Tag Archives: update

A quick explanation

Posted on by
Reply

Thursday came and Thursday went, and there was no Beowulf to be seen here. So I thought I’d offer a brief explanation as to why.

Running out of Buffer

The main reason why I missed this past Thursday’ post is because I didn’t realize that I was out of backlog.

Between my creative writing (trying to complete one project, while planning a short story collection for Kindle Unlimited) and freelancing, this blog fell between the cracks. It’s not something I like to admit, but I’m probably spinning too many plates and let the Beowulf plate fall to the floor.

I’m building up the buffer again today, but that buffer is not going to be the sole source of posts on this blog.

Podcast Editing

I’ve recorded and am in the middle of editing the first episode of the Beowulf talk show. This episode features an interview with Paul Begadon of Woodkern.net. You can find one of his essays about Beowulf here to get a sense of his take on the poem.

I am also, pretty much every week, in the middle of editing episodes of the podcast Fanthropological. This is a pop culture project all about different fan communities. If you’re curious about some light sociology/anthropology about more modern topics, check it out!

Plugs for other things I’m doing aside, editing audio takes quite a bit of time (1 hour of audio takes about 3 hours to edit, at least in theory). So working on these episodes (each one is about one hour and 30 minutes before editing) every week eats up a fair bit of my time.

Second Wind

So, to get a little dramatic, I’ve been a bit like the hero in an action movie who is surrounded by thugs. But, rather than advancing on me one by one, the circle of thugs has closed around me until they left me bruised and bloodied.

I’m back up on my feet now, though, and ready to keep going with this blog.

Thanks for hanging with me and reading along!

Update: The translation’s done, now what?

Posted on by
2
This is the first page from the Beowulf manuscript, in Old English.

The first page of the original Beowulf manuscript, in Old English. Image from http://bit.ly/2jdxSdW.

Last week I finally posted the last part of my Beowulf translation. So I think that this is a pretty good opportunity to get into what happens next on this blog.

More Translations?

First off, for ease of reading and as a means to improve my translation, I’m going to start posting larger bits of Beowulf here next week. In total, I’ve broken the poem down into 15 pieces, and each of these will get onto this blog before I bring them together, do some final editing, and start bringing together an ebook version of my translation.

Once that ebook is out, I’d love to do more translations. Particularly of other epic poems like The Aeneid or some of the more obscure medieval Latin epic works.

Yes, those would all be translations from Latin, and Latin isn’t exactly Old English, but I might also do some other Old English translations.

The Old English Judith, for example, is kind of like a miniature epic story, and some of the shorter poems would be interesting to tackle. But none of these are Beowulf (there is only one, after all 😉 ), so I’ll likely be starting another blog for those projects.

But getting into works other than Beowulf is a matter for the distant future. What non-poetry stuff is coming up soon?

Interviews

Earlier this year I mentioned putting together interview posts. So far I haven’t done any work on these, but I definitely want to get going on it soon.

If you’ve been inspired by Beowulf or have a lot to say about it, please reach out to me at nsczach at gmail dot com. I have a short list of people to contact for a brief Beowulf chat, but I’m interested in hearing as many stories about the impact Beowulf has had on people as I can.

Beowulf in (Pop?) Culture

Even though I’ve already covered a few topics related to Beowulf on this blog, there’s still a lot to the world of Beowulf. I’m talking adaptations, translations, even a Beowulf festival in Woodbridge Suffolk! It might not be mainstream, but there’s actually a subculture of Beowulf fans out there.

And I want to gather information about that subculture here on this blog. I want to make it less of a blog and more of a hub.

Reality

But.

My life right now is cobbled together from various projects. Fiction writing, podcasting and audio editing, streaming, this blog, and the seemingly never-ending search for gigs or work that can both keep my bank account in the black and leave me enough time to follow my passions. Needless to say, I don’t have as much time for this blog as I’d like to.

