The New World Map

Progress on the next book has slowed considerably because of work and many other distractions. I decided to get this map finished before I really got back into the writing habit. It seems I am almost done with chapter two, with bits being added to all of the other chapters as well, but I know I could have had the book done by now if a dedicated effort was put forth.

Nevertheless, my map is nearly complete. I was able to greatly improved how the map looked by doubling the number of colors it used, and have increased the shades of certain areas, such as deserts, snow and water. I'm still working on improving the ocean floor so that it mimics the details of our own oceans, with signs of plate tectonics. The continents have not been updated much because a version of the map is already placed on the cover of the fourth book, but there have been many other things to edit. Forests especially may see changes, and I still need to reduce the overall height of the map, meaning I need to increase the amount of ice around the south pole.

Below are two different perspectives:

Gone and Back Again

I have been on a writing hiatus for a few weeks now, getting a bit of a break from the process and focusing on other responsibilities and projects. I did finish chapter one before this break, and I have now begun the writing for chapter two. I am also working hard on translating the world map to its new medium, which will then greatly speed up the various edits I need to make, including the making of a 3D globe of the world.

I want to say that I am improving as a writer as I get closer to finishing the series. At the very least, my writing style has changed from a light story that connected some poetry I wrote in my spare time, to a more fleshed out example of fiction with a detailed world. As I plan out the final books, I know that things will only get better and better. The pieces are in place for one epic ride. I just need to take my time in putting those pieces together for the reader. More details to come...

Appendices of Part VI

Some may find that the appendices of Part III are out of place. Many are simply descriptions of how the gods function, facts not necessarily needed when reading which may change in the future. This is indeed true, and I believe I will remove all of these when the next book is published. Ultimately, I would like to sell the six parts of the story together as one novel, and there the appendices will function quite well. For instance, it would be helpful to the reader if my take on the Mars calendar is read as soon as possible, though the fact that this all occurs on Mars would not be a surprise like it is now (and the details of this mystery will be explained at the end). 

So what new material will appear in the new appendix of Part VI? This has been mentioned to various people through different mediums, but I do not know if it was expressed here. What will be included is an event timeline. This was originally created so that I could keep track of everything going on, especially the events mentioned in Part IV. One could indeed use the timeline for spoilers, so there will be some kind of warning present. There will also be content in the timeline which is not mentioned in any of the books, which currently includes details of Aglodon's past history not mentioned. It will also be a useful tool when trying to link the different books together, as I frequently go back and forth in time. 

The final thing that I know I will be including is a list of every single place mentioned. There are over ninety places mentioned so far, so it is a list I need to glance at now and then. Naturally, this list holds the definitions of such places, including descriptions of their location. There is also an added timeline element, where I give the date of the origin and end of a place. This doesn't really help for natural landmarks, like mountains, but it is helpful when looking at when nations and cities rise and fall. Still, quite a number of these origins and ends I are details I do not yet know, so for a majority of items these are replaced with a question mark. Included is the date range used within the story so that I or another reader can at least know when a place most definitely existed. As I get into the last book, much of this information will likely be filled in. 

Battles Beyond Belief

Readers may have noticed that there is no real example of the two gods fighting. Yes, Rhinesvelt does destroy a fragment of Helskor that manages to drive him insane, and yes, Rhinesvelt also briefly fights a group of humans who do hold Helskor's power. But you never see the two gods attempting to destroy each other directly. As the Day of Whispers became an established reality, these two beings rarely entered combat outside of this one day.

Before this, the gods had to learn the rules of their imprisonment. They had to test out their abilities. Part V, now titled "Plight of the Gods", will go into these details. There will be at least two of these battles, one occurring near the beginning of the book, the other near the end. Much about these battles has been written already. You could say they are complete, and I hope it is done well enough so that you can visualize the epic scenes I am imagining. These are not the only examples of fighting in the story, and there is one particular struggle that will likely trump both. I expect the fifth book to be the most exciting out of the six, even as the sixth wraps up the story and holds its own plethora of surprises.

Compared to the book before it, I am far more excited as I write this content. Writing is not as difficult. Still, the plot of the book remains under construction and will likely take several months to complete.

Republishing and a Prologue

Looking through book four, I noticed some minor grammatical errors that I wanted to fix. However, after file conversion and looking at a kindle version of the document, I noticed several errors with the indentations as well. The book should update with these problems fixed by tomorrow. Also, I have completed the beginning prologue of the next book, and it is looking pretty good. The narration at the beginning is almost poetry itself, and after it follows a conversation I'm sure many wish they could have read during book three. I myself am excited for what is to happen, which certainly speeds up the creation process.

Poetry Over the Years

As a growing poet who has progressed since his college days, I have made a few observations about poetry that I would like to share.

