Part 2 Progress - Finished!

Part 2 is, at long last, complete!  With luck I will have Part 3 finished sometime in the middle of July, but considering how much work I'll need to do on that part to make it fit with all the others I can make no guarantee.

Character Profile: Director (Doctor) Storm

Director (or Doctor, as he appears in Mutation) Storm is one of my favorite characters, in part because I make him to be so likeable.  He is not given a whole lot of backstory, yet his role in the trilogy of Mutation-Maturity-Mutiny is extremely important.
The Director is the leading expert on mutations, specifically the controllable ones that play such a huge role in Maturity and Mutiny.  He seeks to learn as much as he can about the subject, but unlike Xavier or Adyn his quest for knowledge does not hold any alternative motives; he simply wants knowledge for knowledge's sake.  While he has nearly everyone else record their stories in the audio logs that Gideon finds, Director Storm never actually records anything except for the introduction because he feels that his part of the story is unimportant.  In Mutation his goal is simply to determine what caused the specific brand of mutations that are causing people to become the infected and how to stop it, in addition to helping Eric and Kate and Rose strengthen their own powers to combat the others. 
      In Maturity he is the leading expert in detecting where the rings are (atm I'm trying to figure out a better name for the rings than 'Eternity Stones' - which is what they were called - because that just sounds silly), and helps Aaron and the others in discovering them.   In fact, on several occasions he is the person who essentially solves the tests for them, my own way of saying that he, out of all the characters I am creating for this trilogy, is the most worthy of having some kind of powers.
     And that comes into play in Mutiny, when Director Storm is actually given the chance to have "the ultimate power" so to speak (not going to give away everything, now am I? :P).  He rejects it in spite of the fact that he would become immortal and essentially all-powerful, stating that "Greater men have been corrupted by these powers."
    In essence, Director Storm is one of my three favorite characters, simply because he is both humble and intelligent.  Against a background of war, treachery, and murder, he remains honorable and friendly towards the good guys.


That's all I've got.  Until next time, every(one).  Writr, out.

Part 2 Development

I'm kicking work on Part 2 into high gear.  I'm really enjoying the updated version, especially since I kinda hate how the story progressed in the old version.  Plus I'm just having fun writing it and adding new stuff.

I don't want to give away too much, but I will say this: for once my nerdy habits are proving incredibly helpful for writing some of this new stuff.

'Til next time, (every)one.  Writr, out.

Game of Amazing Storyline

Recently I've gotten into watching Game of Thrones.  I realize it's gotten a bad rap for all the nudity and stuff - and I'm not even going to bother to defend it there, because I feel it's all unnecessary, but WHATEVER.  Anyways.  The one thing I was really surprised by was how deep the story is, in part because you are watching multiple different plotlines, and I think it'll be really cool when they become connected (because we all know that that's what happens when you have a dual-plotline story set in the same time frame).
A few things I find interesting:
1. Animals/beasts: While the show makes references to multiple kinds of monsters, the only real "beast" that's been shown are the Dire Wolves (I think there might have been some imagery of the White Walkers in the first episode, but I never got to see that).  The White Walkers are probably going to show up eventually - they do seem to be a major enemy that will be coming later on.  Dragons are also mentioned, but aside from some large skulls and three dormant eggs, the dragons seem to be extinct.  The three previously mentioned eggs are definitely going to hatch, methinks, but when they will, exactly, has yet to be seen.

2. The political plots: This show makes a huge deal out of political intricacies, and none of them are very simple.  For example, there are the Targariens (I'm murdering the spelling on that, I know), who had control of the throne until a Lannister guy killed him, and only his son and daughter were left.  Then there's the conflict between the Lannisters and the Starks, who are pretty much at war with each other for reasons that have yet to be mentioned.  And the current king is married to a Lannister woman (though all "his children" are actually the offspring of his wife and her twin brother), yet best friends with Eddard Stark, adding conflict.  And then there's the Dothraki (again, murdering that spelling), whose leader is now married to the Targerien girl, and the relationship between them.

3. Tyrian Lanniester: For some reason I just like this guy.  He's a dwarf and he's at a disadvantage in this world, and he knows it.  Yet he still manages to be witty and interesting.  I'm sure they're going to kill him off or do something horrible, but for now I hope he ends up king or something.  Plus, he seems like the only Lannister who doesn't hate the Starks.

4. Eddard Stark: He isn't witty or anything like Tyrian Lannister, but he's the obvious choice for a protagonist; he has honor, he's fiercely loyal, and all he wants to do is keep things right in the world.  Unfortunately most everyone else DOESN'T share that sentiment, but maybe he'll win them over.  Maybe.

5. The "dance" (sword) instructer: This guy is interesting because a) he's teaching swordplay to a young girl, and b) some of his quotes are just awesome.  For example: "What is the only thing we can say when praying to Lord Death?... Not today."  GENIUS!

6. The world itself is amazing.  The intro does a great job of referencing where everything is, and even aside from that, the sets for each locale are spectacular.  I am never left wondering which location is which; they all have thier own distinct appearances.  I also like how seasons work in this world - rather than lasting for several months, they tend to last several years.  It plays into the plot, too; winter is coming (a winter that will bring White Walkers for the first time in several hundred years) and it will last many years.

So yeah.  While some parts of this show are stupid, it has potential to be freaking awesome.

Time to get back to work on Part 2.  Until next time, everyone.  Writr, out.

Part 2 Development

Part 2 is coming along slowly, to say the least.  This is in part because I have tons of stuff going on right now, but also because I'm trying to get everything to fit perfectly.  Mainly, getting the old characters' personalities to actually match themselves and fit with the storyline - which is hard when you're trying to make some characters enigmatic but give them tons of dialogue - in addition to getting Gideon's plotline to make sense and all.
Hopefully Part 2 will be done by the end of June.  But I make no promises.

