In the Shadow of the Dragon -- Behind the Scenes... (Part One)

 

Okay First things first....

Update on Poisoned Honor. The first draft is in the editor's hands and I'm waiting to see what the notes are coming back. It's been a slog, but it is done. Now I need to wait for what needs to be rewritten....

My free story from June, The Specter of Winter, has been published in the Tales of the Inner Sphere anthology and can be found here: Tales of the Inner Sphere Anthology There are a lot of good stories in it.

Now, the purpose of this blog, talking about In the Shadow of the Dragon.

I'll admit, I did this one ass-backwards. The normal procedure is you send John pitches for novels (And you have to be an author he knows and trusts to get him to look at your pitch -- so if you want to write a Battletech novel, first prove you can wrote Battletech short stories for Shrapnel and do it consistently.) But I didn't do it that way, and the only way I got away with this was because John knew what I could do, having several Battletech novels already under my belt. If I had tried this as a newbie, he would have rejected it out of hand.

Nope, like an idiot, I just started writing it.

I felt there was a story there and when I started writing, it kept growing. I had the basic plot running through my head, a murder investigation leading to a political thriller. What I didn't have was anything to reference. I had two known characters : Yori Kurita and Matsuhari Toranaga and that was it. No political situation, nothing to reference. I had a blank slate.

I'll go over characters on another blog post, but I had to create a slew of characters to populate the novel, and I also had to create things like the CGC CID, as it had never come up in fiction before. Even dictatorships need police detectives to handle the street crimes. I used the excuse that Imperial City had been flattened during the Jihad to make changes to parts of the city. For example, the Imperial Palace now sits in the middle of an open plaza, while the Basin Lake Rehab Center come into being to take the characters outside the city and to facilitate an action scene.

I didn't work on it all the time; other writing projects came up and I worked on them, Since I wasn't on a timetable with Shadow, it took a couple of years to get it into a somewhat coherent form. 

Once the early first draft was complete, I sent it to John and asked, "Can you use this?" At the time, the draft I sent him was about 75% of what was actually published and somewhat raw. John replied that it was something he could use, and that lead to more work polishing it and  getting it into shape.

That's enough for now.... Next post will be about the characters and how they came to be.

Until then!!

Craig

What have I've been doing for two years?

 

I wish I really had a good answer....

I guess the only excuse I can five anyone who reads this that right before my last post, my mom died. It hurts at such a level I cannot describe it without getting teary.

So, I threw myself into my writing Since then, I have two stories and one gaming article published in Shrapnel, (#12 and #17 for the stories, #19 for the gaming article), had a novella published (Blood Rage), and the longest and the best received novel so far, (In the Shadow of the Dragon. I'll go over the novella and the novel in separate blog posts.

I've also doing some game material when I can, but most of my writing time right now is on the stories,

After all that, I've been writing the first novel of a trilogy about the Wars of Reaving. It is called Poisoned Honor and covers the start of the war that consumed The Clan Homeworlds while the Inner Sphere tore themselves apart in what became know as the Jihad. 

While I am writing the first book, Jason Hansa is writing the second book, Corrupted Honor, and Phil Lee is writing the third book, Shattered Honor. As I understand it, all three books will be out next year.

Now, I'm going to give you a insight into the writing of these books, (no spoilers).

The War of Reaving sourcebook was out go-to document for this this trilogy. It is a densely packed sourcebook, at times a boon to our writing, but also a bane at times. Because it's so dense, it had to be read and reread, to make sure we were getting it right. And it took a while.

While we are writing a trilogy, it's not a conventional one. While there are characters that appear in all three novels, the novels, for the most part, are self-contained stories. Yes, plot points are throughout all three books, but they're more like the Element of Treason Novels in that they have varied sets of POV characters with different stories that happen within the events of the Wars of Reaving. For example, most of my POV characters are not in the other two novels, and there are POV characters in their novels that are not in mine. There is overlaps between each novels timelines, so some events that happen in Jason's novel happen earlier than events in mine, and some of Jason's events occur in the middle of Phil's Novel. But the stories are written to give the reader a solid story without side trips into the other authors' stories.

