NANOWRIMO Projects 2015

A bit about my overflowing projects in writing

For the year I've been much better at keeping note books and computer records of my story projects,

with Google Docs and "YWriter5" as my digital organizer for writing. I have not mastered it yet but I am in love with it's ability to assist me.

Now Projects we have to complete from previous NANO's

1 ) "Felony Flats" 

A co-writing venture with my buddy Duncan and my usual cast of Player characters setting a "Plannular world" post-fantasy later stage industrial revolution nation states in a Steampunk universe, where political and social parties strive for public and private power, where one small and otherwise unremarkable nation holds the keys to technological advances and leases them to those who can afford it.

The world is seen through the eyes of some of the rarest of people that the civilized nations might encounter, a free ranging "Far Trader" airship on private lease.

There are secret forces at work against them, old enemies and debts falling and rising around them at the eve of their greatest joy and sorrow to date.

2 ) Last Landships of Perth,

A Post apocalyptic Desielpunk world where a once beautiful and verdant planet was struck down by stellar catastrophe centuries before "story present date". The planet has been rolling through it's orbits in a gradually accelerating eccentricity every solar cycle following the loss of it's moon. And with that It's waters have become increasingly polar locked ice except in their brief and harsh summers. 

 Those who survive now cling almost exclusively to three strata of engineering relics inherited and maintained to exclusion of nearly everything else.

    Duncan Driver is a nomad, he is a wind rider and lives most of his life only a few precious spans above the blasted and cured soil of his home world. The taint of those who walk Perth is still beneath him until a terrible omen follows his taking of an unwanted quest. He will meet and fight many of the great and strange legends of his home world and uncover layers of secrets as old as the rings above his harsh and unforgiving world. But it is not all for sadness, his journey brings him new friends and debts great or terrible to behold as well as a few enemies unlike any he knew before.

3 ) A Rogue among Rogues and a Trader among Traitors,

My NANO' before last. Is the story of an Orphan hosted and raised among the highest reaches of a hive world, who seeking a temporary cure for his boredom and perhaps a chance at some respect or romance pursues a seemingly harmless game into a deep and deadly warren of Wytches, cultists and heretical mutants before prizing something of unknown and unspeakable value from the hands of dying man to save them all from a terrible fate. 

     From there he escapes by cleverness and by luck to join a host of would-be Rogue Traders on their way to Holy Terra and to confirm their appointments before accepting the issuance of their vessels. Along the way he will meet dozens who are among the best and worst Humanity's empire has to offer and a never ending Rubix cube of power and play, loyalty and most cunning deceits before they ever reach the half way point for his journey half of his peers will die through all manor of horror and danger the galaxy has to offer.

4 ) The State of Health

A Semi-science fiction story I had originally been tailoring to have a "Prisoner / Great Escape" theme and feeling, but through character outlines and some exploration of the back stories of several characters it is sometimes feeling a lot more like a cold war spy novel or "Film Nior" Detective story in several aspects.

A pan-geographic nation built upon the suppressed bones of several regionalist nation states, and composed of two seeming opposed ideologies who must always maintain balance in their power and in the civilian lives of their people. Following the collapse of their old nations many decades before and the plagues and other issues which followed; their governments instituted remote "health camps" and research sites in different parts of their nation(s) to help heal and isolate the sick before reintigration into society. Now after more than a century of unity, these have become completely normalized and accepted by nearly everyone. It is to them no different than a seasonal vacation for many who suffer from repeated and accuse illnesses, or others who suffer great injury and require long term care.

     However not everything is as sparkling clean or clearly carried out for the public good, and some people are "Sent" not only against their wills but in opposition to the fact that they are in fact quite well in body and mind, or are not released when it would be quite simple to see that there is no reason to keep them within the borders of these places. It is a nation within a nation, a sub-culture existing under the supposed careful gaze of a loving and caring government for all but a few always manage to slip through the cracks. 

These are the stories of those on the outside going about their lives, the people who are lost to them and sometimes the people on the inside or those that can pass between the barriers to try and reach the ones you left behind.

 

Becoming a grown up

    If you know me you know I've never lived on my own.

(This was written several months ago, and for some reason was only drafted never published )

My life was never meant to be conventional, it simply wasn't in the cards. I graduated high school,

( to the surprise of more than a few) and it only took one extra year to do it. That was because of apathy as much as illness and I never said otherwise. 

     There was never a plan for me to go to college, it was rarely ever even mentioned or joked about except by people who did not know me. I didn't have health insurance after I turned eighteen, and without it health was an issue and I never had "real employment" except for seasonal work at summer camp and a couple of other seasonal camps I loved working for. There was never enough money to pay bills with. If you can't pay the bills you have, how the hell are you expected to move out?

There was no money for college. ( Just skip any presumptions you have there, it didn't exist and the government wasn't giving it out ).

Now skipping a lot of my life to the proto-relevant period, a few years ago I met a girl, she changed my life. Not only for the better but in ways I'm still only becoming aware of. She had her shit together and why she ever put up with me I will never know. 

She had a plan, all her bills were always paid up on time and her car was reasonably nice and her house along with everything in it ; all very well organized. Things weren't the amazing for me back then. I had an Ex- who was an awful creature and was constantly hanging around pretending she was my friend, but the new girlfriend gave me my first taste of being an actual adult person.