The Development of Heroes/Heroines

Lately I've been looking at different series - both book and video games - and seeing how the characters progressed, not only in a specific case (as in one book or one game) but throughout a series, if it were possible.  Here's some of the things I've found (and a warning to those of you who may not have read/played these titles):
Bartimaeus Trilogy: As a whole, the djinni Bartimaeus didn't change too much; he was still very much the same playful, humorous character he had been from the beginning.  This is something I came to expect from him since he is supposed to be thousands of years old; after a few thousand years, you probably wouldn't change much as far as attitude - heck, most people stop changing after they've hit forty.  While it seems that his opinion of human masters changed - he became slightly friendlier towards Nathaniel - after reading the sections on Ptolemy and their relationship I realized that he had simply discovered that there were others like his old master; his opinion had never really changed.  Nathaniel, on the other hand, went through major changes through each three books.  In the beginning he was a naive, youthful boy who had some scrap of honor in him, but by the beginning of the second novel that honor had all but vanished, and he became a cruel, harsh master just like all the other magicians.  Kitty changed him and made him revert back to the old Nathaniel, a heroic individual who simply wanted to stop the problems that were going on.  His opinions on djinni changed, too, when he realized just how similar he and Bartimaeus were.
Harry Potter: Harry changed quite a bit throughout the series, though some my argue otherwise.  True, he never delved into being dark and evil or anything - though he did become a bit emo in the 5th book - but how he treated himself as a hero changed.  In the first three novels it was more about simply facing whatever trials were immediately in front of him, whether that was Fluffy growling at him, the Basilisk snarling, or the Whomping Willow thrashing.  He never stopped to think about what it all meant, what Voldemort's consistent reoccurrence might mean.  In the 4 book he realized that his life was forever changed, that he and Voldemort were indeed connected; in book 5, he fully understood the connection, and began coming to terms with the inevitable battle with Voldemort in the 6th book.  In book 7, he changed again; instead of simply coming to terms with the fact that he would have to fight Voldemort, he came to terms with the fact that he would have to die in order to stop the Dark Lord.  That, I thought, marked a major change, because it showed that he understood what kind of sacrifices must sometimes be made to help the people you care about.
Halo: Halo was different from the two series above; overall, Master Chief never changed.  He kept doing the same things that he was doing - killing Covenant and protecting Earth's interests.  True, he did have to accept that the Arbiter - a Covenant Elite - was an ally, and in Halo 3 that marked some minor conflicts between the two, but overall his opinion didn't change.  The greatest change, I think, was the relationship between the Chief and Cortana, the super-computer AI who was connected to him.  At first they were simply that: a super-soldier and a very intelligent holographic AI.  However, the Chief sacrificed himself to protect Cortana, and throughout Halo 2 and Halo 3 the two showed some compassion for one another.  While the Chief's last words to her as he went into cryostasis - "Wake me when you need me" - were impersonal, I think that the two had forged a very close bond, and I am interested to see how that bond continues in Halo 4.
Assassin's Creed (Ezio Auditore): For the sake of brevity, I am sticking with Ezio, since he plays a major role and his life parallels that of Desmond's.  Ezio started out a foolish rich kid, who got into scraps with other teenagers and slept around with girls - when he told his mother he had great skills, she responded snarkily, "You mean besides vaginas?"  After his father and two brothers are executed before his eyes, he realizes he must take up the Assassin's ways, and begins to learn how to act in his father's stead.  By the end of Assassin's Creed 2, he has become much more mature, a strong-willed individual who is feared by his enemies and loved by his people.  In Brotherhood he is still a bit immature, sleeping around with women and such, but when he realizes that an Assassin is not a part-time job, he takes up the clothes and hidden blade and returns to take down Cesare Borgia.  Throughout his fights with the Borgia he ressurrects the fallen Brotherhood of Assassins, and himself becomes a Master Assassin, capable of wielding one of the Apple artifacts.  He is mature, wise, and powerful, and the game ends with hope.  Revelations takes a much older Ezio on his journey to discover something that has been left behind by the previous Master Assassin, Altair.  At this point Ezio is older, nearing 50 I think, and has taught many others how to follow in his footsteps; he is a mentor.
So... yeah.  There are some other series I would put in here, but this is long enough as it is, so I'll end it here.  I think it's interesting to see how other authors/writers develop their characters throughout a series, and enjoy developing my own characters and preparing them for the challenges I'll put in their path.

Until next time, everyone.  Writr, out.

Random Ramblings 1

As you might deduce from the title, I expect there to me more of these little ramblings.  Hopefully they won't become commonplace here, but... who knows.  I have no idea about what my real plans are for this blog. :P
Anyways, I have gotten absolutely no work done on Mutation in the past few days.  It kinda sucks, but the past few days have been absolute chaos, between having to drive all over the place, working on stuff for some other people, and trying to find a second job so that I'll be able to pay for college.  Hopefully by the end of this weekend I will actually have some time to sit down and get some real work done (I should probably quit writing this blog and get working now, actually), but of course I start my summer course next Monday so things will get fun then, too.
I've come to realize, though, that I shouldn't see my working on Mutation as a fun hobby.  If I do that, no real work on Mutation will get done, either because I'll spend my time doing things I'd consider more productive or simply write absolute crap that isn't very substantial.  At the same time, though, I feel that I shouldn't view writing as a chore or a job (in part because I'm not making any money off anything yet).  If I view Mutation as a job, then I'll write what I think has to get done to finish by a deadline, and nothing creative will come out.  I've realized that it's a fine balance I have to keep to ensure that Mutation gets completed and is actually good, substantial work.
Anyways, I really probably should stop this post and get back to writing.

Until next time.  Writr, out.