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Building your own system is not quite as daunting as you think- true, it can run into some serious dough, but at least your getting the material you want. For the art/media making, I agree with @Cyberdevil and make sure you have plenty of RAM for rendering. You should check out Tom's Hardware for material- Tom's Hardware Site. They've got reviews of many hardware parts so you should be able to get some help in that regard.

Happy Birthday, Wade!

That is a difficult decision to make, one that was needed, Tom- one that will hopefully make Newgrounds a better place for everyone.

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Congrats to the monthly winners!

This is pretty cool- it'd be nice if we could get to some of them.

Gongrats to the Halloween winners- the pumpkins were cool!!

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What a bunch of idiots- people are suppose to know better. There's many things those rocks have to say.

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Congrats to all of the Madness Day winners!

Its sad that he's passed away- I've even read The Hunt For Red October novel because of seeing the movie.

Congrats to the monthly winners!

Title: The River Wall
Authors: Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron
Publication Date: June 1986
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi
ISBN: 0-553-25565-7

In the Valley of Mists, Rikardon and Tarani have discovered an ancient truth that will alter the destiny of Gandalara forever. But an evil lord has enslaved the land through the mystic force of the sacred stone called the Ra'ira. Outlawed and hunted, Rikardon and Tarani stage a daring and desperate raid to shatter his death-grip of fear. In this stunning epic, the sweeping saga of Gandalara reaches its unexpected, awe-inspiring conclusion as the secret of this strange desert world is revealed at last.

In the Gandalara series conclusion, the story threads come together, and there is the final conflicts of the series. The most notable of these is Rikardon and Tarani's conflict with Ferrathyn. Ferrathyn has been the series' true antagonist, and has been using peer pressure and, especially, deception to achieve his goals, which is to rule all of Gandalara as a means of vengeance against those who stood against him in Eddarta, as well as against some in Raithskar. The Ra'ira of course has been his tool for his plans and efforts. Ferrathyn had kept hidden the fact that he had the real Ra'ira, and was using it to direct events within places like Raithskar and Eddarta and people like Gharlas and Tarani's brother Indomel.

The sha'um of Gandalara are also threatened in this novel, primarily by the Well of Darkness (a volcano) spewing some of its poisonous material into the Valley of the Sha'um, and Rikardon leads the Sharith to rescue the Riders' sha'um who are in their mating cycles in the Valley, but also as many unbound sha'um as possible to save the species. However, former Lieutenant Dharak's sha'um, Doran, does not come out of the Valley, which in turn becomes a blessing for the fight against Ferrathyn.

Dharak's body soon becomes host to a Visitor- the persona of King Zanek, who had created (and destroyed) the First Kingdom. In the All-Mind, Zanek had seen the death of Gandalara, and had desired the means for its rescue, which not true native could provide. This death was far beyond even Ferrathyn's abilities, as it was the death of all Gandalarans. Its was because of Zanek's desire, even within the All-Mind, that fate intervened and brought Rikardon and Tarani from their former lives- it is in this way that part of Rikardon's wondering of 'Why did I come here?' get answered. With Zanek's help, they are to defeat Ferrathyn in order to turn to the real threat of Gandalara's survival. Zanek, not long before the end of the novel, returns to the All-Mind- it is unknown by the protagonists if they will succeed.

Rikardon's biggest question, 'Where is Gandalara?' is also answered- the massive earthquake that rocked the Walled World (which was the influence of or for the Well of Darkness' eruption) is key. When Zanek first appears to Rikardon and Tarani in Dharak's body, the two heroes come to realize they have undergone time-travel- into the past, and that Gandalara is on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea at this time, though now the basin is now in the process of reflooding through the rewidening of the Straits of Gibraltar. It is because of this realization that Rikardon and Tarani are able to formulate the plan to save the people of Gandalara by climbing the River Wall, the best route of escape for the nation. It is by climbing the River Wall that they hope to have Gandalara continue to exist in future generations on the lands, what we would know as sea level- what Rikardon and Tarani had known as Ricardo and Antonia.

There are two other important matters- first is the destruction of the Ra'ira, to prevent its interference with the survival of Gandalara, done by using the mind power Zefra, Indomel, Rikardon, Zanek and Tarani, causing the stone to shatter. This action does create a certain amount of mysticism, and that its use as a source of power would be perhaps self-destroying to the journey- thus the second matter to add Rikardon's account of the journey into the All-Mind. The Recorder to whom Rikardon, as the reader has read the stories, has been recounting his story to over the course of these novels is none other than Tarani, who has the training to allow Rikardon to add his memories to the All-Mind without 'dying' in order to provide future generations with direct access for the reasons and knowledge for the basis of the journey they are on.

