Well… I’ve been away … :-)

For those of you who were wondering (all 2 and a half of you) why i haven’t been writing, it’s been a long stretch for me of real life interfering!

I was in the army for a while, first two months at Infantry School doing the Battalion Mortars Specialist course, of which a fair proportion was in the bush… and then on my return I took over as Alpha Company Commander for two and a half months, specifically to prepare the company for the combat readiness evaluation for deployment.

I’ve also just had the most delightful addition to my family, my third daughter Sophiah Rosanna, who has just turned one month old.

In between all that, my cell phone got destroyed and I lost what I had been working on…

Last, and by no means least, I have been scurrying around trying to earn a living… :

I just got a new notebook though, and I’m hoping to be able to start writing again.. so watch this space!

Blog: War World Map

I have been playing with the idea of having a map of War World. My mapping skills are a little... rudimentary to say the least. Here is a first attempt.

For those of you wondering, the reason the base is on an island is to seperate the training from the "real world" envirionment of the main continent.

If anyone wants to make a stab at doing something better, let me know and I will send you the original .psd file. 

Blog: Explanations

Compulsive re-readers of my story who possess an eagle eye would have noticed that S'Alor is now described as a Smilodean NOT a Simian. I NEVER intended to suggest that he had any monkey features... :-)

Some words and phrases that have been queried:

1. Cadre - Training team (pronounced card-ra)
2. Sand-Box - Normally Iraq (aka Down-range)
3. Paras - In this case "The Parachute Regiment"
4. P-Course - more properly P-Week, the parachute selection and training course in the British Army
5. RIFd - Reduction in Force (made a verb). i.e. made redundant/fired
6. IED - improvised explosive device

BoonDock

Blog: Battle Diagrams

In case you hadn't noticed, I have added some diagrams of the battle in Chapter 19. No-one has commented on them. Were they useful? A waste of time? Should I go back and do the same for the first battle and/or do them for future battles? Should I draw a Map of War-World? I am just wondering how important readers feel that is. All the best John

Blog: Sword Dance

Well, I think that chapter 15 is probably the most important one so far. It certainly is the longest, and it has without a doubt prompted the largest number of comments. What has been particularly gratifying has been that they have all been complimentary! The term "Sword Dance" came to me out of the blue, and I like it so much I have been thinking of using it as a subtitle for the story... I decided that I had dragged out the first few days for long enough, and it was time to move the story along a bit. I think that I have spent enough time now on establishing the groundwork, so in Chap 16 we move back to the base and I am working on Chap 17 which will have some 'mock' combat... which I hope I can make immersive and exciting, as well as fairly believable. I am stuck on that at the moment which is why I am wasting time writing this blog entry :-) Anyway, thanks to all those who have sent positive comments and especially those with suggestions and pointing out errors. BoonDock

Blog: Muse

For some reason the Muse was dancing in my head this evening. I wrote chap 14 in half an hour or so and I think it has been the chapter I have enjoyed writing most so far. Slipped a little foreshadowing in and started developing skills.. I would like to get comments on this chapter... ATB

Blog: Back from Holiday

Well, I am back from holiday. I didn't get nearly as much writing done as I hoped to, in fact just one draft chapter, as I was waaay too busy what with the boat and kite-surfing and ... Will get up to speed again in the next few days..

Blog: Holiday

I'm off tomorrow (actually later today) on holiday. I will return on the 6th Jan. I hope to do a lot of writing while I am away, but I am not sure whether I will be able to post much. We are going to be pretty much in the bush and on the beach out of contact for most of the time. If there is 3G/GPRS coverage, then I will see what I can do. Enjoy what there is of the story so far, and don't forget to comment!

Blog: Keep on Trucking

Well,
It seems to be going pretty well. I still get the odd negative comment about the length of my chapters, but I am just pointing people to my blog post about that and that seems to help.
I have had some really, really encouraging and helpful comments from a few people which have been brilliant to get. Constructive criticism, encouragement, ideas for improvements and more. I am overwhelmed at this support and appreciate it incredibly!
I think that with Chapter 8 & 9, we are finally starting to get into the sort of detail that people have been asking for, although I am still finding it incredibly difficult to avoid explaining what I want to convey without long monologues. I hope that the character development and plot can/will be balanced by the explanations. It is a really difficult balance. I would appreciate comments on how effective(or otherwise) I have been at this.
ATB
BoonDock

PS: I have caught up with the blog entries, which are now listed as the first entries in this blog. I cheated and changed the date on the entries to get them earlier than the chapter posts. From now on new blog entries will be interspersed with chapter posts.

