Shivertongue

I missed this thread, like I have so many others. May as well throw mine in. From Wavepainter; "It was the third death threat that week." -I don't know if I'm sticking with this line, though, as it leads into a conversation that, while I love it, is a little too long and doesn't get to the story quickly enough. From Project: Goldmine (working title); "Despite his many years, Ankar could safely say this was the first time he'd ever seen a rock bleed." From Shifting Earth (working title); "Kessa has lost track of the number of times she'd bedded down in a forest and woken up on an island." From Essence (working title); "The air was shaking." - This is not the first line I intend to use. I just haven't thought of a better one yet. I have others, but those are the four stories I've been focusing on most lately.

I just finished it last night. Utterly fantastic, and very surprising. One of the things I love about Dan's books is that, despite my extreme genre-savvyness and the thousands of books I have read, Dan manages to consistently surprise me with every story. Very, very few authors manage that at this point in time - Brandon has only done it once, with Way of Kings. One thing I loved was the very first paragraph - it set the entire world, the conflict, everything up so perfectly. I was amazed. The quote on the back is fantastic for this reason as well. It was interesting to see Dan's use of third person, albeit with only one viewpoint - seems like a good transition from first person. I'd love to give a more in-depth review, and maybe I will soon, but for now I'll just end with saying GO OUT AND BUY THIS BOOK! NOW!

The Wayfarer Redemption series, by the late Sara Douglass. The first book was fantastic, and made me so excited about the next one... and I couldn't finish it. Without giving spoilers, I felt like several major promises had been broken, to the point where I felt almost betrayed as a reader. It didn't help that my favorite character, awesome in the first book, spends the rest of the series getting dumped upon. I have yet to pick up another one of her books, and I don;t see myself doing so anytime soon.

Upvoted for using Chrono Trigger as an example. Best game ever. More on topic, I'm probably not the best to give advice to writing that uses an outline. I discovery write, and only begin outlining after I have discovered what the first half of the story is, so that I can thus plan out the second half. But the advice I give anyone who is having trouble starting is to - if you're an outliner - look at your outline and determine if what you have in the beginning is interesting enough to begin a story with. If not, go either back, before then, or move ahead to the most interesting way to begin the story. The issue may very well be that you are not as interested in the beginning of your story as you need to be. Or, you could go with my better advice - JUST SIT DOWN AND WRITE! It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be exciting. You could begin the first draft of your story with the main character reciting 600 pages of tax code. Whatever it takes to get momentum. Momentum is especially important if you're a discovery writer, like I am, but I imagine it's just as useful for outliners.

I've heard things about the second and third book of Blade Itself that have let me know I won't enjoy them. Some might claim my tastes are less refined for that reason, but I will - and have - argued that "bleak" and "dark" do not equal "refined". And I honestly don't care if I'm not reading stuff for "grown-ups" (which is what I've heard Malazan fans claim, as they degrade those who don't put Erikson on a pedestal). I read for entertainment. Okay, cutting myself off now before I go into a rant.

Ah, Cage Matches... is it that time of year again already? And by "that time of year", I of course mean that time of year in which I threaten all of you to make sure Richard Rahl doesn't win by holding the site's design scheme hostage. Of course, it's likely going to be Rahl vs Anomander Rake; Sword of Truth vs Malazan. And I doubt the two will kill each other, as much as I would like for that to happen. And Saphira will likely win here match, which (I hope) will put her against Beeblebrox... Honestly, this year it feels like their scraping the barrel for combatants. I don't even know half the entries...

If the staff is spiking new people, they are in direct violation of the ShardPact they signed in blood upon Staffdom. Only the Admins have the secrets of Hemalurgy, and only the Admins administer the spikings. Welcome, Jasper. Please report any unauthorized spikings to the Admins, and the violators in question will be dealt with.

I would like to announce something. *ahem* "Something." Thank you.

Brandon who?

