The Airplane Experiment

A painting I saw on Etsy inspired this story. I'm not sure I'm completely happy with the final outcome. What else is new, right? But I found Meri something of a difficult and inaccessible character. Though I've written stories in a similar vein before, they involved a character much more open and simpler to write, in a lot of ways. But on the other hand, I suppose if all characters felt the same to write, this whole writing gig would get old real fast, wouldn't it? :D

The painting in question: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27713679

Also, if you don't understand the "Don't forget your shoes" thing in the story, you might want to check out the Emma tag.


( Breaking Free )

When I wrote Tandem back in August, I already had some thoughts about making it a serial. As a result, Tandem: Ties and Tied is not a standalone story and is meant to be read having already read the first. Why I chose to do this...I figured it could be fun. There are worse reasons, right? :P

This is more of me writing Steampunk, which is something I know nothing about. Therefore, I have no clue how it matches up to other Steampunk. But it was a blast to write--even if it did consist of two parts bugging my husband with a ton of questions and three parts flying by the seat of my pants.

I like flying by the seat of my pants, it case you haven't noticed. XD
(Other Tandem stories can be found under the 'Tandem' tag and the 'series' tag.

( Tandem: Ties and Tied )

I live! I liiiiiiiiivee! Okay, I'll stop that. But yes, I am alive. This past month has been devoted to work, so I hadn't been able to find time for a new Experiment. Aside from having to start Swedish lessons, I've been working on the initial edits of my latest novel, which is finished (only not really, cause, you know, editing) and writing a couple of short stories for anthologies I'd like to submit to. All of which needs beta readers that I have to somehow find. No rest for the wicked, I guess.

But I'm clearing some time this month to do some Experiments, because I miss them. It's nice to write something just because I can. Just for the heck of it. There isn't much pressure to writing the Experiments. They're not widely read and they are, well, experimental. Therefore they can just be fun.

After realizing how damn long I've been away from the Syndicate stories, I decided to do one this past week. I've been away from those way too long, let me tell you. For a long time I kept waffling over it, because I didn't feel like I could keep making them standalone. My ideas were all very serial-like. In the end, I decided to just run with that, and start a story arc, which means Flight doesn't do much standing alone. For which I do apologize, but I've never tried to write a story this way and I think it'll be interesting. It is, after all, an experiment.

Also interesting: Writing Eva. I don't even remember exactly what my original intentions were for the character. I just know she turned out very different from my first imagining of her. She became a lot more complex to write, and it's a struggle to balance her mindset. I don't want her to be a whiny, moping emo loser, but she does have a lot of emotional baggage to deal with. If nothing else, it's good practice. And I'll stop babbling at you now. :D (Further Syndicate stories can be found under the tags for 'Syndicate stories' and 'series'.)

( Flight )

I had the idea for this, but didn't really know what to do with it. Therefore this is more mucking about in the idea, and hardly one of my better stories. Still, it was fun. I think I'd like to revisit the concept sometime in the future,

( Stardust )

I'm not much of a horror writer. But I had this idea and figured, what the hell? It's October, right? So in the spirit of the month, here is horror. I guess. I'm not sure it's actually scary, though. It started from a rather odd little notion, which you'll see in the first few lines.

It's the first ApEx I've written in awhile, since I've been really busy with my current novel. Which, by the way, I'm almost done with the first stage of. And then...the real work begins! Ahahaha...makes me go a little mad just thinking about it. Or perhaps that's the cold muffling my brain. Oh well.

( After the Smoke Clears )

The only real experimental part here is that I tried submitting this one. It took roughly 15 minutes for it to be rejected. That's a new record for me, down from around two hours. At this rate, the only way I'll ever see my name in print is in the Guiness Book of World Records. (The sad part is, at this point I kind of find that funny.)

( Of a Feather )

This one is a weird amalgamation of sci fi, fantasy, and steampunk (at least, my husband says the last one sort of fits. I don't know the genre, so I'll just have to take his word for it).

The name Tandem comes from a recent thought process of mine. I especially like to write stories with both male and female leads. Even before my days writing romance, this was common for me. I like the work the male/female dynamic, bounce them off one another as it were. Generally I prefer to make them equals in some way, though they may not necessarily share the same strength, speed, intelligence, etc. The idea, in essence, is to have them work in tandem, hence the name. From there the notion for the story (likely a series of them) cropped up. What possessed me to put some steampunk-like trappings into it is anyone's guess.

