Fiction Fantastical

Yesterday I made the first of (hopefully) many posts that bear the tag "Fiction Fantastical." Then, I realized I should offer a bit of explanation about it since it may seem sort of random. Basically, the idea stems from something I've done for several years now on my World of Warcraft blog (on Fridays). Namely, I enjoy writing serial fiction.

Why Fantastical? In High School, I volunteered in our Library and often got stuck in the Periodical room. I lovingly called it The Morgue, since, with the advent of the internet, no one really goes looking for microfiche anymore. Okay, so maybe that's not completely true if you're talking about real libraries, but for High School students, it is. We couldn't get people to venture in there unless we specifically told them "no computers allowed." Then, they'd all come grumbling in, looking around like: "What's all this nonsense on shelves?" "Can't you just like, run a search? You mean I have to look through sequential numbers?"

Anyway, Fantastical is sort of play on Periodical (As opposed to just tagging the posts "serial fiction." *snore*) that I thought was fun. It also tells you that I'm going to be working within a Fantasy construct. There will be magic and weirdness in addition to oddball jokes and social commentary. I like to use my serial fiction as an area to have fun and experiment. It's worked out really well on the other blog, turning into some fun stories and good moments. I like to think it's also improved my writing quite a bit.

My goal is to try to produce one installment per week. I will still be producing the fanfic for World of Warcraft too, and even if you don't play the game, you may enjoy checking that out on Fridays (Look for the IC Friday tag over there). Some of it can be quite fun in its own right. Unlike the fanfic though, I'm not going to tie myself into any one day for this series. It's more going to be when my Muse strikes, so we'll see how it goes. To start with, I'm going to shoot for middle of the week. Fiction helps get me over the hump.

Where do you, the reader, come in?

Well, I do take requests. This can be interactive. If there's something you'd like to see, maybe I can do it (no promises). I also have a general overarching storyline in mind, so there is sort of a direction. We'll follow a completely meandering path to get there, though.

I also love feedback and comments on them. What worked? What fell flat? That's sort of the point behind these. It goes right along with my "learning on the job" mantra.

What's more, you could look at this as a sample of my voice. This is how I write. This is how my books will sound and feel (except hopefully more polished, as posts are all rough drafts by nature). There are going to be try-before-you-buy options though the e-book vendors, and maybe I'll post some excerpts here too, so these are just a bonus.

Finally, I hope you find enjoyment in the short stories. My overriding goal with anything I write is to entertain. Expect lighter fare. Oftentimes, I'm shooting for at least one smile. Even if it's small. The world could use more smiles.