Move along, move along.

The rough draft storyboard was complete last night, and given its structure - I am in the process now of fleshing out details and putting more detail in, as well as, fixing a couple glaring problems.
Overall, this is the third iteration of the now title-less book (dropped the Project: Alpha moniker). I'll focus on a title soon enough. 

A LOT of changes in the book this time around, and hopefully all for the good. I've also removed some of the things that were causing me issues, or if they could be fixed, were so. Some changes are minor, some are major. I'm compiling a list below, just to give you all some insight. I sound like an expansion pack by now: new character, bug fixes, minor tweaks, etc.

• In an effort to cut down on the amount of 'filler' material, SOCA has transformed itself (it probably won't be the last time, it has changed three times now) into a bioterrorism response agency. I thought about changing the name of the agency to something a bit more either generic, or a new acronym all together. I haven't quite decided yet, as the thought of something like a Task Force (highly secretive counter terrorism groups) could be useful in making things simpler and also, given that article in the parenthesis - says that Task Forces are given a single task. In this case, SOCA (or Task Force <number here>) would be the unit dedicated to fighting bioterrorism and its operatives are selected as such.
  In keeping with that moniker, if I go with that - I'm sure I could down on a lot of the political jargon by saying the unit reports directly to the President perhaps. Meh, noted. If I maintain the acronym, I'll be busy for a bit coming up with a new agency name. Noted on the to-do list.
• A new third party has been introduced: Organization Epsilon. A secretive group of mercenaries and researchers that will work for the highest bidder. They strike an alliance with the Ultranationalists and have a hand in the development of the nanotech.
• In this iteration, the bad guys strike first instead of a cure turned virus. This time, the bad guys develop the nanotech and create a weapon of mass chaos and use it to begin striking fear into the world. The researchers that Allison and Heather are part of, are now tasked with researching the counter for it. They develop their own nanotech that is made to attack the alpha nano. This, when completed, allows to dilute and decontaminate the biological nanotech so it can be safely destroyed, or areas affected by it can be entered without the need of protective equipment.
• The new character, which I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing about now - has finally been given life. The final part was gathering her real name that is hidden by her alias of Scarlet Fair. Her real name is Alana (thank you Alana for allowing me the honor to use your name for her), with her last name left secret for now as that is part of the mystery of the character.
  To describe her: Late thirties (approximately 38 years old at the time of the book, but her character actually has storyline tracing back to her 27th year) Raven black hair, green eyes, athletic frame with an undetermined hairstyle as of right now (thinking a bob cut, or maybe even shoulder length). Her inspiration comes from Ada Wong of the Resident Evil series, but none more than her recent appearance in Resident Evil 6 (the link above shows this iteration of her). Then thanks to the gracious support and honor from Alana Morgan for allowing me to use her name for this character. 
• Scarlet has her own set of  'side missions' she embarks on during interludes in the main storyline, and is mainly her working behind the scenes to disrupt the Organization and the Russians. As the story begins to unfold, she begins helping SOCA/Task Force # indirectly with intel, and later on - dealing with Travi solely. Her role in the story rapidly expands as it is told, and I'm hoping that she makes a good impression with readers.
•  A couple changes to character names, Wesley has went to the federal level and had his name changed to Matthew in honor of my friend who has been a huge help in helping me get some degree of confidence built back up. Altered a couple other names of minor characters to give some diversification.
• Reintroduced two missions from previous drafts and altered to fit the storyline. The mission to Miami to stop the release of the nanotech, and the cathedral in Ukraine has been revisited in the final sweeps - culminating to a small showdown between the Gladius siblings.
• In an effort to give a more official feel of how the agency or task force depends on each other, the Mavericks have been given a personal handler by the name of Lenina Thompson. She serves as the direct link between the HQ and the team, and is inspired by Ingrid Hunnigan (again from Resident Evil, notice how I get my inspirations from that genre? Not sure why...)