And content? Without revealing anything, we had a lot of fun

deepening the events covered in the War of Reaving Sourcebook. The Clan Snow Rave's Watch missed a few things, which is understandable, as they were getting out if Dodge at the time. Expect some surprises, and a lot of battles.

I saw an early proof of the Cover for Poisoned Honor, and it's a great cover. I haven't seen the final cover, so I'm not going to reveal it here, but it is a great cover.

As for progress, The first drafts are down or nearly done. I need to start going over Poisoned Honor, which is going to be a long slog, because it's not a lightweight novel. The plot is complex, the POV characters are many, and keeping track of them all was a hard thing to do. I think I'll start Monday and see is there are things and words I can trim.

While that has been going in, I'm, still writing short stories, sent seven in this year, have another I need to edit/rewrite, and about a dozen in various states of completion. So, I am being productive, I'm just not saying much about it. I want to get these out of my way, so I can take the time to plot and pitch more Catalyst novella/novels and work on my own original writing.

So, I'm still here, I'm still writing, and I'm still missing mom. The Writing is helping, but I would be lying if I said I was 100%. But enough of that. I hope you enjoy life with the people you love and let them know where they stand with you every day.

Craig

Vengeance Games -- Some Background

Shrapnel #6 has the first part of a novella of mine called Vengeance Games I thought I should write this post and give you same background on it. There are no spoilers in this post about the story itself, but the background is a lot deeper.

The main character, Gideon Wozniak, is the same one that appeared in my story End of the Road from the Legacy Anthology. But Vengeance Games was written before End of the Road, mostly as a mental exercise, but with a hope to see it published. When my pitch for End of the Road was accepted, by using Gideon, it gave him some needed background.

Who is Gideon Wozniak?  A former AFFS soldier, born and raised on Antietam. His father was a soldier, and he grew up in a military family. He was the man nicknamed "Stone's Hammer," commander of Stone Lament's Third Battalion, and one of Stone's Immortals, those who were with Stone on Kittery from the start. He has spent years fighting in the Jihad, earning the reputation for being the one Stone turn to to hold a position or to take one. Someone, who should have been a Knight, or even a Paladin, so what happened? Why did he walk away from that? Vengeance Games gives those answers.

Gideon is a complex character. While we saw only Stone's Hammer in End of the Road, in Vengeance Games, we see more of a man who has spent years fighting in some of the most intense fighting. Such fighting has left scars, and we've seen a few of them come up in the first part.

Another character who had been around (in a couple of new items from the now-extinct Battlecorps website) is Baron Riordon Mallory. (BattletechWiki page: https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Riordan_Mallory ). Riodron has always been on the edge of my story-telling thoughts, but Vengeance Games is his first actual appearance in a canon story. He is a historian, with a penchant for being blunt in his assessment, much to those in power. Only the fact his father is the Duke of Antietam has kept him from the wrath of a few powerful Federated Suns families and is Solaris for "Research."

Vengeance Games combines a few things of mine that have either become part of the official Battletech fabric or have been published as non-canonical. Threads that go all the way back to Battletechnology #21 and the story that my late friend and I wrote, Snakedance. Sharp-eyed readers who have read both will see a Snakedance character in Vengeance Games and a couple of other characters who are name-checked.

So, why Vengeance Games? I won't go into too much detail, but what unfolds is exactly as the title stated. And it takes place on Solaris, the Gaming world, where there's more than one game being played....

Later!

Craig

Icons of War (Mild Spoilers)

Okay, I'm writing this a few days before Icons of War is out, but won't be posting it until after the novel is out. If you haven't read the Back Cover Copy, here it is:

Symbols of Power

After the Word of Blake exacts an incalculable toll on Clan Wolf, Elemental warrior Garmen Kerensky is tasked by Wolf Khan Vlad Ward to undertake an audacious, top-secret mission in the Clan Homeworlds. While other covert teams help the Wolves evacuate Clan Space, Garmen’s command will steal the most prized relic of Clan history: the body of the Great Father, Commanding General Aleksandr Kerensky, Garmen’s ancestor. But the father of the Clans’ founder is entombed aboard the McKenna’s Pride, a Star League-era WarShip in permanent geosynchronous orbit above the Clans’ capital city, a staunchly guarded vessel that will take ingenuity, a warrior’s spirit, and more than a little luck to reach.