Blog: Writing Method

mmm Well. the comments have slowed down. One comment I have received though from various people is that the chapters are too short. I figured I should explain:
1. I think the chapters are more like long paragraphs in that they hold a partcular "scene" or series of related paragraphs and that the length fits this rather than some arbitraily imposed size
2. I trend to write in chunks of this size as time and opportunity allows, and I prefer to post once I have written a chunk.
3. I am writing primarily on my cell phone. I have a Samsung i850 with Windows Mobile on it, and I use pocket word to write when I am taking a smoke break. When I am sitting behind my office computer or with my laptop, I feel compelled to actually "work", whereas when I am sitting out side with my phone, I don't feel nearly as guilty. I also make use of the small gaps of opportunity that crop up during the day such as waiting for my daughters when I pick them up from school, waiting for others to arrive for a business meeting, when I am on the toilet or lying in bed before going to sleep or in an airplane etc. Little bits at a time, inbetween other things.

This is also why my first posts of chapters can be a little hairy. I am trying to ensure that first posts are a little better though as I realise that if I get it wrong and that is the first exposure that someone has to my story, they could stop reading right there.

On another topic, I have had one comment pointing out an inconsistency in that no metal is allowed through the gateway, so Cy and co have to remove watches etc.. but "What about the metal eyelets in their shoes,
zippers in their pants, snaps on their pants, belt
buckles. what if any of them had any metal plates
or screws in them etc."
Has this bugged anyone else?
Also, did anyone pick up on the "Iron" phobia/Sidhe thing before Cy got to War World?
Hope you are still enjoying the story...

Blog: More South Africanisms

Ok.. More questions.
Wors = Sausage, Boerewors = Farmer's sausage.
Rondavels are generally round huts with a thatched roof (See pics of Leokwe Camp at Greefswald)
Kopjie is a small hill. Here is the one I was thinking of, with the big rock on top.
See this image for people starting a braai. The potjie (black pot) often makes an appearance. Good old Wikipedia brings you more info than you thought you wanted. Check out the article on braais.

Blog: Comments and Colloquisms

Well, I have gotten quite a few comments on the story so far. Thank you very much to all of you who have commented, and especially to those of you who have sent suggestions for corrections. You will notice that I have applied your corrections in most cases.
Generally the comments have been very positive, which is great. I have had some questions however.
1. I know about the wife thing.. I will fix that in the next chapter (4) I realised too late that I hadn't explained it.. and will use it for a little "character development".. :-)
2. It should be obvious in the story that I am South African, so my language usage will be what I am accustomed to. For example, it is correct usage for us to say 10H00 and not 1000 hours (which to my eye looks like one thousand hours, not ten am)
3. A Bar-B-Que is a pale imitation of a braai. Just so you know !! ;-) Actually, from my experience the largest difference between the American and South African versions is that the Americans seem to cook on the flames while us South Africans like to cook over the coals. Other than that I am not sure..
4. A "moffie" is a homosexual/gay. Google Greefwald and SADF and you will find the TRC (truth and reconciliation) report on this. I would suggest though that it be read with a salt cellar in one hand. Moffie can also be used to describe someone who is slightly effeminate without actually being homosexual/gay.

Let me know if you spot other things that puzzle you or that needs correcting. I will happily explain anything that is unclear. I know that SOL has a large percentage of readers from North America who are generally less aware of practices in other countries than those of us outside the USA are of American ones..

Please keep the comments coming. All are appreciated.

Blog: Chapter 3 and Greefswald

Well.. it seems to be going ok. I am still on the easy stuff though :-) For those interested in Greefswald, it is a real place with a really interesing history. Take a look at Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site and/or Google it. Next chapter should be a little more interesting. As usual, all comments and criticims are welcome!