A running fight

The first sets of feedback from my potential readers has been resoundingly positive thus far. One has told me she had trouble putting it down, and had to tell her husband to shut up a few times while she was reading. Whether that is a good thing or not, I'll never know. (Looking at you K.Hannah, lol)
A second has told me that the little she has read so far has been interesting and she likes my style of writing, another good notch.
A third has been sent the copy for reading and will be over the course of the next few days. She has read some of my other work and seems pretty excited about it. The wonderful thing about all of it is that these three are hardly my target audience, but one quip I tried to play into the book is to encompass many different interests by including many different genres and thoughts to attract a larger base of readers. Incorporating things like suspense, thriller, some drama, some romance - all of it can be used to lure in potential readers that may enjoy other aspects of the writing as well as the parts in which they seem to favor.

The two favored characters from the first "critic", was cited as being the main character and his sister. I find this rather odd in one aspect, as I was hoping the main character would be someone people could or would relate to, but to see that his sister, a character only added in during this writing with no real pre-thought (although there are several entries concerning her on the blog, they can be found here, here, here, there, over there, and finally behind you.
From all of that, came Alana Gladius and she is NOTHING like what I had envisioned her as - which is a good thing. Some of those ideas on those posts were so out in left field, I would be sitting in nosebleed. Where she wound up, as the elder sister of the Gladius trio, adds an extra dimension to the story and lets their show a new angle on the struggle behind it all. Even if her character is only introduced halfway through the book, to know that she made such an impact in such little time - I call that mission accomplished.

Many of the newer characters also came about in their own way after replacing some of the other, lesser knowns from the second draft.  Those characters wound up as nothing more than filler upon a review. These newer ones actually had some life and background to them - adding yet another dimension of the struggles of a strong group doing their best to live through the story as expectations pile upon them. Given these revelations, all in all - it has turned into a successful venture. Time will tell how this ends, but publishing is the next logical step - and that is the step I will be making,

Examining the post effects of words and update on revisions.

A conversation between a coworker and I brought this forward today, discussing why I am not attending my company's employee outing.

Me: "I'm not going because there are people that don't like me, and I don't like them. To mingle with them in this place is bad enough, but on my time? Not happening."

Coworker: "Yeah, you're right. There are a lot of people who don't like you."

Me: "And I don't like them. Infact, if they, or someone in their family, died tomorrow - know how many cares I'd give? Answer: zero. I would careless."

Coworker: <looks at me with a blank stare, then laughs> "No wonder people hate you."

Me: "Its a mutual feeling. I'm sure most of these same people could careless if I, or anyone in my family, died. So, meh."

Later this day, I was asked by a few other people as to why people hate me. Its pretty simple, I say the things that no one else has the guts or will to say when the situation warrants it. Anyone who knows me will echo this sentiment when I say that I am not one to conform to the norm and I am one of those people who, while everyone is caught up in the wave of what you are "supposed to do" in certain situations, will swim against that wave. The norm dictates that when a woman is pregnant with a child, we're supposed to cheer and be happy.

Not me.

No, I am the one who look at someone, sweep a hand around, and ask how anyone could bring a child into this world, as messed up as it is. That being said, I have no say in how many kids people want to spit out, nor would I want to. I am not a kid person, I have two nieces - I love them to death, but that is the extent of my child personality-loving self. Just as I have no say in how someone raises their child, even though I can look at some instances of such and realize that the child will grow up to be nothing more than another blight on society someday. In other instances, I can look at a child and see them growing into responsible adults that will do their families and the world proud.

Mothers who are quick to pull out divorce papers and rip kids away from their fathers at the slightest motion that they were inflicted a grave injustice. Fathers who would abandon their families out of fear, hatred, or whatever other emotion. It is the situations that make our world messed up. I have seen it far too often, and I know of one personally who probably had a lawyer ready to go with divorce papers the day she signed her name to the marriage certificate to a man I used to call a friend. I can only sit back and wait to see if my prediction comes true.

Moving forward, I was accused of being a miserable person about a week ago. While this may or may not be true, I am not a miserable person at all. Its just when it all comes down to it, I - along with my family and friends that have stuck me with through it all, are all that matter to me. I am not here to impress anyone, nor am I here to please anyone. The people who cause me trouble at not worth it in the end, as many have found over the last year. The friends I have now, the family that still accept me as me, are the only ones who are the people I care about.

I'm not miserable, I just don't care about the majority of things that worry the majority of people. And I also find it as an injustice when people take advantage of others.

Especially when those others are people I actually give a damn about.

Onto the second part of this entry involves the revisions history on the book - which are progressing at a slow, but steady pace. First feedback I received was resoundingly positive, story-telling being said as being smooth and transitional. Travi and Alana Gladius took the center spotlight as favorite characters for their depth and connection - something I was moving toward for the pair. I am glad to see that seeing as how Alana's character was put together without much foresight, she came out to be a wonderful character that has a whole other side of the story to be told if she so wishes.

Just the thing I was worried about, and it was absolved. Her character has become very important to the story, despite her hiding in the shadows until about mid-way through. With her emergence, the story gains another side of it, and it becomes much more complex, but also adds another layer of intrigue. Her personality compliments her partner in Zack, and her vulnerable side is shown on a couple occasions for the readers to delve into - underneath her witty, flirty personality hides a woman who is pained just as much as her brother for the atrocities she suffered at the hands of her adversary. As it comes full circle, she emerges as the same strong, confident person as her brother - but her wit and flirt are now more natural instead of ways of hiding her pain.

Alana, like her brother Travi:
Swift as the coursing river,
with all the force of a great typhoon,
with all the strength of a raging fire,
mysterious as the dark side of the moon. - "I'll make a man out of you." - Mulan

It's fitting, if you think about it. 

Adieu.

Is it possible to go in the wrong direction when you are certain you are right?

I'm thinking of doing a weekly installment of this thing, so that I will remember to keep it updated. Since the book is now complete and revisions are underway, I can focus on other things now. Dealing with life in general has left me a little winded lately, and a few of the traits in humanity that completely irk me have left me confounded how such folks are even given the chance to right themselves.

There are several things in this life that piss me off, among them is the fact that people will take advantage of others. Some indirectly, some directly. Either way, whenever it happens - you try to tell the person what they are doing is wrong, correct? But what if you have that one that will not listen for whatever reason? Be it ego, drilled in their ways, or just simply convinced that they are not, no matter how much the evidence piles against them? Either way, we know that as humans, manipulating and taking advantage of others downfalls is evil and wrong. These types of people are the ones who, when you try to convince them of their error, will tell you that they are not doing such things and will scoff when you confront them about it.

Is it then, when you realize just how much humanity is doomed?

Add in that these same folks will then try to justify their positions with nothing more than false statements and their convictions that they are right, and you have a situation where people are just hopelessly lost in their own ways, and there is no way to stop any of it. These are the same people who will come into your home and take over the place like its theirs - establishing rules that the household will follow because they said so. You know this is wrong, and most normal humans will stand up and tell said person to get out, and only to come back when they realize their error.

Is it then, when you realize just how much humanity is doomed?

These people have no respect for you, but demand it at all times from everyone around them.
They will take over functions that are not theirs.
They will claim that everything they can do cannot be done any better.
They will claim the victim everytime something is turned on them.
They will say that they are never in the wrong for anything, and accuse you of being the one who is in the wrong?

Even if you are right and everyone around you, except them, knows it.

Adieu.