The Pub Discussion Board

Update for February 11, 2024:

Agent of Change, Chapter 27, is finished and with the reviewers.

Eric Storm

I am excited!

I’ve also been rereading CAMP: Ron, and I just realized that the war arcs that you write are top notch. The loss/gain by opposing sides are nearly tangible. I am having a hard time not relating the trials and tribulations of Ron lack of confidence in leadership is mirrored in David. Though the issues involved drastically different in situations, I can’t help but compare the two through your stories. I can see the difference in how each react to situations but they seem based on the same mindset. That being said, how many different ways can you force a newly “magical�  being to undergo change except through major conflict?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great! But I totally forgot things and how much the two parallel each other. I want to bring up a specific point but like, I have no idea what would be considered spoilers or not, regardless of when they were written!

Update for March 1, 2024:

Agent of Change, Chapter 27 has been posted to PRM.
Agent of Change, Chapter 21 has been made public.

Both of the cast lists have also been updated to account for latest available chapters.

Eric Storm

Eric Storm wrote:

Update for March 17, 2024:

Agent of Change, Chapter 28, has been started.

Eric Storm

Happy birthday to me. Thanks for the update Eric.

Eric Storm wrote:

Update for April 24, 2024:

Agent of Change, Chapter 28, has been finished and is with the reviewers.

Eric Storm

Good News.

I am happy to see something is being produced. I don't recall the last time I checked in for an update. I'll come back next month some time hopefully.

Update for May 3, 2024:

Agent of Change, Chapter 29, has been started.

Thank you for your concern.

Okay is a nebulous term, don't you think?  I'm not dying, so that could be considered "okay"... on the other hand, I'm not a particularly happy person at the moment, so that could definitely be considered "not okay".

Short version:
    Health: sucks
    House: falling apart piece by piece
    Finances: steady (mostly because of y'all's help, thank you), despite life circumstances trying to fuck me over.
    Writing: up and down, like usual.

Long version:
    Nah, I'm not feeling energetic enough for a long version.  Read the short version. 

I know everyone's biggest concern is my writing.  AC29 is well on its way to completion.  I've just had a couple periods of no writing in the past month, so it's taking a while.  Also, WBR has now been outlined in broad terms, which is a step toward getting that book back on track.  No estimates of a release date... or even a "start writing on it again" date.

Hang in there, there will be stuff to read RSN*.

Eric Storm

* RSN = Real Soon Now.  This is a software engineering term meaning, "Later than you would like, but not so late as to get me in trouble." 

Update for June 19, 2024:

As of today, Agent of Change is over 500,000 words long.

Holy shit that's a long book.  I really need to think of an ending.

Eric Storm

Other than either giving you a calendar (for yet another story), or putting date headlines in the book itself, how could I give you a better sense of the passage of time, than including holidays and school landmarks?

The book started in Late August of "Year 1".  Chapter 29 takes place in May of "Year 2".

Mind you, I have a calendar for Agent of Change, but I couldn't just copy that and post it.  First off, it's not in a copyable format because it's an interactive tool, but more problematic, it has events on nearly every single day of the story, so probably wouldn't help you that much for keeping a sense of the passage of time.

So, like I said, how else can I better convey the passage of time within the story?  I try to make references to things that happened in the past, such as "They converted Richville Public Library to UNIT power nearly half a year ago..."  I'm not sure what else I can do.

As to the rest:  Realize that Nick's ultimate "goal", which is the arrival of the other symbionts, takes place some sixteen years after the start of the story.  (Hosts need to be 15 years old, plus 9 months for pregnancy)  I am NOT writing a story with daily events that covers sixteen years! 

Ultimately, my real problem is that this book is not a novel, it is a journal, and journals don't have endings.  What I really need to come up with is an actual major conflict that would actually make sense.  Then the resolution of that conflict could signal the end of the book.

Eric Storm

Yes, well, as I said, my current calendar is not something I can post.  It's an interactive tool I created for keeping my stories straight.  I use it in addition to (or in some cases, in lieu of) an outline, as it helps to see problems before they occur.  "Oh, he has to do this thing that takes two weeks, but I've got him doing this thing just one week later, and that will interfere..."

Not to mention, obviously, that my calendar also has future events on it, as it is a planning tool.

Having said that, I'll see about creating some kind of calendar, but don't expect it too quickly, as it's a non-trivial task.

Eric Storm

Eric Storm wrote:

Update for June 21, 2024:

Agent of Change, Chapter 29, is finished, and with the reviewers.

Eric Storm

YAY ! ! !