Couldn't Resist Doing This...

Belated American 900/Classic 600 Pics

Courtesy of Ed Demateo, a fellow traditional archer from Everglades Archers. He did a very good job of photographing parts of the event that I either didn't have my camera or was too busy doing my own thing. As usual, click on the title for the rest of the pictures.

(Anticipated) FAQs 1/n for Morgenstern

Q: So where does this take place?
A: In an alternate version of this world where the interface between this world and the Veil is very, very thin. Parts of it also take place in various parts of the Veil. It's got a pretty broad geographical scope.

Q: When will the other part(s) show up?
A: I have no clue. It's inversely proportional to the amount of time I spend stuck in situations where I can't sleep or do real work or otherwise do anything else useful.

Q: What inspired this one?
A: Far too many things. Qualifier exams, certain professors and colleagues I felt like poking fun at, music I've been listening to, fellow archers, the general feeling of incompleteness after Swan-Song. Plus there are still some episodes from old D&D games that need to be made fun of or written up.

Q: Do I need to have read the other stories before reading Morgenstern?
A: Probably a good idea. I tried to put a bit of the background in from the other stories but there's a lot of details and inside jokes only findable in past stories. The next revision might be robust enough to make this a stand-alone along with its sequels.

Q: Any tentative ideas about the sequels at this point?
A: Of course. Not saying too much about it now, mostly because I don't know what the ultimate fate of some of the characters will be and I think it's more fun to watch/read/hear the groans and "WTF?!" from people first. It's definitely going to be a multi-part story though. Otherwise the printout would look a lot like Tolstoy's War and Peace. Ok maybe I'm exaggerating but you get the picture.

Q: Any warnings prior to reading this story?
A: Besides length? Yes. This one has materials that is NOT suitable for the squeamish or the easily offended, even more so than Swan-Song. If this were a film, I'd say this would probably be well into the R rating. You have been warned.

Draft 1 of Morgenstern

If the title doesn't work, click here. This is an absolute first draft of who-knows-how-many. I have no clue how long it'll be before the next part will be posted, but thought I finally reached a good pausing point in the story. This is the first of two or three, with three being the more likely number.

Classic 600 Round

As usual, click on the title for the full suite of pictures. The classic 600 is a much more difficult round for two reasons: 92 cm target instead of a 122 cm and the shoot starts at 40 and ends at 60 yards. I finished the shoot with a 238/600 total (100 at 40, 81 at 50, 57 at 60) which was reasonably good given that I had a bit too much unsweet tea beforehand. By no means my most brilliant performance, but it was a pretty respectable one. Now I have a 735/1500 total to try and beat next time :)

Day 1 of FAA State Championships

I survived day 1 of the target shoot state championships, which was an American 900 round. It consists of 5 ends of 6 arrows at 60, 50, and 40 yards. Anyway, I went uncontested in my own division but had some really nice competition from friends new and old. I finished with a 497/900 (136 at 60, 170 at 50, and 191 at 40) -- which was a pretty decent score given humidity, wind, and rain. It certainly wasn't my highest ever 900 score -- scored a 526 at the Villages but most of my points were at 40 yards. My 50 and 60 yards were really, really good today. Apparently I was really keyed in at 50 yards after sacrificing the first round for re-calibration. My 40 wasn't as strong, but it was about what I was expecting for today. The score I had at 40 yards that one day in the Villages was insanely good for me and actually put my Bowtech Equalizer to shame so yeah, I wasn't expecting to recreate THAT score but I wouldn't complain if I did!

Character Design Inspiration

What can I say? Stuff like this can go a very, very long way in inspiring character design. It's truly amazing what can and will give me ideas for visualizing the various characters and places that show up in my writing.

In any event, I survived giving my presentation today in the plant ecosystem ecology research symposium over in the botany department today. I was feeling wired to the point where I had to drink a triple espresso to slow down. Chalk it up to general fall restlessness, I suppose. Plus I've eased up a bit on my training for the week to get academic stuff done, so I've got more than a bit of pent-up energy in my system too. Now it's time to relax and get ready for the American 900 and Classic 600 this weekend! Pictures should be coming, barring any fumbles with the camera.

Small Record-Breaker

Even more than the 237 IKAC or the 92 and 84 Royal Rounds, the biggest highlight tonight was the 36/40 on a timed round at 20 yards. I'm still hoping to break 250 on my IKAC and/or reach Grandmaster Bowman ranking this season (top 3 Royal Round average 100+), with the 250 IKAC being the more attainable goal of the two. Right now my top 3 Royal Round scores are 94, 94, and 92. My top IKAC is a 247.

And now... back to prepping for a talk I give tomorrow afternoon in the plant ecology group and a poster I present on Tuesday. And prepping for the American 900 and Classic 600 shoots this weekend at Newberry. I really hope I'll have some fellow traditional archers to keep me company this weekend!

Oops Forgot...

Insomnia really sucks royally but there are ways of turning crap into gold. In any event, it looks pretty likely that Morgenstern will be the first of at least 2, more likely 3, different stories given the amount of material I've got in mind. As it stands, I'm at 100+ pages (with 12 point font) and still a long way from the "destination" I've got in mind. I didn't expect this one to reach the extent it has, but stories and characters have a way of growing in strange directions!

More details once I figure out where would be a suitable pausing point for Morgenstern and make the appropriate pre-posting clean-ups.

Funny Signs...

No kills this weekend unless you count the mosquitoes in the truck.