Title: Return to Eddarta
Authors: Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron
Publication Date: March 1985
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi
ISBN: 0-553-24709-3

Their mission to the lost city of Ka a resounding success, Rikardon and Tarani begin a long trek back across Gandalara. Their journey leads them to a savage conflict with the ape-like vineh, a bittersweet reunion in Raithskar, and, at last, to their goal: Eddarta, seat of government. There, Tarani must call upon more strength and determination than she has ever summoned in her life to face off against the treachery of the wicked High Lord Indomel for her rightful place on Eddarta's throne.

In this installment of the series, we get to see more Tarani and Rikardon spending time defending their loved ones, as well as not worrying about their quest. When they are attacked by the vineh in Raithskar's farmland, they have Yayshah come and support them- she even had the cubs in hiding, but they are attacked and one of the cubs ends up dying, causing distraught for the sha'um and their riders. The better parts of their story, though, come through in their time together after arriving back to Raithskar, their brief time in Thagorn and, for brief periods, after Tarani ascends to the Eddartan High Lordship. Their quest to return the Ra'ira to Raithskar, though important, becomes a bit of an afterthought, because of the their need to be able to be 'normal' Gandalarans again. But of course, these are regressed to their needed purpose.

In terms of the Eddartan political battle Tarani faces, she uses not only the King's Sword and her mind-gift to her advantage, she uses her brother Indomel's self absorption and power usage against him. Therein, she is able to safely (though having to mentally knock out her mother Zefra in the process) assume the title of High Lord. But she and Rikardon also learn more about the Ra'ira that's come into their possession.

Through their discussions about what Gharlas had told them in Dyskornis, the two of them search the All-Mind for more information about the reclusive (and thought to be just legendary) Troman's Way, a hidden passageway built by the former High Lord Troman, to visit special guests in house the eventually used by Gharlas and his unnamed uncle, both of whom being members of a Lord family. Within the Way's faculties, they hope to find a diary kept by one of the Ka Kings about the Ra'ira. So in this All-Mind, they also learn how the Lords of Pylomel's generation (and the ones of his father's generation) learned to keep their mind-gifts close to the chest, because of one of the High Lord Candidates, an arrogant and self-assured young man named Tinis, tries to become High Lord, whose powers are superior to Horinad, Plyomel's father (who does become High Lord and not Tinis), but fails. In the end, Rikardon and Tarani do find Troman's Way and the diary of the former king, but also find a drawing of Tinis made by Gharlas' uncle- it is then the Rikardon has a major revelation about this near usurper.

Because of being able to visit Gharlas' uncle's memories in the All-Mind, and the description of what happened when Usal, the brother of the uncle, returned from the High Lord selection process in that Tinis caused the deaths of four Lords, Rikardon realized that the Ra'ira they have is the second of the two faked stones. But more importantly, the real Ra'ira never left Raithskar and is in the possession of Tinis- now known as Ferrathyn, the Chief Supervisor of the Raithkarian Council of Supervisors, whom Rikardon regarded as an ally. Ferrathyn's purpose seems to be using the Ra'ira to his benefit. Rikardon and Tarani resolve to reclaim the Ra'ira from Ferrathyn and bring peace back to Raithskar and the rest of Gandalara.

Next up is the series finale of the Gandalara Cycle, The River Wall.

Title: The Search for Ka
Authors: Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron
Publication Date: August 1984
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi
ISBN: 0-553-24120-6

Rikardon and Tarani, with Keeshah and his mate Yayshah, set off on their quest for the lost city of Ka to find the twin to Serkajon's sword and prove Tarani's claim to the throne of Eddarta. To locate the legendary city, Rikardon must meld once again with the mystic All-Mind and travel back in time to share the memories of the fabled King Zanek himself. But in the forsaken wastes of the Gandalaran desert, Tarani will also reach a reckoning with the fateful secret of her long-denied past.