( Tandem )

When I first thought of the concept of the Sight/Belief stories, I wanted to do two things. One was to take on a point of view that would be interesting and intriguing to write (Grace's). The other was to build a romance story. I've written quite a bit of romance in the past (though fantasy is my first love), but never quite in bites like this, and certainly never from the first person point of view.

I'm really not sure how I feel, in general, about these stories, whether I'm happy with the end result or not. But this one was a lot of fun to write. I enjoyed going from Grey's point of view because it's so different from Grace's.

I've also been working on my latest novel a lot, which is why it's been a while since the last Experiment. On the bright side, I've been writing a lot of poetry lately! Haha, yeah, I know, as bright sides go that one's pretty weak. Ah well.

( Sight/Belief: Sculpted )

Ahhhh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm not sure what's come over me lately with all the poetry! It's a little upsetting actually. :(

Okay, well, I have some inkling of what's going on. It has to do with what I said with the last one, about my loss of confidence. It's like my hopes and dreams and my low self-esteem gathered to have a meeting of the minds and all hell broke loose. Yeah, I know, horrible isn't it? My internal conflict is expressing itself through bad poetry.

(...can I tell you a dirty little secret? I haven't written poetry in years and even though it's all emo crap, it's kinda fun. Sad, I know.)


( Written Off )

I know, I know, I said I don't do this that often. I seem to be leaking random poetry lately though. This will make more sense if you know a bit of astronomy, I think.

Also, it'll make more sense if, well--sorry to go all emo on y'all, but here's the truth: It used to be that I had a lot of confidence in myself as a writer. Not that I felt I was perfect, because no one is, but I had faith, assurance in my ability. Now...I don't. It's gone, just gone. I know of some people out there who'd take quite some pleasure in that, too. To the point that there was a time when I'd say "You have to believe in yourself. No one else is going to do it for you".
The reasons my confidence is gone are...complex and strange, and I don't fully understand them. I learn a little more, bits and pieces, at certain times, but I haven't yet found a way to get it back. So in the meantime, I make people suffer with awful poetry. Fortunately only like maybe five, though. :P


( White Dwarfs and Nebulas )

Originally I hadn't intended to write the third Emma story just yet. The idea has been swirling around in my head for quite a while, taking shape, and while I was pretty sure I knew exactly how I wanted it, I thought it could wait. I changed my mind in the last few days. I decided to write it as a sort of surprise wedding gift for my fiance. Well, that part didn't go so hot, but I guess that's life for you.

It's been interesting writing these stages of Emma's life. I don't know if there are anymore in there or what. I guess only time will tell.

( Amongst The Stars )

Mostly I'm not the sort of person who whines about her various misfortunes on her blog. Certainly not since I was a teenager anyway. After all, no one really cares, and I don't blame them. But the truth is that I would have a lot to complain about, if I chose to do so. My life has never gone easy and that hasn't really changed much. The reason I mention this is because that is, in part, what spurred this story. I decided to just take all my frustration out on the keyboard, so to speak, and channeled it into a story (hence the nature of the tale).

Aside from some slight derailing when a bird flew into my apartment and made itself at home (!) the story wrote quickly. Actually, the bird kind of helped in terms of inspiration, because having one fly high velocity at your face is actually quite terrifying. As a story written as an emotional outlet I can't vouch for it's quality--but on the bright side, it did work. By the time I finished this afternoon I was in a disgustingly cheerful mood and, for some strange reason, singing Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses" (a song which has puzzled me to no end for years, because in reality, if done properly, it's far more comfortable to lay on a bed of nails than a bed of roses. I mean really. Thorns, hello?).

( Rattle Them Bones )

Don't worry, I promise I don't do this often. Just a fleeting thought that felt the need to be written down.


It's not enough just to fly
Sometimes you have to leap
High up
Far up
Sometimes it's not enough to fly
But I don't have wings
I land, broken, on the pavement
Shattered
Aching
Broken on the pavement
Lay there awhile
Let the world pass me by
But I'll get up again
Rise up again
Climb up again
Fall again
Because sometimes it's not enough
Just to fly

For the most part, I don't write vampires. I promised myself, only in extenuating circumstances. It just so happens one such circumstance has come up. And really, where better to set such an idea in the world first set up in Codename Eva? I actually had this big long rant about how much trouble I had writing this, but I managed to hurt my wrist on the crutches I got because my ankle is injured. So I can't type that long. Pathetic, I know.