I vote, own a gun, drink occasionally; "The adult age stuff" but never had any space that was expressly my own. And while I was with her I pretty much lived at her house, I never had a space which was expressly mine at her place but there were some allowances made for me and it was weirdly gratifying. When that ended there was the throwing of everything back into my parents place. All the old grievances and preconceptions were there waiting for me, anything that was "wrong" was invariably my fault, problem or somehow connected to myself. No matter how it happened or when, hell things that happened while I was away for days or weeks were my fault. Sink full of dishes? My fault, though I hadn't eaten at the house for a month. There was / is a dishwasher that works too.

Now I'm theoretically healthy, if you look at me it's bound to fall out of your face "you look healthy", 

And on the sliding scale of filling a pine box to running marathons I'm closer to "can walk a mile" on the marathon side than the pine box side. But the fact is, fundamentally I am not now nor ever have been "healthy" . It is fair enough to say my baselines are high, rather enough to have employment when I'm not actively sick, but if you can't go an hour without even slightly coughing the realms of employment open to you are limited. 

A while back I met some folks by chance, which is the story of my life certainly and this was no exception to the hilarious and weird tale that is how I come to know anyone and everyone. We are friends of friends, they have a house and after some segways about my health, life and occupational skills they decided I should move in. Now I've always been leery of moving out because I knew I couldn't move back home afterwards the situation simply would not be possible baring extreme illness or worse. I was pretty excited and certainly terrified at the prospects.

 I work a job, sort of; I work four hours a day, three days a week. Which was just paying my bills and assisting in my food requirements. No food stamps or government assistance for some time.

The plan was to convert the laundry room into a bedroom, roughly twelve by thirteen feet. Having a doorway into the Kitchen/hallway of the house, and has a back door into the back yard. It's not a bad space really about the same size as my old bedroom with several important improvements.

1 ) It is not the access to the attic or any other space in the house.

2 ) It does not have a closet taking up valuable space.

3 ) It was in nearly every sense of the phrase; a blank canvas. 

I'd made CAD files of the room's possibilities and hoped to have all the angles figured out. Then while my folks were out of town, we showed up on a sunny day with a truck and trailer and grabbed piles of stuff I figured I needed. That was a month ago.

In a stunning series of health issues which turn into economic issues the room is not done, it's mostly there now but by no means a finished work to anyone's eyes. Other than the doorway I wanted into the house and shelves around the top of the walls; none of it has played out as I had planned or anyone else's plans really. I have a five foot doorway in and out of my room. Yes, it's five feet wide, and if there are ever doors on it I will be ecstatic. 

Why are you building a room with a huge door?

*Good question, but it's the wrong assumption.

     I designed a room which would have two pocket doors, each a full size solid core wood door. Meaning if I had people over we could hang out in my room while food was cooking and it would not feel like a small space.

It's been a long time... But we're back in business here.

It's been a long time

But I'm back now, and there have been many changes since I was last here. I hope to keep this as a rather regularly updated blog. Different themes throughout the week days.

What to say for now?

Portland is too hot, Oregon and Washington and California are burning. There is hope of rain coming and helping stamp down the fires but who knows.

I fell in love, met a wonderful woman and for a time seemed to be doing pretty well.

That ended, my fault and much is my regret and despite that she is still an outstanding friend to me so that I am greatly thankful that I have her around to influence me. 

I had a job for a while which was ( A regular job with taxes and pay checks ) a good change but that also ended. And shortly after that I moved out for the first time, crazy right?  Was living with some friends for several months while doing some work with metal working, hope repair and wood cutting.

     Have had some other short term projects with various mostly minimal cash coming in, and due to some other considerations had to move out last month. Moved back to my old area which is much better for me in pretty much every respect, everything is where I know it to be for stores and buses and the like. Have a room, and a tidy little space where I keep mostly to myself when I'm not dashing out the door.

OOOOh: Pipes, making and selling exotic hardwood smoking pipes, so if you know someone who smokes come check out the work. Right now I have a tonne of pipes in different woods and styles and sizes but selling them to stores is a pretty slow affair as most only buy on a monthly basis.
Right now If you're in the Portland area drop me a message and I can in a lot of cases simply deliver one by hand rather than charge for postal delivery.

NANOWRIMO: Is still a thing, I'm waiting to hear if I am going to be the Portland Oregon ML for this year ! ( Here's hoping )

I am working on a great variety of story projects right now in bits and pieces, 

Looking for a job, right now yard work / helping fix up people's houses is the bulk of my income
(and at the present there is no income ) So shoot me a line friends if you need a hand.

I have been doing as much SteamPunk stuff as I can, though economic shortages have really cut this back in terms of events / outings and the like. I am hoping to start building some pieces to show case the work I can do, and will post some of my older exploits here soon.

I have an instagram, still trying to figure it all out there: search my name.

Oh Cystic Fibrosis.
Yes I'll post stuff about that periodically too, though most of my cysters are MUCH better prepared and set up to talk about it technically and specifically these days than I could. There are things going on all the time and I can only keep up with so much of them.

Anyhow that'll do it for now I suppose?