In this novel, both Rikardon and the reader get a much better sense of both the All-Mind and Recorders in his first hand experience of using these. Though in the beginning and end of each novel, Rikardon and an unnamed Recorder are deliberately adding his memories to the All-Mind, in this novel is his first time actually working with Somil, a Recorder who specializes in accessing the All-Mind from the times of the old Kingdom and uses unconventional tactics in some matters of being a Recorder. In any case, Somil helps Rikardon learn about Ka and the King's Sword, wherein we learn about the rituals of entering, accessing and moving about, and leaving the All-Mind, as well as what the All-Mind 'looks like.' The All-Mind, according to Rikardon's mind-eye, is a vast, uneven, well-lit sphere of interconnected, varied length cylinders, each cylinder being a former living person's life. It is here in the All-Mind that Rikardon seeks the needed information to help search for the King's Sword for Tarani's efforts to prove her ability to accede to the premiership of Eddarta. Later on, Rikardon also does a seeking session with Tarani, since she had Recorder training, to help find the exact location of the King's Sword in Ka when they had arrived at the lost capital.

Rikardon and Tarani of course learn how intimately Ka, Zanek, Serkajon and the Ra'ira are all connected. It is found that Ka possesses architecture used in Raithskar and Eddarta; the reason the city is 'lost' is because of there is nothing worth-while to nearer to the Valley of Mists (an edge of the Gandalaran world) to keep it fresh in memory since the abandonment- not only that, the city is located in a hole. It is also found that both Zanek and Serkajon are both from Raithskar, and both are riders of sha'um, the later being the Kingdom's last Captain of the Sharith. But two key forgotten pieces of information is that 1., Zanek is the one who found the Ra'ira and used it to help create the Kingdom as first King, and 2., that Serkajon used the Ra'ira against Harthim, the last, cruel king, with Zanek's help.

There is also further discussion of Visitors- those whose had lived previously are "sent back" by the All-Mind to a currently living person to effect their life, usually for the better, and then to have the Visitor return to the All-Mind. There are three Visitors discussed in the novel- Ricardo, Antonia and Zanek. The reader already knows much about Ricardo, but not as much about Antonia, both being non-native Visitors. Rikardon has noticed that Antonia has, like his former Earth-self, came to Gandalara as by some result of the meteor hitting the cruise ship they were on. Rikardon has realized that Antonia has become part of Tarani, but more as a passenger who has revealed herself on occasion since they first came to Eddarta; Rikardon theorizes that Tarani will undergo a mix of Visitor and native Gandalaran as he did with Rika, only with the King's Sword for her- this theory is soon proved correct. The third Visitor in this novel is of course King Zanek, who came to join the life of Captain Serkajon during the end of the Kingdom as a hidden Visitor. Serkajon had wanted to help the Kingdom as it was being exploited instead of ruled in kindness. It was of course through Serkajon that Zanek, realizing (in the All-Mind) the need for change, destroyed what he created and implemented the Council of Supervisors as the guardians of the Ra'ira in Raithskar, leading to the present events.

There are of course changes for the Sharith and sha'um. Tarani is the first known woman to bond with a sha'um. Not only that, Tarani bounds with a female sha'um she named Yayshah, and is pregnant with her and Keeshah's cubs. They effect change for the Sharith by breaking with the all male tradition of the organization when they visit Thagorn; there is the unintended effect of causing the male sha'um in Thagorn to want to go after female sha'um in the Valley of Sha'um for reproduction purposes. The further breath sha'um tradition, Yayshah gives birth to her cubs in Raithskar, which will have implications later on.

Next up is Return to Eddarta.

Title: The Well of Darkness
Authors: Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron
Publication Date: December 1983
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi
ISBN: 0-553-23719-5

Bearing the Ra'ira, Raithskar's most scared gem, Rikardon and Tarani flee a ruthless enemy across the burning deserts of Gandalara. Protected by the swordman's mighty warcat Keeshah, and the mystic bird called Lonna who obeys the illusionist's commands, the two discover the smoldering passion they have long denied. But when Keeshah leaves them to fulfill an ancient mating ritual in the Valley of the Sha'um, Rikardon and Tarani must risk death in the Well of Darkness to fulfill their destiny.

In this installment, we get to see the slavery as practiced by the Lords of Eddarta; Rikardon gets sent to the copper mines of Lingis, one of the mine complexes in the Eddarta region, as its new manager. As with other mines, the slaves are worked hard. But here, the former manager Naddam was a little more humane, because he had been sent slaves from other mines who were near death, thus having the highest mortality rate despite Lingis' surface location. Naddam did what he could to ease their load without losing profitability or creating envy but it was still hard life. Rikardon of course soon escapes from imprisonment.

