I've Moved Blogs!

You probably didn't expect this to show up in your feed . . . but yes, I've moved blogs! It may have come as a surprise, but I actually didn't decide to do this just out of the blue.

So if you wanna find out why I made the switch and what today's Music Monday song is, you can head on over to my new corner of the internet.

Click here to visit my new blog!

Will I keep this blog live? Yes, it'll be up and running for the foreseeable future! I want to maximize the time I give people who followed me here to see the announcement. There's always the possibility that I may take this down one day. But I don't think that'll happen any time soon--and that's subject to change, of course.

But anyway, I won't take up any more of your time here. I appreciate the support you've given me on The Steadfast Pen for these last four years. And I hope you'll enjoy my new blog just as much . . . if not more!

I'll see you there!

That Sweet Story Inspiration /// Music Monday #104

Well, well, well. If it isn't time for another Music Monday post!

Our special song of the day just so happens to be . . .

"Red October" from the Audiomachine album Magnus

Composed by Danail Getz

Over the past week or so, I've had a sudden, huge burst of inspiration for writing one of my stories. It's called Maelstrom (stylized as ₼ÆⱠςƬⱤΩӍ), and I honestly have no idea why this story in particular has been like, "HEY! YOU SHOULD WRITE ME!" That's not to say that I didn't want to write it. I've got a lot of great ideas for it. It simply seemed very random, since I'd started it back in late 2016 and hadn't worked on it since early to mid-2017.

Of course, I had to act on this inspiration while it was fresh. I can't recall the last time I've really wanted to work on one of my stories (and trust me, I've got plenty of projects to choose from). So to keep the fire lit and stoke its flames, I did what any writer would've done: I looked at what I already had. I'd written only a few chapters so far, but I was pleasantly surprised by their quality. I also looked at what kind of worldbuilding info I'd gathered. It's not a lot, but it also helped put me on the path of, "I've gotta do this!"

There is, however, one thing that always pumps up my story inspiration to the max, and it boils down to a single, simple word: playlist. I'd already begun gathering songs to use/potentially use for my story. In fact, I've added to the document of music possibilities for the story, and it's become eight full pages of song ideas. I know, it's crazy and over-the-top. But better to have too many ideas than too few, especially since I'm still figuring out what overall direction I want the playlist to take. (Yes, I actually try my best to keep my playlists--especially the more recent ones--consistent in tone and instrumentation.)

Now, while it's all fine and good to add songs to a doc of potential playlist additions, I have no clue where most of them will be used in the story. Here's an insight into how my writer brain works. I'll find several songs ahead of time, usually randomly, and get ideas for certain scenes and how they'll play out based on the music. These tend to be for the beginning and the end of a story, with some middle stuff--but the plot points that get the story from that beginning to that ending are often fuzzy. I generally figure them out as I'm actually writing the story, although it can sometimes change depending on the project.

Enter this song (yes, we're finally getting to the point of this post). It's one of those that I stumbled upon in the beginning. It shot some kind of amazing idea right into my brain, and I was like, "Yes, this is perfect!" I knew that this would make the perfect villain theme. You see, the big bad of this particular story is actually two separate entities that are connected. There's the wild, raging Maelstrom that threatens to wipe out the entire kingdom/empire/still-settling-on-the-best-word-here. Then there's its master, Maalen. He's the captain of a cursed ship and its crew (very Pirates of the Caribbean-like, y'know?).

His first scene involves his ship rising from the depths of the ocean as a storm brews overhead, and he begins making his way toward the capital. I think the track does a lot to show that ominous progression of a ship surrounded by a storm slowly sailing toward the heart of the land, unleashing chaos in its approach and leaving destruction in its wake. The strings, percussion, and electronic elements all add to the sense that what's coming is to be feared. I also love how it ends so quietly, as if the malice in the villain's theme still hangs in the air among the ruins . . . and the dead.

So I know this ended up being me talking more about my story than the actual song, but seriously, I'm just so hyped for this. Yes, I know the story will have some challenges in writing it, from simply using the right sailing terminology to creating a main character who has to start off being a mix of unlikable and likeable before progressing more toward the unlikeable side while the reader still holds on to hope that he'll become more likeable again. But! Those potential concerns are outweighed by my passion for this project, which is partially fueled by songs like this one. It also helps to talk and rave and ramble with you, so thanks for allowing me to do that! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love that Music Monday is not only a time to share great music, but it's also a free space to chat about whatever's on my heart and mind.