Stealing his ancestor’s remains is a tall order under normal circumstances, but the Homeworld Clans are on the verge of open warfare with each other, and this mission threatens to blow Clan society apart entirely. As the elite warrior guards of the Ebon Keshik hunt Garmen, he and his hardened team must navigate the intrigue of the shadowy Dark Caste to have any hope of reaching the Pride alive. But no plan ever survives enemy contact, and Garmen must overcome the forces arrayed against him or risk forever losing the Great Father’s body to the chaos and destruction of the Clans’ internal warfare.

So, when John Helfers, Catalyst's Director of Fiction, IMed me with the an offer of writing Icons, I took it. He asked how many words would I need for it, and I, like an idiot, told him 20,000 words....

Blaine Pardoe (who had the original idea) told me that stories will take all the words they need, and Icons fits that. I had gone in, expecting Icons to be a novella (20,000 words) But Icons, for several reasons, refused to fit into a novella. Instead, it has become a short novel, nearly 50,000 words, and it could have been much longer. While it mostly takes place long before IlKhan, it has a direct tie-in with a major event that occurs in Children of Kerensky.

After actually digging into the background (Note to would be BT authors: RESEARCH!) , I realized that was optimistic in the word count. First the body is on a battleship, in orbit over the Clan's capital city; accessible, it isn't. Second, I could not see Vlad Ward ordering a team into post-War of Reaving Clan Space. Six years of no knowledge of what was happening. During the Jihad? That don't make sense, as the Wolf Clan is fighting for its life, and in that case, is retreating a dead body high on their list? Also, if Vlad wanted the body, why wait until years later to do it? the Wolves have been Abjured, they had no assets or intelligence left in the Clan Homeworlds. That approach I couldn't see working. If Vlad wanted all the Kerensky Legacies, he's do it all at once. That's why the story starts in 3071.

Of course, there were other problems: the McKenna's Pride itself. It was used by the Grand Council in Clan Steel Viper's Trial of Annihilation in 3075. It was also used as a meeting place for the Grand Council for a while -- which meant heavy security. With the War of Reaving exploding through Clan Space, security was going to be tight in the Stana Metchy system. So I took the long approach when building the plot -- a plot-line that covered several years. I had to gloss over a few years, but I do have a few pieces lying around that might be enough for a short story that takes place doing those years I skipped. Maybe in a future issue of Shrapnel....

If I has to describe the story, I would say it was a heist story (maybe the wildest one in Battletech history), a love story, a story of revenge and redemption, and a story about duty and going up against the odds. It sets up events that play out sometime in the future (when I don't know), and answers a couple of questions about the Dark Age/IlKhan era that have been hanging around for a few years. 

Writing this was tough, but rewarding. It forced me to bone up on things like Jump drives, WarShips, and space combat. It also allowed me to take a look at Clan Homeworld Society before and during the War of Reaving. It also allowed me to expand on areas of Clan Homeworld Society, like the Dark Caste, the Free Guilds, and the Ebon Keshik -- all had some information out there, but nothing like I created for this novel.

An impossible mission and I hope you will find it a wild ride and a unique story, with characters that are engaging and interesting. I had the honor of writing in an area of time and space that hadn't been explored before in any Battletech fiction. It was both scary and thrilling to create and expand on things that hadn't been really looked at. While I had a couple of anchor points from sourcebooks, most of what I created was taking a reference here, a line there, and expanding on them into fully realized aspects that some people won't expect.

Now, for some reason, as I write this, Icons isn't available in the Kindle format on Amazon, but the POD version is. It's here: Icons of War -- Amazon. The E-book version(and POD version) is available on the Barns and Noble Website (EPUB) here: Icons of War -- Barnes and Noble. Or you could try the Catalyst store and get the E-books (Both MOBI and EPUB -- a value deal!) here: Icons of War -- Catalyst Store.Or, you could try DriveThroughFiction here: Icons of War -- DriveThruFiction. Please pick it up and enjoy it!

If you have any questions, post them here or on the Battletech forum; I will do my best to answer them.

Later!

