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A Blogger’s Beowulf in 2016

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This quiet, joyous, community-centric holiday part of the year really isn’t suited to stories of kin-slaying and monster thrashing, so I took last week off from A Blogger’s Beowulf (sorry for the late notice!) and am doing the same this week.

So, watch for the next entry in the new year on January 7, 2016.

This entry will mostly be like those that came before it.

Mostly.

Thanks to a semi-reliable Google Alert, I’m planning to start posting news stories that I come across that are related to Beowulf every now and then (expect two per month).

Also, since I’ve picked up a better mic for a podcast I work on, I’m planning to catch up on the “Recordings” section of the posts. Though, this isn’t going to happen right away, it’s just something that’s on the slate for 2016.

As to what’s not on the slate for 2016, there’s finishing translating Beowulf. Even with another 50 or so weeks (factoring in a couple of weeks off), I’ll still be about 900 lines away from finishing the poem. In fact, at my current average of 10 lines per week, I’ll be finished this blog’s titular project in about three years.

I hope you’ll stick with me along the way.

Much more immediately, though, enjoy the rest of the holidays!
Happy New Year!
Be back in 2016!

Waes hael!

Blog Happenings for the End of 2012

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Because I’m using National Novel Writing Month to launch myself back into writing my fantasy series, my blogging time has been short lately. So, instead of pushing through and getting out some sub-par entries, I’ve decided to put my blogs on hold for the rest of November.

However, I will be posting the entry for Stanza 8 of “Dum Diane vitrea” this coming Tuesday, while the final wrap-up entry for that poem will be posted on 4 December.

So, enjoy what’s posted here and over at A Glass Darkly for the rest of November, and watch for new content come December!

Oh, and if you’re interested, watch my Examiner.com video game blog for a new article every Saturday, plus an extra one this Monday!

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The Last of its Name

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These look back/look ahead entries have proven to be less useful than anticipated. Because the lists that get posted here are seldom worked on over the course of the week, and part of each of the last three Sundays have been consumed by these entries to little avail, I’m going to be stopping their posting all together.

However, as one final list, here’s what I’m planning on doing between now and the end of the calendar year:

  • Outlined and completed Dekar 4
  • Outlined and completed Dekar 5
  • Edited and made publicly presentable a very loosely autobiographical novel about an English teacher in South Korea
  • Edited and made publicly presentable a poetic novel about mythological creatures
  • Edited and made publicly presentable an epic poem about a night in the life of a dishwasher
  • Gathered and organized all of my poetry
  • Gathered and organized all of my short stories
  • Had 3 short stories accepted for publication
  • Had 1 poem accepted for publication

As you might’ve guessed from such a list of creative writing-related tasks, I’m dropping this update from my blogging schedule so that I can have more time for my fiction and poetry writing.

However, as counter productive as it may seem, I’m still planning to start a video game playlog over over the coming weeks.

Until then keep checking out this blog and my general blog: A Glass Darkly.

The latter has the usual creative writing post on Monday, movie review on Friday (this week: The Screaming Skull), and “annotated links” post on Saturday.

Meanwhile, here at this blog you’ll be able to find the second stanza of “Dum Diane vitrea” on Tuesday, and the first of Wiglaf’s reactions to Beowulf’s death on Thursday.

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Blog Update: Putting a Premium on Time (Update Entry #11)

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Because everything on the list is now related to my fiction and not my blogs, I’m going to start to return to regularly updates. This week, though I’ll just be posting an Old English entry. Also, These update entries are going to start coming up every three days rather than two.

The reason for this temporarily limited return is that I’ve joined the ranks of the underemployed. It’s not a job I can see myself in five years down the road, but it’s a surer way than my freelancing has been to date to help cover the costs of searching for a job requiring English/creative writing/writing/editing skills while based in a small, rural town. This job’s also something that puts a premium on time thereby making it much clearer and easier for me to work on fiction.

At any rate, here’re the to-do lists’s stragglers:

  • Sent out two short stories to magazines;

    • In the process of making time to edit, and search out good homes for them.