What did you think of the song? Do you have songs that you go to when you need story inspiration? Do you want to see updates on my journey of writing Maelstrom? What about character art that I draw?

Monthly HapPENings: May

It's already time to do another one of these? Dang, it feels like I just wrote one. (I also realized that I never wrote one for February . . . whoops.)

Life stuff, life stuff . . . what kind of interesting stuff happened in my life this last month? Well, we celebrated Mother's Day, so I suppose that's something. On one Saturday, my sisters and I went out to the nearby city for lunch at a very delicious burger place. Since restaurants were take-out only at the time, we found a school park in a very quaint and quiet neighborhood to have a picnic. Then we did some shopping--I picked up a mini sketchbook, some drawing pens, and a few books. We concluded our day out with some milkshakes and a walk in the park. Made for a pretty great day.

I also mentioned last month that I'd had a job interview. Well, I ended up landing the job and started it a couple of weeks ago! I now do copyrighting for work, and that's been great so far. I work with some wonderful people (including my oldest sister), and I am enjoying it a lot so far. Still adjusting to a job where I sit all day, as well as finding my rhythm in the work flow, but that'll come with time. I'm just very thankful that I got a better job where I can use my skills and abilities more. It was definitely a Godsend.

Bookish HapPENings

Well, uh . . . guess I psyched myself up last month for nothing. I have started another book, at least. That's something, right? Maybe?

HapPENings on the Screen

I have now finished watching EXO's Ladder. Very different from anything I've really seen, but super entertaining with a lot of funny moments. I know I mentioned this a while back, but watching EXO interact with one another is a lot like watching a group of close-knit brothers. They may tease and poke and prod each other, but you definitely know that they love each other a lot. And though I saw for the better chunk of a year, it still felt a little sad to wrap things up. Gonna have to see it again several years down the road!

I finally got around to watching Psycho-Pass: The Movie, and it was very interesting! The plot and its themes were super intriguing, as always, and seemed to fit current world situations in some aspects as well--something that Psycho-Pass has done time and time again as I've been going through it. (I did find a little amusing how a certain voice actor showed up, and I was like, "Oh, he's played villains in both Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia. I wonder if he's going to turn out to be bad in here?" My guess ended up being correct.) Now I have to see if there's someplace where I can watch the other three (shorter) movies, as well as S3.

So! Jujutsu Kaisen! I was very eager to start this show, because the trailer looked epic and because Preston and I were going to watch it for the first time together. That's something we've never done before--normally one of us is showing the other an anime they haven't seen yet. I've seen only a few episodes of this one so far, but MAN. Is it ever good! If it keeps going the way it is, I would not be surprised in the slightest if it ends up being one of my top favorite anime. It's just so fantastic in every way.

AGH. I HAVE COMPLETED THE FIRST HALF OF SEASON 4. NOW I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THIS WINTER BEFORE I CAN SEE HOW THIS STORY ENDS. AND I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING TO PRACTICALLY ANYONE. Seriously, you need--and I mean NEED--to see this if you haven't! You're missing out on what I would consider one of the greatest stories of all time.

Gaming HapPENings

So my youngest two sisters and I have just started playing Miitopia on the Switch. Most of that time was spent just making characters, but that was to be expected, especially at the beginning of the game. We've made some pretty hilarious choices for who should be the main hero, the Dark Lord, the villagers, etc. I can tell it's only getting to become more amusing for us. If you have a Switch and missed out on this game back when it released on the 3DS, now's the perfect time to pick it up!

We also recently finished Planet Alpha on the Switch. That was a very pretty, very interesting game. You have to piece the story together yourself by paying attention to what's going on throughout the whole game, while solving puzzles and avoiding enemies. Even at the end, I'm not sure I totally understood what was all going on--but not in a bad way. It's one of those games that lends itself to a lot of interesting theories. On top of that. it had some gorgeous scenery that was only enhanced by the game's unique art style. I'll have to replay it sometime and see if I can figure everything out then!

Writerly HapPENings

Recall how I mentioned last month that I was working on a story for a newsletter at my old job. Well, with the announcement of my new job, I had to buckle down and try to finish up the story as quickly as possible. I ended up succeeding with time to spare, somehow. It was an interesting challenge to limit the length of the story as much as I did, but I sincerely hope that the people there will enjoy reading it. If you'd like to read a 35-page mini story, I'll contact you and find a way to get it into your hands! I wouldn't say it's my best work, but it felt good to do some writing after such a long period without it.

And thus, that was my May! How was yours? What're you up to these days? Any stories of any kind--be it a book, movie/show, or game--that you'd recommend?