Disclaimer: If you're looking for a steamy vampire romance, you uh, might want to turn back now. I can't be held responsible for what happens if you don't. (Check the 'series' and "syndicate stories' tags for more stories in this series.)

( Amplify )

The other night while we were watching Iron Man, at one point I turned to my fiance (after one of my many bathroom breaks, I think, THANKS A LOT MA) and questioned him about the noticeable lack of female super heroes of the same stripe. Okay, super heroes are kind of a peripheral interest at best, and one I came to really late in life, so I suppose I could be missing someone. But if such a heroine were as popular as her male counterparts, odds are pretty good that my fiance at least would know of her (he can't help it, he's a geek). And, well, you know me. Though this time it was less like letting my imagination run away with me, more like having my imagination dose me with chloroform and drive away with me in an unmarked van.

Though I intended (and still do) to revisit La Virinthine (see also Delphi) at some point, possibly in novel form, I hadn't intended to do so quite so soon. But you know, the ambiance of the city just seemed so perfect for what I was planning.

Lastly, the character here is sort of a rebooting (haha, c what I did thar! oh god, don't mind me, I've been working all day and have hit loopy with a vengeance) of my very first tech-geek female character. She hasn't changed all that much, with the exception of she's gotten even more techy than she used to be. (Also, there is now a "la virinthine city stories" tag for easy search purposes. Also-also, I think I'm going to need a "having way too much goddamn fun" tag soon.)


( Pixel Studios )

Originally I intended for my first story about Emma (The Picture Path) to be the only one. And then eventually I thought up Dance the Rainbow's Edge and really, it only seemed fitting that it belonged to her.

These are interesting stories to write. They don't have plots, really, and in some ways I think of them less as stories and more like--like these pictures I have in my head that I express with words because I don't have the skill required to paint them as they should be. If I did, I definitely would. I love color and expressing it in writing isn't quite the same as in pencil and paint. But sadly I don't seem to be much cut out as an artist, so Emma's daydreams will have to live this way instead. (Any of Emma's stories can be found using them Emma tag.)

Once the idea struck me for Delphi I found myself with a concept I'd really like to try, but no idea what to really do with it. It wasn't until the city of La Virinthine started to take shape in my mind that I had an actual story to work with. But the city intrigued me as much as the characters and in the end I found a way to meld the two.

One thing I want to clarify, this isn't a futuristic story, it's set in an alternative present. I've never actually written this kind of story before (gosh, but I've been saying that a lot lately) and I haven't fully worked out the details as to what makes it "alternate" (though I know it involves an extended Great Depression and the reinstatement of legal slave trade). But I think in time, I might. I'm curious about what kinds of stories could come out of this city and its denizens.

 

( Delphi )

My original intentions for my next Experiment didn't involve this story at all. This came to me suddenly the night before I set out to write it and I was so intrigued by the idea that my previous one got bumped back in the queue.

Messiah proved to be incredibly difficult to write. While it was fascinating to me, someone who has never written this sort of thing before, there's always an awareness that the idea itself may not exactly be terribly original. With Messiah I had an additional problem: How to explore the idea I wanted to explore, but keep the story from becoming a soapbox. The idea is one inherently preachy by nature, so I had to tread with extra care. I don't care for being preachy in my stories and besides--that wasn't the point. But now I'm rambling.

My fiance liked it. Me personally, I feel it's something of a beautiful disaster. But I'm used to having love/hate relationships with my works.

( Messiah )

Is it urban fantasy? Is it sci fi? Maybe it's urban sci fi. I don't know exactly what you'd classify it as for marketing purposes, so I'm just going to file it under 'really fun to write' and leave it at that. Who says no one does anything different with werewolves anymore?

( The Airplane Experiment: Codename Eva )

Once again, Sight/Belief is a very different story than past experiments. It was...interesting, I guess. Challenging to write, due to its nature, and honestly I'm not sure how I feel about it. I love it and hate it and am intrigued by it all at once. Mostly I'm intrigued by the characters and where I could, if I wanted, take the story.

 

( Sight/Belief  )