  • Outlined the entirety of the fantasy novel that I’m currently writing;

    • Perhaps more important than any list of key events, I’ve finally figured out the climactic event for this novel. I’m going to be outlining the chapters shortly. Hopefully within the next three days.

  • Completed five of those chapters;

    • The chapters I have right now seem like they need to be re-written, and, in fact, I may end up doing so. As per the next five chapters of the novel? I am still fleshing out what needs to happen to the novel’s various characters on the way towards and away from the climactic moment.

  • Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I’m working on;

    • An outline for this act is going to be constructed first. I need to give myself a coherent end point for the act, since that will fuel my jog towards it.

For my writing about video games, check out my writing about video games here. Also, keep an eye out over the next few days for the launch of another (yes, another) blog that I’ll be using as a play log.

And, don’t miss tonight’s creative writing entry, Wednesday’s editorial, or Friday’s galavant into David Gordon Green’s Your Highness.

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Blog Update: Posts Will Return (Update Entry #10)

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I’ve completed enough of my list to start posting some regular entries again. On Monday, I’ll have a new piece of creative writing up, the rest will start back up again next week.

This is what’s left to do:

  • Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;

    • Done. You can find it here.

  • Sent out two short stories to magazines;

    • In the process of making time to edit, and search out good homes for them.

  • Outlined the entirety of the fantasy novel that I’m currently writing;

    • I’ve written out a list of key events in the novel and am building a chapter-by-chapter outline in my mind as I type this.

  • Completed five of those chapters;

    • The form of these chapters is slowly taking shape.

  • Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I’m working on;

    • The plan from update number eight still needs to be implemented.

While you wait for this blog to come back up, check out my writing about video games here.

And, don’t miss next Friday’s hunt high and low for the good in David Gordon Green’s Your Highness which will be posted at A Glass Darkly.

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Blog Update: Perspectives (Update Entry #9)

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Things are going to change with this blog, beyond the update, since I’ve recently found local employment. More on that later, right now, here’s the update’s status:

  • Recorded, edited, and uploaded all of the missing translation recordings;

    • All of the translation recordings have been edited, and now just need to be uploaded. Watch for this tomorrow evening!

  • Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;

    • Hyperlinks will be up by the end of the weekend.

  • Sent out two short stories to magazines;

    • I just need to edit them both and figure out where the best places to send them are.

  • Outlined the entirety of the fantasy novel that I’m currently writing;

    • I’ve read it all and have learned that what I’ve written is good, but after nine chapters the story is *just* getting started. In hip writer-speak, I have nine scenes and no sequels, so I already know what I need to do in one regard. Right now I’m working out who the perspective characters need to be.

  • Completed five of those chapters;

    • The form of these chapters is slowly taking shape.

  • Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I’m working on;

    • The plan from the previous update still needs to be implemented.

While you wait for this blog to come back up, check out my writing about video games here.

And, don’t miss this Friday’s salvo into In the Name of the King in search of the salubrious!

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Blog Update: Plans (Update Entry #8)

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There’s little to say that can’t be said by the list itself. So, without further ado, here’s how the remaining tasks stand:

  • Recorded, edited, and uploaded all of the missing translation recordings;

    • All of the Beowulf recordings have been edited. However, after a little bit of poking around and double checking I realized that I have about as much as I had to do for the Beowulf recordings left to do with Isidore’s Etymologies. This discovery is a minor setback, but it means that this item gets another two days on this list.

  • Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;

    • Hyperlinks will be up by the end of the week.

  • Sent out two short stories to magazines;

    • With some feedback in hand, and my own fresh take on one story in particular, it’s clear that I need to do some editing. Once that’s finished I’ll decide whether to push forward with it or to put it through another round of pre-readers. The second story is locked away in a notebook, waiting for some keys.

  • Outlined the entirety of the fantasy novel that I’m currently writing;

    • I still intend to sprinkle reading this throughout my editing slog.

  • Completed five of those chapters;

    • Without a plan, my ideas for these chapters are so nebulous that I can’t yet grasp their form.

  • Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I’m working on;

    • The plan is to finish the draft I have of one of the scenes, do some outlining to get a better sense of where the plot of this audio drama is going, and then to just motor through the next three scenes. As far as plans go, it’s a good one, and I’ll soon see how it pans out.

For some of my writing about video games check out my examiner page.

And, don’t miss this Friday’s quest for the positive qualities of In the Name of the King over at A Glass Darkly.

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Blog Update: Plotting (Update Entry #7)

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I’ve completed the job that I’d picked up last week, so now all of my time will be devoted to finishing this list. Here’s what’s left to do.

  • Recorded, edited, and uploaded all of the missing translation recordings;

    • I’ve just scratched the surface, so far, having editing the Latin recording of “O Fortuna.” I still have the Modern English recording, 14 Beowulf recordings and the newest Telos AM podcast to get through. Tomorrow will see most (hopefully all) of this done).

  • Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;

    • Hyperlinks will be up by the end of the week.

  • Sent out two short stories to magazines;

    • I’m in the midst of sending one of these stories to pre-readers.

  • Outlined the entirety of the fantasy novel that I’m currently writing;

    • I still intend to sprinkle reading this throughout my editing slog.

  • Completed five of those chapters;

    • Without a plan, my ideas for these chapters are so nebulous that I can’t yet grasp their form.

  • Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I’m working on;

    • No progress yet.

Things are quiet over there as well, but for some of my writing about video games check out my examiner page.

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Blog Update: Plodding (Update Entry #6)

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Little by little I am, as they say, “gettin’ ‘er done”:

  • Recorded, edited, and uploaded all of the missing translation recordings;

    • My plan right now is to spend as much of the weekend as I can editing these and the newest Telos AM podcast, so that come Sunday night they’re all finished.

  • Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;

    • The hyperlinks are all that’s left for these.

  • Sent out two short stories to magazines;

    • To be 100% sure that it’s as good as I can get it, I’ve decided to send out my story to pre-readers before I let it into the world at large.

  • Outlined the entirety of the fantasy novel that I’m currently writing;

    • Reading what I have to refresh my memory and making this outline will be a great way to break up my otherwise audio editing intensive weekend.

  • Completed five of those chapters;

    • Without a plan, my ideas for these chapters are so nebulous that I can’t yet grasp their form.

  • Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I’m working on;

    • No progress yet.

  • Created a Commissions page (accessible through every blog) to accept new commissions.

    • Completed! I’ll likely be adding fan fiction to the options, I just need to figure out some things about that.

In less than an hour check out A Glass Darkly for my search for the salvageable in This Means War.

And, as always, check out my examiner page for some of my writing on video games.

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Blog Update – Portfolio’d! (Update Entry #5)

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The update is slowly moving forward. Here’s where the list stands:

  • Recorded, edited, and uploaded all of the missing translation recordings;

    • These recordings will be edited at some point over the next four days. I’ll probably edit them the same day that I sit down to edit the newest Telos AM podcast.

  • Created and posted a hyperlinked portfolio page on these blogs;

    • All the citations are up. I now just need to get them all hyperlinked and work out how to improve the appearance of this page.

  • Sent out two short stories to magazines;

    • Magazine lists still need to be compiled, but I’m confident that my stories are ready.

  • Outlined the next 10 chapters for the fantasy novel I’m writing;

    • I still need to read the rest of what I’ve written to date. However, inspired by the great Writing Excuses podcast, I’ve decided to outline the entirety of this novel before going forward with writing it.

  • Completed five of those chapters;

    • The plan is still outstanding, so the same can be said of these chapters.

  • Completed the next act (four scenes) of an audio drama I’m working on;

    • No progress yet.

  • Created a Commissions page (accessible through every blog) to accept new commissions.

    • This is the next thing that will be crossed off the list.

Come Friday this blog will be home to a double header: the next blog update, and my look for the likeable in This Means War.

Plus, if you want to read some of my writing on video games, check out my examiner page.

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