Craig

Writing Battletech: The BattleMechs And Combat (Part 1)

 The heart of Battletech is the BattleMech -- everything else on the battlefield is a support to them. They are the tip of the spear, the futuristic Knight, the King of the battlefield. Carrying weapons of mass destruction, they are the core of combat in the Battletech universe since they were created by the Terran Hegemony. For nearly four hundred years, the best defense against these armored behemoths has been another BattleMech.

This post is about what a BattleMech is and is not. It’s too easy to think they are one thing, when they are actually something else. The next post will be about writing about BattleMechs and combat, but this one is start with the basics.

A moment to explain something: The term Mecha is considered the general term for armored suits. They can be anywhere from Battle armor (Bubblegum Crisis OVA's Hard suits), to the hulking multi-part monster Mecha of Voltron, or anywhere in between. The term 'Mech refers to BattleMechs only.

The concept of Giant combat Mecha did not originate here, but in Japan. Mecha has been a common trope in Japanese anime for decades. From multiple Gundam series, the Units from Neon Genesis Evangelion, the Arm Slaves from Full Metal Panic!, Patlabor's Ingram, and of course... Macross (Robotech) are examples of combat Mecha in Anime.

For those who grew up watching such shows (Usually bootleg tapes, subtitled by some fan) these were nothing like we had ever seen before. Even today, giant Mecha rarely shows up in western movies (The Pacific Rim Films and the "Classic" Robojox come to mine. The AT-AT and AT-STs from the Star Wars films are sort of Mecha,).

In Japanese anime, Mecha are quick, nimble with weapons that will destroy ships and other Mecha in the blink of an eye. They are comfortable both in space and on the ground. They are only limited by the skill of their pilot, usually a teenager who has the ability to pilot one of these massive machines.  The Mecha is an armored suit, the modern version of a samurai's armor

Not so in the West. Here, the Mecha are walking tanks. They are slow and ponderous, piloted by people trained for months and years to control. In space, they are almost useless in combat. They are less an armored suit as they are armor to spearhead attacks or to hold a position.

To give you an idea about Mecha is seen in the west, let's look at the 'Mech above -- the Locust, with a weight of 20 metric tons, with a top speed of roughly 130 KPH. In Imperial measurements, the Locust weighs 22 tons and has a top speed of @ 80 MPH. in contrast, the average US car weighs about a ton, and can, in most cases, match or exceed 80 MPH. So, while the Locust is fast for a 'Mech the average car has a decent chance of outrunning it. (Getting out of weapons range though, is a little more problematic). Also, the Locust, like most 'Mechs, can't corner worth a damn on roadways.

So, what's the point of this post? Why talk about the difference between eastern and western views on Mecha?

Like most people, my first experience to Mecha was though anime and I saw the nimble, fluid action of Mecha in combat. The Lions of Voltron, the motorslaves of Bubblegum Crisis, Patlabor's Ingrams, and others showed is Mecha in action. It's real easy to carry that impression into writing a Battletech story.

But it's the wrong impression for Battletech.

The Shadow Hawk to the left here has a top speed of 86 KPH (53.5 MPH) and most variants can jump between 90m (98 yards) and 150m (164 yards). It carries a shoulder-mounted autocannon or a PPC, a small missile launcher and some sort of laser. Despite descriptions in the first couple of novels, there is no way this 'Mech can do a shoulder roll or any other advanced actions that a human could do. No handstands, cartwheels, backflips, pulling itself up by its fingertips up a cliff. Physical combat beyond clubs, hatchets, swords, punching and kicking is beyond a 'Mech's capability.

BattleMechs are not subtle weapons. They are in-your-face vehicles of war, used to attack and defend objectives. They are a wall of steel and mylomar, with enough weapons to level a city in hours.

MechWarriors are one-person tank crews. They are responsible for the 'Mech's movement, firing its weapons, receiving and giving orders with other MechWarriors and soldiers, depending on where they are in the command structure. They work as part of a unit, are assigned tasks and follows orders.

That means that went writing 'Mech battles (and you will), you have to remember that BattleMechs are walking tanks, not nimble battle suits. They walk, run and jump -- they do not do acrobatics, do not do spinning back heel kicks to the enemy's head. They punch, club and kick in close combat, as well as push and crash into their opponent. They don't hip throw their opponents, nor do they leap to their feet after getting knocked down. They do not do complex combinations with their sword/ax/mace --its hit as hard as you can, as fast as you can.