This list is far from comprehensive and probably is forgetting quite a few things that need to be addressed later, like the now glaring *whaps self upside the head* thing of: What is the name of the agency now? Oh boy. No, it will not stop me! I shall prevail!
The cleaned up storyboard should clarify some additional details for me and it's looking promising that writing may begin very soon.

All that aside, time to become a Detroit Tigers fan since my Redlegs are out of the run. So, go Tigers!

Auf Wiedersehen.

Next step

Boring night where it'd be nice to have some kind of interaction with a human being in the form of talking - but alas, I am the only one who has the strange hours. Meh, story of my life as a second shifter.

Speaking of story, I have managed to put together a nice little storyboard for Scarlet now, and she has a modicum of a background now detailing her life up to the current point in the plotline. While I am wishing to keep some of the mystery secret, suffice it to say that she will hold a larger role than I first thought, and her appearances will be repeat. She has suddenly evolved into a very intriguing character, and it's amazing to think that she began as an afterthought of a femme fatale seductress.

She began her career as a CIA agent, and after learning her family was the target of the remnants of a drug cartel she had helped put an end too, she taunted the gunmen and led them on a chase. Setting up the whole thing, she thought ahead to stash supplies near the point she leads them too. After rigging the vehicle with explosives, she allows the tires to be shot at precisely the right time, and careens over the bridge and into the river. Just before it hits, she dives from the car and submerges under water as the car explodes. The cartel, believing her to be dead, quickly make their escape to avoid the approaching authorities that she had called as well. After the van leaves, she surfaces and begins the swim to the waiting supply bag, changes her outfit and makes to the shadows.

This event leads her CIA employers to classify her as KIA, and the details classified as to what actually happened, with the cover up being the car lost control. In faking her death, she effectively protected her family and began her own path in life, and over a period of eleven years - she finds her way into Organization Epsilon, the organization that is working with the Ultranationalists. The story begins her for her, that of a double agent that is actually working for the good of the world, and coincidentally, SOCA as a result.

The mystery will remain that for now as I feel it adds a new dimension to the story that was previously absent, but I think readers who read carefully will catch onto her role in the story quickly, and even delve into what kind of connection she holds to the various characters. But I feel it will make a huge impact and may allow the reader to relate a bit more to her role as someone who fights for the greater good.

In addition to her background being loosely complete, I have also gotten a hold on the storyboard for the main story and delved a bit further into the fixes and tweaks I've made. Everything seems to be working pretty well, now it's a matter of finalizing the couple nagging issues that I have failed to resolve - but if all goes as planned, may have a good working draft by the end of the month. Precision is the key, and I'm being deliberate this time around. This book has been ten years in the making now, and I'm ready to put something on the market. I believe this may be the one that makes it.

Adieu.

New breakthrough

By now, I would imagine the few of you that even read this thing (labor of love I swear it), are sighing whenever you see the title "New Breakthrough!" given my track record. But this time, I honestly believe, thanks to some input from Matthew, that I have found a good way to complete the story and also open some mystery up.

The aforementioned Scarlet who has been talked about for three entries has finally put her foot in the door as a character and it's incredible how she has fleshed out as of late. My previous entry described what I had in mind for her to pick up a leg of the plotline, but I've thrown in a new twist now thanks to the input I received. I like how the character has suddenly progressed, and the way she set up will open the door for her eventual return in sequels if and when that happens.

Also, have taken a 180 in the direction of the story, and made it so the bad guys strikes first. Then its up to Allison Kadmus and Co. to put a stop to it. Still mingling out details, but looks like I may have finally found a happy medium that won't make me want to rip my head off.

More details as I get them sorted.

Adieu.

Quick post before work

I lied a bit when I said I was abandoning the mysterious chick, but I think now I have some measure of idea how she can be used in another role. Not sure how I like this right now, but its thanks to Matthew that I had this idea now. It has merit in the way I'm looking at it, and I may flesh this out a bit more over the coming days.