Also witnessed is the escape system for Eddartan slaves through the Fa'aldu of eastern Gandalara. The Fa'aldu are the desert dwellers who support traders with shelter and water between major cities in their desert-based Refreshment Houses; they were given their position by one of the early Kings and allowed their monopoly to provide water and other services provided they remain neutral and did not accept money. The Fa'aldu on this side of Chizan violate this neutrality law by aiding escaped slaves, which comes to aid Tarani and Rikardon, who escape from Eddarta on a mission to journey to Ka. Of course, this escape system is not perfect, and many end up in a 'bad' situation in Chizan.

There is also within the novel, contrasting memories. For both the citizens of Raithskar and Thagorn, there is the distinct memory of Serkajon's sword Rika, because of its connections to Raithskar and the Sharith. In Eddarta, it is tradition as told in stories for there being the twin to Rika, the King's Sword (also made of steel) that was abandoned as the capital was after Serkajon stole the Ra'ira, taking on the iconic nature of standing against the Serkajon's 'traitorous' nature. When Tarani and Rikardon learn of the possibility of the King's Sowrd, they move to find it, hoping it would solidify Tarani's possibility of ascending to the High Lordship of Eddarta, superseding her brother Indomel, her brother, since she is biological offspring of Pylomel, the High Lord who was assassinated in the last novel.

Then of course, there is the plot thread concerning Keeshah. The sha'um follows his need to mate and reproduce, thereby allowing Rikardon and Tarani to get recaptured Indomel's guards. However, as they escape Obilin, a former High Guardsman and Worfit, who has taken over Chizan and uses the escaped slaves to his benefit, in the Well of Darkness, Rikardon gets reconnected to his sha'um. This allows the pair to throw off their pursuit, and this rescue by Keeshah later leads to Tarani bonding to Keeshah's Mate, dubbed Yayshah. This event, they realize, will have a number of implications.

Up next is The Search For Ka.

Title: The Bronze of Eddarta
Authors: Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron
Publication Date: May 1983
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi
ISBN: 0-553-23281-9

Somewhere in Eddarta, stolen by a treacherous assassin, lay the Ra'ira, the most precious jewel of the burning desert world of Gandalara. Armed with the steel sword of Serkajon, Rikardon and his telepathic warcat Keeshah seek the sacred stone. With the aid of Tarani, a beautiful illusionist with a mysterious past, they make a daring raid on Eddarta's royal citadel- to rescue the gem before its awesome powers cane be used for destruction.

In this segment of the Gandalara Cycle, the reader learns more of the context of Eddarta- abotu the basic information of the Seven Lords of Eddarta- who are descended from the exiled lords of Ka from the days of the Kingdom of Gandalara, lead by the family of the High Lord (descended from Harthim, the Last King), the position being occupied by Pylomel. Rikardon comes to see hoe much the land patron system is used, as well as a few true inklings of the slavery system that is used. Taranai has learned more about herself and her connection to family of the High Lord, through Zefra, her mother.

A key item of importance within the novel, and the rest of the series, is the object of the novel's title, the Bronze of Eddarta. For years, it has been used as a system to test the mind gift of future High Lords of Eddarta, to read the first part of its hidden message. Taranai reads the entirety of the message from the Bronze, which has revelations as to the history of the Ra'ira, which in proiro novels had been told to have been sent to Ka as tribute to the Kings during their time of 'need'. What is revealed is a shock to Rikardon, and this becomes an important means of advancing the plot.

Within the novel, we also have more the sense of change in plot. Gharlas is killed before he can make his moves to use the High Lord Pylomel and his son Indomel, who accedes to the High Lordship on his father's death during an important dance for the Lords. Zefra, mother to both Tarani and Indomel, has her own powerful mind gift, proves to be a problematic 'ally' in Rikardon and Tarani's quest. Then there is the character of Obilin, the lead man of the High Lord's Guard, who has his own goals to get what he wants out of those around him.

By the end of the novel, Tarani and Rikardon, riding Keeshah, with Thymas and Ronar (Thymas' sha'um) have successful recovered the Ra'ira, and are leaving Eddarta in dramatic fashion. There is still some tension between Thymas and Rikardon at this point, but they do reach a higher level of cooperation that eases their tensions, and it is further relaxed some. As Thymas leaves them to return home Thagorn, Rikardon and Tarani plan to bring the Raira back to Raithskar to restore order.

Next up is The Well of Darkness.

