time around. November’s a lousy month for this sort of thing since all the hot new video game releases happen now, family holidays have to be arranged and attended, and it’s also Desert Bus for Hope time. Still, I’m hoping to have some of coa//014 for you in November, starting on the 16th. Although something has me curious…

A reader gave me a shout-out the other day, just to say Hay Lo and thank me for my writing. Whee! He also, however, mentioned that he was still in the middle of reading anachronauts. Which is surprising to me, but that’s because I’m mentally fixed on the idea of “reader = up to date on everything” which often does not seem to be the case.

Webnovels are a strange beast. When you become a fan of a webcomic, usually you skip the early strips and just start reading what’s hot and current. Even a narrative comic can be picked up pretty quickly, or you can consume the back catalog in an afternoon. But a webnovel, well, they’re NOVELS, and finding time in your life to read an entire novel (much less eight of them) is difficult.

This means that the vanguard of the readership is small, with a silent army marching some distance behind them, working their way through earlier stories or patiently waiting for the paperback release. If you’re reading this now, you’re in the vanguard, for instance. What I need to do is adjust my perception and make some plans to support ALL of you guys, at the cutting edge or deep in the back catalog. Something to chew on for a bit, I suppose.

Back again in two weeks, with a longtime reader requested story focusing on a guy who knows a guy. Enjoy! Love to know what you think.