The woman is tentatively named Scarlet at the moment, when I think may be more of an alias than her real name - if only because I'm not given her a name. She is the daughter of a prominent researcher, but a tomboy in every sense of the word. Had an early interest in science, sports, outdoors, and firearms.

She has no nationality, background outside what is above, nor have I really thought out who she is. Again, very rough ideas that I may expand on if feedback is favorable. I'm thinking she may have some sort of connection with SOCA and/or Travi at some point - though again, not sure how yet. He is the notepad copy and paste, raw form. Some details are repeated.


Scarlet works her way through the organization's board to their black ops team. Thing is, her father
was killed by the organization heads after he refused to work on the project. Unbeknownst to them,
Scarlet takes on the code name, and becomes their top agent. She begins manipulating things behind
the scenes while trying to subtly take down the organization and the Ultranationalists in their
attempts to unleash the project. She also becomes a helpful insider to Travi's team in their final
attack - working on the inside and allowing them access and giving them information.
The information she gathers from the medical center in Italy is taken with her, at first - she has
aspirations of destroying all of the files because of the power it would give man to cheat death.
But then, once she realizes that in the right hands - it can be used for good and not abused, she
decides to keep the information until her sources tell her that SOCA is on the case.

During the second mission, she is retrieving information on how the project will be distributed in
time, leading her to information that she forwards to various government agencies to prevent
attacks, both conventional and biological.

Mission three has her meeting with the superiors of the organization she is working for. During
this, she presents the data she has retrieved to show her good fortune. But as they begin to take
the data, she pulls her guns and kills them. After this, she begins shooting up all of the evidence
before setting the place on fire. On her way out, she eliminates most all of the guards and escapes
the base. Turns out that this organization had located the Ultranationalists base of operations due to insider moles, she takes the data before blazing the place.

Mission Four, she arrives at the secondary base of operations and forwards all the relevant data
onto the SOCA teams, and begins her own mission to eliminate the rest of the Ultranationalist chain
of command. During this, she destroys more evidence of the alpha project, once she is done - she
leaves a beacon for Russian fighter jets to destroy the area. As the bombs go off, she grapple lines
off and out of sight. Her fate is unknown.

Given this mindset, she is working almost as a crusader against oppression. No backup at all, and she is doing partially out of revenge, but it's also possible that she holds some love of human life - given her willingness to forward the data onto SOCA about the Ultranationalists, and even forwarding the information she has on the project, both good and ill, to the researchers that she finds out are still alive.
A complex character, and I'm still not sure if I'll use her. She could make an interesting character in this means, but I also believe that she could hold more value in her role in a sequel. Time will tell...

Adieu.

A closer look at the mysterious chick

So, the past few posts have had a focus on a potential mysterious associate that works alongside the previously immovable Mark Gladius. The idea for this has come about due to my recent looks at how various mediums carefully weave stories together from different POVs. Mark, by himself - is a powerful character in terms of his aura that he exhibits. When he's around, he's clearly in control of the situation and seems to value his mission over personal life (as shown during the initial raid on the facility, several of the assault team are killed by the security forces, he says to leave him).

So, Mark's personality is defined by his will to accomplish his goal no matter what, and ultimately - his goal is complete annihilation. It is referenced in one draft during a conversation with General Aramov that he has a deep seated hatred for nearly everything, no more than the forces that brought him life. He has repeatedly cursed God for his existence, and on another occasion saying once he gets to the pearly gates, he'll bring it down along with the rest of creation.

I ask myself why Mark would work with General Aramov at this point, and my only real answer is that Mark is using the general to gain access to the ultimate biological hazard weapon to use in his genocide. This would make since, seeing as how he would want access to the means to carry out that genocide. The General recruits him, saying he needs the expertise in retrieving the project and behind the scenes, Mark plots to take the project for himself and unleash it on the world as a whole. The argument can be made that someone in his position would just kill themselves if they hated life that much, but I see it as more of a vindication thing. He's trying to prove that he can beat God, and then wants to rub it in the man's face when he gets there.