Title: The Glass of Dyskornis
Authors: Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron
Publication Date: August 1982
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi
ISBN: 0-553-20827-6

For Ricardo Carillo, taking over the life of the swordsman Markasset on the desert world of Gandalara had its compensations: a strong, young body, a beautiful fiancee, and a might war-cat named Keeshah, who obeyed his every command. It also had its problems. Markasset had many enemies, and one was out for blood. So Ricardo and Keeshah left Raithskar to join the Sharith- the warrior brotherhood of sha'um cat-riders. But trouble followed, and he soon found himself in the company of a jealous lieutenant and a lovely but treacherous illusionist, on the track of a murder who had stolen Gandalara's most precious jewel.

In this second novel of the Gandalara Cycle, Rikardon finds out more about himself, including some of his past with the rogue-world, which is described with as just a vivid nature as the rogue-world here on Earth. The reader gets to meet the reclusive Raithskar rogue-man Worfit, whose gambling business Markasset had become indebted to; though Worfit is repayed the debt, he still wants Rikardon's life for a death of one of Worfit's enforcers. Rikardon also meets Molik, the rogue-world master of Chizan, and has a number of 'legal' and illicit activities, and he is after not only Rikardon, but Tarani the illusionist, betrothed to Thymas, son of Dharak, Lieutenant of the Sharith.

It is my belief that the Sharith- the warrior sha'um riders- are some of the best content of the series. The Sharith was the King's Gaurd during the Kingdom, and they settled in Thagorn after the Kingdom's fall. Their Captain, Serkajon, settled in Raithskar, and his line eventually came down to Rikardon, who inherited not only his sword, Rika, but was made the Captain for the first time in centuries, owing the theft of the Ra'ira by Gharlas, whom Rikardon soon starts going after to recover the preciosu gem. In the interim years, the Sharith have been led by the Lieutenant, the office at present being held by Dharak, whose son Thymas has been at odds with Rikardon since he first visited Thagorn.

The conflict between Thymas, Rikardon and Tarani is found throughout their effort to rescue Tarani's Uncle Volitar, a jeweler and glassman by trade, who has been forced to help Gharlas (whom the reader gets to finally meet) in making duplicate Ra'iras. This of course reveals how 'human' these characters are, and the relationships that are being made, changed and broken. Rikardon is of course to continuing to learn about his world, and is taking a greater role in it as a leader.

Next up is the Bronze of Eddarta.

Title: The Steel of Raithskar
Authors: Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron
Publication Date: May 1981
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi
ISBN: 0-553-14607-6

When the fireball hit the cruise ship, Ricardo Carillo was already on his way out- a terminally ill language professor. He regained consciousness as a well man in the desert... only it wasn't a desert on Earth, and he was man only because he was still male. More surprises awaited him in the exotic city of Raithskar- he was called Markasset, a master swordsman, son of a powerful leader, and a man on the run, accused of murder and the theft of a precious, sacred jewel. With the aid of Keeshah. a great war-cat with which he shared a telepathic link, he set out to clear his newfound name...

This is the first novel in the seven part Gandalara Cycle, told from the first person view of Ricardo, as he experiences his life altering events that bring him from one world to another. He goes through a very believable educational process of learning who he now is, his new life's history, etc- using his analytical and reasoning abilities, coupled with his extensive observations, which he uses to help him solve the problems he faces, even as they often create new ones. It also give a lot of insight to his personality as a leader, problem-solver, etc. Ricardo realizes some of the basic differences and similarities homo sapiens and Gandalarans share, and uses his knowledge of fighting, both conscious and subconscious, to aid him.

As being the first series novel, it creates a logical and basic background, even skewered to several points of views, including that of Ricardo, who soon takes the name new Rikardon, a derivation of his name in the Gandalaran tongue. Part of this backstory is of course the importance of the stolen jewel, known as the Ra'ira, a gem that carries political significance from the old Kings of Gandalara, who once, many centuries earlier in the Capital of Ka, at first justly ruled all of this desert world which had for years been in strife, yet had become corrupt and exploitative, leading to their downfall. The fact of the theft of this gem from its system of guarding by the agents of Gharlas, who seeks to reestablish the Kingdom for his own benefit.