With that said, I think that it’s most realistic to continue with one post a week on this blog for the foreseeable future. But my hope is that I’ll be able to rotate between the three topics mentioned above.

Admittedly, over the next month I might lean a little heavily on poetry posts, but I’m going to try to get an interview or culture post into the mix as well.

Thanks for reading this update, and for (hopefully 😉 ) keeping up with my translation.

If you’ve got any suggestions for this blog, please feel free to share them in the comments. And feel free to give this post a like if you liked it, and follow the blog if you feel it’s follow-able.

Why was this week quiet?

Posted on by
Reply
Beowulf fights Grendel as depicted by Santiago Garcia and David Rubin's graphic novel adaptation of Beowulf.

Beowulf battles Grendel in Santiago Garcia and David Rubin’s Beowulf. Image from http://bit.ly/2jVrgOn.

So, you might have noticed that I missed both posts this week. Even the promised translation post. Sorry about that.

The reason why I missed posting here at all this week is a combination of work being incredibly busy and a lingering cold taking root in my throat and chest. Thankfully, work will slow down this coming week, and I’m feeling better already. So, I can’t quite promise two posts this coming week (I’ll have to do something big when the news post comes back — maybe check out Beowulf’s appearance in Once Upon a Time to see how he’s been adapted 😉 ), but I will be trying to get a translation post out. I have roughly another 800 lines to post up here, and they aren’t going to post themselves!

A post for international literacy day

Posted on by
Reply

Hey everyone! The usual Beowulf translation and fan theories post will be going up this Thursday as usual. But this entry is all about International Literacy Day.

Earlier today the people over at Grammarly asked me if I’d like to post an infographic of theirs in exchange for a $10 donation to one of three charities. Because literacy is really important to me I agreed. Of the three charities (Reading Is Fundamental, First Book, ProLiteracy) I chose First Book because it helps kids in Canada and the US get their hands on books, which is incredibly important. Plus, it’s the most local charity of the three.

Now, without further ado, here’s Grammarly’s infographic, some food for thought not just for International Literacy Day, but for the whole year, hopefully:

Literacy Day

Blog Happenings for the End of 2012

Posted on by
Reply

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!

Back To Top

The Last of its Name

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Back to Top

After a Partial Peter Gabriel Eclipse

Posted on by
Reply

Over the past week, here’s what I’ve done for the sake of my fiction and poetry writing:

  • Outlined four of the five acts of the audio drama that I’m currently working on;
  • Worked out all of the climactic events for my perspective characters in Dekar 4 – except for the main female character;
  • Begun to research some of the magazines I’m thinking of sending my short story to;
  • Noted more story ideas.

By this week’s end I’ll have:

  • Completed my research into magazines and made a short list of five to send my stories to;
  • Sent my stories to the first magazine from this list;
  • Written up and organized a chapter-by-chapter outline of Dekar 4;
  • Written out the next act (4 scenes) of the audio drama I’m working on.

If you’re wondering why this second list is fairly similar to the to-do list from last week’s entry, my only excuse is that going to see Peter Gabriel in Toronto was a major distraction. In fact, here are the two highlights of the show (thanks to babyVantage and apc611 respectively):



This week’s distraction will be a jaunt out to see “Whose Live Is It Anyway” at the Center in The Square. All the same, I’ll have ample time for writing and planning, so I think that I’ll be able to make short work of this week’s to-do list.

Along with that, I’ll be posting my translation of the first verse (for real this week) of “Dum Diane vitrea” on Tuesday and of Beowulf’s final words on Thursday.

Over at A Glass Darkly, you can find some creative writing tomorrow, a search for the salient in Samuel L. Jackson’s The Samaritan on Friday, and some more “Annotated Links” on Saturday.

And, watch for regular updates over at my examiner.com page.

Back to Top

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

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Back to Top

Blog Update: Perspectives (Update Entry #9)

Posted on by
Reply

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!

Back to Top

Blog Update: Plans (Update Entry #8)

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Back to Top