So, if Mark is after absolute genocide - then what does this mysterious seductress wish for? I doubt she would assist in such a measure unless she had the same death wish. No, I'm thinking she has other - more sinister intentions. In the possible realm of someone who is looking to control the world instead of destroy it, for whatever reason. But I'm having real trouble envisioning this working realistically speaking, as I would have to possibly sever some ties with the original idea. In that, where does Mark actually come in? And is it possible that he'll have other intentions?

If we go this route, we're looking at a small character revamp and this mysterious associate is in the act. Perhaps there is no ties to the Ultranationalists at all, and they are acting independently. But this wouldn't work as it would literally kill half the story. So, this is a no go.

On the other hand, if she is merely working with Mark as means to gather the project for herself: What could she gain from controlling the world? Or why would she want too? These questions are really refusing to be answered, and I can't really toss in another character when she'll serve no purpose. As of right now, she would not have anything I could really work with and make it sound realistic.

Going to mull on this for a bit, be back here in a few.

Alright, had a chance to mull over it and got an opinion from Nikita (thank you!). This mysterious seductress could be potentially working for a larger group of undercover operations in their attempt to gain control of the project for their own means. Instead of destruction, they wish for domination and their operative in this gal is their means to gather it. Even though an antidote exists, patented by Allison Kadmus and Heather Greene - it is possible that this new group finds means to alter the project again, making the antidote irrelevant. Seems like sequel material.

Back to the task at hand, okay - so she's assisting Mark and as a result, what missions do they undertake outside what is given to them by the general in the meantime? There are already a few missions that are given, as they lead up to missions undertaken by the Mavericks. But in between, what are they doing? She wouldn't need a following, as she has that already in her organization.

Hmm, I'm at an impasse here. Her character may potentially exist, but to get an effective multiple POV line going - I need more material, and I'm lacking that horribly. I think I may err on the side of the caution right now and maintain my present course. With that, I plan to expand on my other look in sections, give a bit more insight into the going ons with the bad guys. But at this point, I am very doubtful I can put together any sort of second storyline with the content I have. This mystery chick may make an appearance, but at this point - it's not my main priority.

Alrighty, so - I will begin putting together a general storyboard in the next post and I think writing may begin again very soon. If things change, of course - you all will be the first to know.

Adieu.

A second glance at the second POV subplot

A couple days ago, I ran across this crazy idea of possibly writing in a second POV line of story that would be seen from the polar opposite of the spectrum. This involved putting the reader into the shoes of Mark Gladius, primary bad guy and elder brother of Travi Gladius, a venture not seen outside the opening scene of the book where it switches between him and the doctor attempts at escape.

In attempting this, I am literally trying to open the door for the readers to experience what happens while Travi is trying to save the world. In this side of the story, it turns out that Mark is merely working for his own interests along with the help of a mysterious seductress that suddenly has an interest in him. I discussed what kind of role this chick would play, and turns out she is looking to be the femme fatale sort - one that will use whatever is at her disposal, be it her gun, knife, or body, to get what she wants. Later, I went on to see what sort of fate she would share at the story's end. Would she have died along with Mark, or is it possible she has a hand in the cards, and is merely using EVERYONE else in her game of chess?

We'll get back to her in a moment, right now - I want to focus on Mark's storyline. I'm liking the idea that he is feigning loyalty to General Aramov while they do the heavy lifting of transforming the alpha project into the mass scale, mass destruction weapon - then once the time is right, Mark's own people and he was well, take over. Those that were loyal to Aramov, die along with him. The Soviets that still believe in destroying any who stand in their way, remain with Mark - not knowing they are just being used by him while he plots his genocide. The way I see his storyline playing out is a lot like his own agenda of gathering followers that would assist him in his plan of totally snuffing out humanity.