An important and interesting element of the novel (and the rest of the series) is mind power, which manifests itself in several forms. The first is that all people in Gandalara, living and dead, are connected, in a telepathic-like way, to the All-Mind, a vast, physically untouchable collection of memories from past Gandalarans. Those who can directly connect to the All-Mind are called Recorders, and act as intermediaries to those who seek information from the All-Mind's 'databanks.' Secondly, there are also those who possess mind power but are not Recorders, such as Gharlas, who can use their mind-powers for (or against) others. Thirdly, there is the telepathic bond between Rikardon and Keeshah, his sha'um, who's roughly the size of a sabertooth. The bond allows the rider and cat to mentally communicate with words and images and be generally aware of each other.

Overall, this novel us a nice read, and I'd recommend it to most readers. It shows the reader about seeing how oneself- and others around oneself- change and grow.

Next up is The Glass of Dyskornis.

At 8/7/13 02:47 AM, Deathcon7 wrote: It's a common narrative technique. It's call an Epigraph. It sounds like you may also benefit from reading The Tough Guide To Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones. It's a book that I'm going to start really pushing because it offers great perspective on Fantasy/Sci-Fi in general.

Thanks for the recommendation.

At 8/5/13 06:27 PM, Bullslap wrote: Have you ever read any of Karen Traviss' works? She starts every chapter with a small excerpt, a paragraph or a couple lines, from in-universe culture. She references studies, essays, speeches, significant historical events, all sorts of stuff. It makes it feel like there is more going on in the universe than just her characters.

I'm afraid I haven't. I just browsed her bibliography on Wikipedia; what would you recommend starting with?

Congrats to the winners!

At 7/28/13 10:17 AM, Deathcon7 wrote: Worldbuilding is not a simple task. It takes a lot of work. If you don't do it, that's fine, but you risk falling into the trap of creating a flat, plot-revolving world. Meaning your conflicts will be dull and forced, your characters will be puppets, not people, and your reader will not understand what you're trying to relate.

It's a lot of work. And in the end you only use about 10%. But it's necessary. And, in fact, one of the fun parts of writing. You're creating. Playing God. Savor this part of the process. Because when the plot is kicking your ass, it'll be your eventual salvation.

I have been doing a lot of worldbuilding with one of my main projects, to avoid creating a dull world and forced plots. I actually like creating the framework I want the project to take place in, because I want to create a real world that the characters know and understand. There are times where I'm thinking 'Well, if there's this going on within this one country, where its generally acceptable to do it, what about some areas of this same country where its frowned upon? What would be the reasoning? What debate would there be? In what form would there be conflict over this matter?' I've really found how key research is, so I can strengthen the material supporting the framework.

At 7/27/13 06:14 PM, Coop wrote: Some characters don't initially need to be known about, but as a writer, it may prove that as your work progresses, you may need to hold fire, write the backstory of one of the characters, who until this point was an "extra" and then continue, as without a few key bits of information about who you're involving, even from the side lines, you may project a blinkered storyline.

This is something I'm going to have to think about. Adding the background to a secondary character leading to a spin-off is quite a way to write- I've seen this in David Weber's Honor Harrington novels. He's gotten two sub-story series going along that have forked off of the main series, and Weber describes events going on in other areas besides the 'core' areas (the 'core' areas also being, even indirectly, referenced) , how they relate to the main story line and how all three interact.

At 7/25/13 08:28 AM, Coop wrote: Ah, backstory and so forth? That really does help in the world of what has happened to the characters in the past, so that you can take their current story forward.

Yeah. The augmentation of a backstory into a character- how they think/reason, work, etc- is something I'm becoming increasingly interested in, both as a reader and as a writer. Of course, creating a broad backstory requires broad, well developed characters, as well as 'simple' characters, in addtion the other major factors in the story itself.

Congrats to the 2012 Tank Award winners! ^_^

I'd say just be there for her. It sounds like you've been pretty steady without sex, and that can be a great thing if you find a way to make it work for the both of you in the long run.

At 7/10/13 05:27 PM, Coop wrote: I finished something very personal to me yesterday and delivered a part of the Eulogy for my grandad at his funeral. A very emotional day, yet for some reason, I did not feel any fear, when I stepped up to the lectern, to deliver it. Not even a fear of allowing my emotions to get the better of me. I delivered it to the congregation, walked over to his coffin and rested my hand on the lid for a few seconds, before returning to my seat.

Hope you found some peace for that. The passing of any family member can be tough.

Also been doing some writing essays for material I want to develop. We're talking background information like geography, countries, social material and society, etc to make the writing more realistic in nature, so the reader can feel more authenticity for what they're reading. Its a bit slower than expected, though.

262 mpg would be pretty awesome... would want to see the car and test drive before being sold, though.