The sequel to The Magicians is just as good, with an even more depressing ending. Read it, though. I haven't been able to get through the second book of The Blade Itself. I just don't care enough about anyone in the story or what the story is even about, and excellent writing can only take you so far. Malazan had this exact same issue, except without the excellent writing. But then, my feelings on Malazan have been well-documented on other parts of the site.

I should totally get the "Returning" award, for coming back after a long absence. I've also had a theory confirmed, so that award is mine too. I also demand an Anti-Theorist award, for those of us who deliberately contribute nothing to theories of any importance. And a waffle award, for making me waffles.

Please... Matt, you're Canadian. Canadians never make it to 'Power-Hungry Psychopath' - the furthest they ever manage is 'Power-Sampling Ne'er-do-well'.

Waffles. Delicious waffles, with lots of syrup.

Gah... I need to update here more often. What have I read recently? Partials, by (duh) Dan Wells Live Free or Die, by John Ringo (only book of his I've ever managed to get through). Spellbound by Larry Correia (sequel to Hard Magic and utterly fantastic). Snow Crash, by Neil Stephenson Rosemary and Rue, by Seanan McGuire (first in the October Day series, and rather enjoyable) Dead Iron, by Devon Monk The Girl in the Steel Corset, by... someone... Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs, by Molly Harper (an amusing entry in the over-saturated vampire urban fantasy market that I, surprisingly, enjoyed). Sword of Fire and Sea, by Erin Hoffman And about sixteen other books I can't remember right now, and four or five I can't divulge the names of.

I am. With an icepick. A hemalurgic icepick that still needs a charge. I hope you get my meaning.

A quick addendum of my own - Deck building. Once you get some experience and start building decks on your own, a good strategy I've found is to focus on a win condition of some kind. Milling, beatdown, life gain, overrun - whatever it is, every card in that deck should support the idea of that deck. You want cards that are as useful on turn 15 as they would be on turn 2. So many decks I have seen have become bogged down with additional cards for specific situations. It is nearly impossible to build a standard 60-card deck that can handle any situation, so focus on one particular strategy. For example, one of my favorite decks is my aura deck (also called a 'Voltron deck'). My aura deck is filled with auras, naturally, that give benefits when attached to my creatures. High power/toughness, added abilities, totem armor, etc. The strongest creature in the deck is a 3/4 with trample, which isn't especially tough. However, a couple of auras attached to it give it flying, lifelink, totem armor, the ability to untap all of my lands whenever the creature attacks, and a total +6/+7, and suddenly it's a beefy monster. Voltron decks are about building up what you have with other cards - kind of like Hemalurgy, taking something weak and making it stronger with spikes. Every card in that deck was selected for that goal, and it has served me very well. So, in summary, think of a win condition when building a deck, and pick cards that support that condition. Don't rely on one specific card, because if that card get sent to the graveyard, or to exile, your entire strategy will fall apart. There is no strategy that will work against everything. For example, a mill deck works great, unless your facing a reanimator deck. Against a reanimator deck, you want your opponent to have as little as possible in their graveyard, and a mill deck works against that idea.

You're only imagining that it's cool.

Enjoy your mission, Silas!

Joyeux Anniversaire, Peter! Thanks for everything you do.

Book three just blew me away. I literally could not put it down - not to eat, drink, or even use the bathroom. It was that gripping.

This is something that is simple to achieve. All you have to do is BRING ME WAFFLES!

The problem with cloning is you can only make a younger copy. And that clone would have to be raised exactly as Brandon was raised, with the exact same influences, otherwise there is no guarantee that Brandon Sanderclone would have the same ideas, the same motivation, or even an interest in writing that the original does. Furthermore, if all six clones were writing Brandon books, then Brandon would no longer be unique. So the idea is inherently flawed in several ways. Also, welcome!

Nice to meet you as well. Welcome to 17th Shard!

You mean it doesn't seem like Sazed. Sazed has been Harmony for a few centuries now, possibly long enough for the Shards to be influencing his personality. I think darnill make a a good point, in that Harmony is True Neutral. If he has a goal, and allowing a few deaths to make sure it happens it the best way to make it happen, then that's what will happen.