I never quite figured out what Mark's issue is, outside just being a deranged, homicidal maniac. He has repeatedly, in the original drafts, cursed his own existence and God for his audacity to create him. Now at this point, is Mark's true goal dominion over his fellow man, or does he plan to just kill everything, including himself? The whole gathering of the troops would make more sense if he promises these depraved followers some sort of world that they can run amuck all they want. In the mold of Simon Phoenix from "Demolition Man" perhaps, willing to bring civilization down for their own ends for whatever reason. Some may be it in for the money, others just for the pure joy of unbridled freedom in being able to do whatever they want.

But if Mark's true goal is just kill everyone, including himself - then it's possible that his 'partner' in the idea, the seductress is using him for her own goals. Gathering this following, as she claims will assist him in doing what he plans to do, but in the end - her main plan is gathering an army that she can put together and lead in her own ambition to become queen bitch of the world. Which would be a story for another day...

The second route of gathering the people together holds more story value as it introduces another character, and adds another darker, behind the scenes interest in the book. Mark's true goal is complete genocide, but she insists on helping him gather these followers (or perhaps she recruits him for the job, in some false lie that they will help). Once it's all done, and they take over - she calls the shots in a pseudo sort of fashion and once Mark is dead, the ones that weren't killed join with this chick and it sets the stage for the sequel perhaps...

All of a sudden, the idea of a third part manipulating someone with such an aura of power such as Mark would denote some sinister intentions. I'm liking this...

Adieu.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog post

After the small dump of the brain on the last post, it's time to get back to brainstorming and hopefully make my way toward getting a third draft concepted. Conventional wisdom tells me that I have fixed a lot of the nagging issues that were plaguing me and keeping a persistent writers block in place.

While sleeping way longer than usual last night (a grand total of 12 hours sleep with a couple wake ups during the night due to sinus blockage, ugh) I remembered another thing that had brought me some annoyance and that was the mission I had since coined the 'suicide turning point' of the story. This was the mission in which SOCA teams are sent off on supposedly legit missions, only being led into traps that will snuff them out. As of right now, the Mavericks are sent to a safehouse in the Cuban foothills. Once there, they find the house full of empty intel, a deliberate set up. After a few minutes of securing the place, a pair of enemy fighter jets bomb the place with missiles. When they awaken, all of them now bruised, bloodied and battered - they are forced to contend with a mop up team of Ultranationalist soldiers. Adele arrives soon after, and they manage to escape but not before Travi literally dies and is breathed life once more.

Now the idea behind the mission is sound, and I like it. However, I'm having to think about how plausible it would be. The idea of a fighter jet or two bombing this place, what are the odds of it completely demolishing the place? Then, how possible or plausible is it that the missiles hit, but only destroy a portion of it - but the force of the impact is enough to injure and daze the team inside. Given it is fiction, there is always some form of leeway granted due to the fact that although its real world and physics do apply (or do they?), the heroes have to live on to fight another day, am I right?

When I think about this, I reference the part in Modern Warfare 2 during the "Wolverines!" mission in which the restaurant is attacked by jets and it only destroys half of the store:

At about 2:54 in the video, you will see what I mean.
The jets come in, drop their payload and if you keep listening past that, you will hear Sergeant Foley say they are okay and need to get out.

This leads me to think that the idea is at least somewhat plausible for a fiction piece, because that is what is Modern Warfare 2 is obviously. So, as I think about it - the more that idea becomes a bit more solid and it is possible to maintain that aura of complete loss on the team's part. This would also set up the rest of the story nicely, and be a climax for the end of the first half of the book.
So, it would seem to me that that area would be okay at this point after referencing some fictional pieces of work for extra reassurance. Lord knows I need it.

Alrighty, starting tomorrow I think I will begin putting together a rough storyboard on how I see this new draft playing out. Eager once again to begin writing, maybe I can make it all the way this time. Time will tell...

With that, adieu everyone.