What I'm Doing This Month: May 2022

A New Direction

Hello, and welcome back to the Warthog Report.

After thinking through the feedback I’ve gotten, there will be more posts per month, but each post will be smaller in scope. .

In issues like this I’ll outline my general plans for the month, mainly the next blog and story updates, which will each have their own posts to themselves.

I still intend for there to be a blog post each month, but Fighters of Hybridis will take a ‘ready when it is ready approach.‘

On that note, Aodh’s story will be going first in Fighters of Hybridis, and part one will be ready fairly soon.

As for this month’s blog post, I’ll be discussing what I think makes a good crossover, in part by outlining a hypothetical crossover between Lord of the Rings and Pokémon.

Pride and Dracula

I read Pride and Prejudice, and unfortunately I currently look back at that choice with regret. By the later part of the book I was strongly opposed to the main romance.

It’s rather depressing when you enjoy the first half of a book, then despise the second half and argue about it with the friends who thought you’d like it.

In terms of what to take for my own writing, I noticed that some important dialogue was described instead of being written out fully.

My stories have a tendency to be dialogue heavy, so I think experimenting with that approach will be very useful for me.

(This is the edition I read.)

Another substack, Dracula Daily, is posting excerpts from Dracula on the day they were written in story. So now I’m subscribed and reading Dracula.

Dracula the actual book versus what popular culture has taken from it already feels like night and day, and I’m sure as I read more the differences will grow.

If I didn’t already have a thousand other things to write, I’d start writing some sort of epistolary fiction thanks to Dracula. But that idea will have to be on hold for now.

Volcanos and water

One region in Hybridis, Pheona, is defined by the volcano of the same name and the kingdom based around it. And I realized I didn’t know where they got their water.

In response to that, I added a river that encircles the volcano. Now on the map it actually looks like a place that takes advantage of volcanic soil for agriculture.

(Only the upper right of the map was changed this time, but it’s a notable change.)

I was able to give Aodh some history with Pheona, but sadly it looks like the scenes relying on this will be cut from his story in Fighters of Hybridis.

Due to a variety of projects and obligations I haven’t been able to do too much worldbuilding lately. I’m hoping to make that time for myself later this month.

That’s it for the Warthog Report today, I hope you enjoyed this update.