Okay, folks. Here is the test. I have written what I intend to be the first chapter of the currently untitled new cyberpunk book. A dropbox link to a pdf is the best I can give you. If anyone wants to read it, I would appreciate knowing if I have a Property, something that people will want to read if I write a full book or books.
Serenity Rose, Chapter One
EDIT - DANG it. I knew Serenity Rose sounded familiar. It's the name of the heroine from Heart Shaped Skull. I like that comic, and I'm absolutely not going to copy the character name. Oh, well, I'll come up with another.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Exploring The Cyberpunk Writing Tone
This guy really wanted you to know how tough and experienced he was. Everything he wore was scratched and frayed at the ends from use, but still intact and completely functional. His dull orange pants were just loose enough to tuck into the tops of his combat boots, and dusted with sand despite the pouring rain outside. Metal armor plates protected his thighs, letting you know he was the kind of guy never completely comfortable without armor, and I guess also that he really valued his thighs.
His faded maroon shirt didn't match his pants, because hardened, cynical soldiers don't worry if their clothes clash. Don't worry, you couldn't see much of it beneath the empty bandoliers and the leather jacket. Thick leather, of course. A man with his past might face a knife in the back or being thrown against a car at any moment. Same with the black gloves. You never know when you'll have to settle things with your fists.
Shoulder guards attached to the jacket? Of course. The ancient scarf around his neck was a good touch, no doubt hiding ugly scars from a dramatic combat while reminding him of a woman who died in his arms. Mysterious pouches on his belt and bulges in his jacket assured you he was armed, and you could take it for granted he had a knife in his boot. Streaks of grey at his temples marked not-quite-black hair. You know, because he was old enough to have seen decades of combat but young enough to be strong. Finally, a couple of patches on his jacket had faded into unidentified landscapes and illegible logos, letting you cleverly figure out that he'd been everywhere and seen everything, which always resulted in shooting people.
The first words out of his mouth would include a reference to his days as a mech pilot, so you'd know he had the skills to battle against the teenage girls with direct nervous interfaces who normally piloted mechs.
His faded maroon shirt didn't match his pants, because hardened, cynical soldiers don't worry if their clothes clash. Don't worry, you couldn't see much of it beneath the empty bandoliers and the leather jacket. Thick leather, of course. A man with his past might face a knife in the back or being thrown against a car at any moment. Same with the black gloves. You never know when you'll have to settle things with your fists.
Shoulder guards attached to the jacket? Of course. The ancient scarf around his neck was a good touch, no doubt hiding ugly scars from a dramatic combat while reminding him of a woman who died in his arms. Mysterious pouches on his belt and bulges in his jacket assured you he was armed, and you could take it for granted he had a knife in his boot. Streaks of grey at his temples marked not-quite-black hair. You know, because he was old enough to have seen decades of combat but young enough to be strong. Finally, a couple of patches on his jacket had faded into unidentified landscapes and illegible logos, letting you cleverly figure out that he'd been everywhere and seen everything, which always resulted in shooting people.
The first words out of his mouth would include a reference to his days as a mech pilot, so you'd know he had the skills to battle against the teenage girls with direct nervous interfaces who normally piloted mechs.
Sunday, November 11, 2018
You Knew I Was Writing, Right?
I have just finished writing what I am tentatively calling A Rag Doll's Guide To Enchantment And Murder. I'm going to be badly frazzled for the next few days, but one of the many things I need to do as soon as I'm coherent is send it out to beta readers. I lost the email address I used last time to collect addresses to mail to, but basically it's time to start volunteering and I'll work out a system very soon.
Monday, November 5, 2018
Teaser And Exploration
Cyberpunk is winning in my head because there's so much fun goofy stuff to mine. Here is potentially the first two paragraphs of such a book:
“Get up. Shower. Brush teeth. Spike my hair with oil and lean it over to one side. Dust below my eyes for the ‘punched in the face’ look. Apply a very small amount of green lipstick, one shade darker than my hair. Begin putting on spiked leather bands. Continue putting on spiked leather bands. Add some pre-torn clothing somewhere during that process. Check mirror to confirm I look like death. It takes a lot of time and effort to not be pretty
No piercings. Too retro. I couldn’t afford a cybernetic arm, even with trade-in on the original. I found a metal skin-web once, but Mimi stole it from my trunk and Cosmos stole it from her mattress and Ajax beat Cosmos up and took it and Chaos blew up Ajax’s trunk to give the web back to me because he’s sweet and Liriel put a glamour on him and took it and buried it in the yard so it wouldn’t corrupt our auras or whatever and Fidget watched her do it, dug the web up, and sold it for an AR Monster before anyone else could steal it. Death Rooster is wicked cool and I can’t be mad.”
“Get up. Shower. Brush teeth. Spike my hair with oil and lean it over to one side. Dust below my eyes for the ‘punched in the face’ look. Apply a very small amount of green lipstick, one shade darker than my hair. Begin putting on spiked leather bands. Continue putting on spiked leather bands. Add some pre-torn clothing somewhere during that process. Check mirror to confirm I look like death. It takes a lot of time and effort to not be pretty
No piercings. Too retro. I couldn’t afford a cybernetic arm, even with trade-in on the original. I found a metal skin-web once, but Mimi stole it from my trunk and Cosmos stole it from her mattress and Ajax beat Cosmos up and took it and Chaos blew up Ajax’s trunk to give the web back to me because he’s sweet and Liriel put a glamour on him and took it and buried it in the yard so it wouldn’t corrupt our auras or whatever and Fidget watched her do it, dug the web up, and sold it for an AR Monster before anyone else could steal it. Death Rooster is wicked cool and I can’t be mad.”
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