The Goal of Poetry:

The intentions of the author are quite important. The possibilities are also vast. Normally, poetry is a reassembling of language in order to create greater emotion, feeling, meaning or value. But this still does not highlight specifics, and a great deal of poetry is used to convey a specific feeling or idea. There is also the use of epics, which are used to create and move a story.

Language Used:

When analyzing the language of a poem, first ignore the structure and put everything into one line (or paragraph) of text. Are there rhyming words? Are there like-sounding words? Is the language flowery or redundant? How are these words ordered? Does the poem sound like natural speech? Analyzing the language can tell you a lot about what the author is trying to do, and is especially important in free verse poetry that does not follow a set meter (something I usually specialize in).

Organization of Language:

This is the focus on structure. Is there a meter present? What do the stanzas look like and how are they organized? How many lines are in the poem? Are any of the established rules of structure broken? Language which may not sound particularly well may flourish in a properly delivered poem. However, while creating rules for such a delivery does create a certain form of expression that you may desire, it will ultimately reduce the language you are capable of using. This is especially true if you wish to use rhyming words, or techniques like iambic and trochaic meters.

The End Result:

Poems that are easy to read and just roll off the tongue are going to be read multiple times. Certain lines are going to be catchy, and the actual content does not always matter. Even made up words, when strung together melodically, will be a joy to read.

Poetry can be really technical, but not convey much emotion or meaning to the reader. Sometimes we sacrifice something that sounds amazing in order to stick with the established format we are going for. This is especially true for poems with a set number of syllables per line, though if meter is present, there may be a valuable trade-off.

Rhyming poems with a consistent meter are ultimately the easiest to read and say out loud. They are also some of the most challenging things to write, especially if you are writing something rather long and wish to avoid repetition. This is all worth it though if you succeed, as these written works are likely to become your favorites (or at least that is the case for myself). One trick to writing these poems is to increase the number of syllables each line possess, reducing the total number of lines while sharing the same amount of information. However, you will eventually run into problems when the rhyming words at the end of each line become too far apart.

My personal favorite poems to write are free verse. I feel I can best take another individual on a journey if I am not limited by the usual confinements. I also follow set patterns occasionally, like a fixed syllable length and the reuse of certain words on different lines. I especially like using words that sound similar, but do not actually rhyme, and I may have these at the end of a line or put together. I also frequently employ the technique of using multiple words with the same beginning sound or letter.

Hopefully this will help someone out there who is trying out new forms of writing. I wholly encourage people to give the different types of poetry a try, many of which have not been listed. Even if you are not looking to express yourself, it definitely improves how you are able to comprehend language.

Thinking About the Calendar

I actually forgot that the months I created were in alphabetical order. I find that even if I did create a system of rotation for name design, there would be no obvious way to tell the ordering. It is also impossible to create a perfect system since twenty two can only be divided evenly by two. I could not create the system I want with 22 months, but I have already determined that there needs to be 22 months. So I might as well leave things the way that they are now instead of burdening the reader and myself.

The Dream Dweller Archive and Other Updates

I figure I should resurrect this blog simply to mention a few important details.

1. At last, the fourth book of the Epic of Old series has been completed. Each work has been longer than the last, and this is no exception. Anyone wishing to get absorbed into this world of mine should have no trouble after this next installment. You can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KVXTRPA

2. The previous three books have been updated as well. The covers have seen a seen a relatively big change. Occasional typos have been corrected, and the Appendices section of the third book has received a major update. Mainly, some of the content was removed and added to the next book while the calendar and dating system has been overhauled. Besides mentioning the lengths of the year, there are actual months now that follow a set pattern. I may update the names of the months so that the naming system makes better sense. The ending of each month followed a pattern, but the beginning was left up to me. If this gets changed, there will also be a rotating set of beginnings that work with the endings. I realize that such a change should have been implemented before the new stuff was published, but this is likely to improve the work overall.

3. Work on the next book has already been started. Originally, the contents of the current fourth book were either going to serve as the first half of the story or be sprinkled throughout as the information became relevant. However, the content of that section grew so much that it was best to separate it entirely. This means that I have a jump-start with the next book. The current material is 14 pages, and it is pretty well organized into an outline. One of the chapters is already halfway done. Part Five is currently titled "Plight of the Gods". 

4. The book cover for Part Four has the created map in its black and white version, but this does not mean the map is actually complete. What I am doing is slowly converting the picture into an Excel version that will become incredibly easy to edit. It should improve future efficiency, but the time it takes is so long that it may not be worth it. Honestly, I should have worked in Excel from the start. The map has received enough updates as to look quite different to the one previously shared on the blog, so I will eventually share it once I am done.