Writing That First Novel (Part 1)

I enjoy writing. Not just essays or articles for classes or assignments, but I gained an interest in writing fiction towards the end of my middle school years.

My bibliography consists of only a couple of short stories, most of which were written during high school. A lot of these stories were fan fiction featuring characters from Star Trek and Doctor Who.

I actually started writing a novel during my freshman year of high school. It was a story of a secret civilization who lived in a city under the ocean. I stopped writing it after a couple of chapters, and scrapped the idea, for a couple of reasons. I hadn't planned out the story before I started writing, and this often led me to make up characterizations and plots as I went along. I wasn't even sure how I wanted to end it. The parts of the plot I had thought of were quite preachy and heavy handed, and there were some environmental messages spread through out (I was going through sort of a hippie phase around this time).

I probably won't start writing it again. I had the only chapters I wrote saved on a floppy disk, which I managed to lose somewhere. Also, the idea has since been done. If I tried to publish this story today, I'd probably get a cease & desist from the creators of BioShock.

I've had a lot of time to hone my skills, and study the styles of some of the greats (Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, etc.). This summer, I'm going to try again.

I won't reveal too much about the plot of my new novel (You never know where plagiarists may be lurking). I'll just say that it's part sci-fi, part surreal comedy. I'll try to keep making updates on my progress throughout the summer.

To Be Continued...

A new Doctor Who MMORPG? Fantastic!

According to Geekosystem, a new Doctor Who MMO is in production.

I'm imagining the game will be similar to Star Trek Online, where you can start out in the Federation or Klingon Empire, work as a lowly crewman, and eventually work your way up to the Captain's chair.

Apart from the Time Lords, there's not much room for individuality among the various other races. The Cybermen pride themselves on the fact that they are a singularity. The Doctor's most famous enemy, the Daleks, have just one goal: extermination. It might be fun to destroy anything that isn't a Dalek at first, but it would probably get boring quickly.

I hope the game will be available in the USA. I'm not sure how many UK produced web games are available in America. Doctor Who, however, is an international phenomenon, one that millions of people around the world are fans of. Demand for the game will likely be high.

Filming Of "The Hobbit" Underway (Finally)!

Rumors about a film adaptation of "The Hobbit" have been swarming the blogosphere ever since the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy first hit theaters nearly a decade ago. When the project legitimately went underway, most news off the film involved the financial troubles of MGM, the film's production company, and whether or not Peter Jackson would direct.

Now it seems we finally have some good news.

Production of the movie finally started in New Zealand yesterday (with Jackson), and it is scheduled for release in late 2012.

The film will star British actor Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, who is inheriting the role from Ian Holm. Freeman is unknown to most Americans, but has gained fame in the UK for playing Doctor Watson in the TV series "Sherlock", and starring in the film version of "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy."

The cast list includes some familiar names, including Ian McKellan as Gandalf, Christopher Lee as Sauroman, and Andy Serkis as Gollum. Some newcombers include Richard Armitage as Thorin, and former "Doctor Who" star Sylvester McCoy as Radagast.

It appears that the film will be split into two parts, likely to be released a year apart from each other.