The Warhammer to the left is a walking main battle tank. With its powerful twin PPCs and multiple secondary weapons, it is an iconic BattleMech and has been for most of Battletech's existence. But like any 'Mech, it is vulnerable on the battlefield. It is only as good as its pilot -- or as lucky.

When writing a battle scene, you have to remember these 'Mechs are not quick, nimble or able to perform acts humans can. They are between slow and somewhat quick and the larger they are, the tougher they are to bring down generally. They have massive firepower, but are not invincible. They are weapons of war, with their own advantages and drawbacks.

So, Mecha from the East are generally extensions of the pilot's abilities. Mecha from the West are generally walking tanks.

Part 2 is how to write 'Mechs in combat.

This post was revised slightly, with a few grammar mistakes corrected)

Later!

Craig

Writing Battletech: Characters

One of the great things about Battletech is the characters. From the heads of interstellar states to the farmer on a backwater planet, there is always room for stories and for memorable characters.

The first thing you must ask about your characters is; Who who are they? What is their background? what motivates them? What is the journey the story takes them on? The best stories are those in which the main character undergoes a trial of some sort, a test of their abilities. At the end, they have changed somehow from the character they were in the beginning.

You need to find the hook for the main character -- everyone else is either supporting or opposing the main character's actions. Start with the conflict the main character will face. It could be physically, mentally, it could be another person or a force -- in any case, the character must face some sort of obstruction to the character's goal.

I think the best way to illustrate that is to take a look at three of my Characters from my stories: Kenway Gaines (Salvage), Amanda Rawson (The Promise) and Nathaniel Trivedi (End of the Road.) I choose three of my own characters, because I understand them the best.

At the start of Salvage, Kenway Gaines is a young man starting out his military career. He is from a family of MechWarriors, but he isn't a MechWarrior himself -- instead, he is a technician. 

That right there is a hook. Kenway is from a family of warriors, but can never become one himself. Instead, he is a new tech, a Subaltern fresh out of NAIS, and assigned to a Recovery and Salvage platoon attached to the Fourth Deneb Light Calvary. This is a young man who can feel his family's disappointment, despite the fact he is a hard-working and knowledgeable technician. Because of this, he has no self-confidence in himself and feels that he left his family down -- that is the problem he has to overcome. In addition, Kenway green as grass, an additional problem, one his superiors have taken notice of. It is only his skill as a technician that keeps him from being pulled for the R&S platoon.

On his first mission, his platoon goes out to recover a couple of 'Mechs. While surveying the area, Kenway spots what he believes is a new Capellan design in the water -- a Raven. This becomes the turning point for Kenway's change, as the chance of recovering and inspecting a brand new design has made him forget his troubles and starts gaining confidence in himself. The recovery doesn't go off without problems -- he is still a green soldier and the Capellans don't want to let the Raven go without a fight. In the heat of the action, Kenway finds the strength to take action to keep the Raven from being recaptured or destroyed.

But because of that experience, Kenway begins to find himself, as an officer and a technician. He is not the same person at the end of the story as he was at the start of the story. He has grown up and begun to find his confidence. At the end of the story, he is trying to find out everything he can about the Raven -- he is in his own element now. He has realized that he may not be a Mechwarrior, but he will show his family and his superiors that he is a soldier just like them. The story is about Kenway finding himself.

On the other hand, Amanda Rawson is a veteran MechWarrior assigned to be the XO of a rescue mission. She finds herself in the dark because her commanding officer, Leftenant Colonel Colin Kerse, is hiding most of the mission's details. That is Amanda's conflict -- trying to trust her superior officer when he is clearing hiding information she needs as the mission's XO.

They are heading for the Kurita-held planet of Chichibu, where Kerse claims there are Davion POWs being held there. Somehow, he managed to convince the AFFS to give him a force and to lead a rescue unit to . 

Amanda was recruited by MIIO to keep an eye on Kerse. Her orders are to assume command if Kerse acts in an insane manner. From the start, the events and Kerse's actions make her suspicious of him. Her orders are to step in and take command if she thinks Kerse has lost his mind. But what is the tipping point? Is there a tipping point to force Amanda into following her orders?

And that's the hook for her character, the test he must undergo. Can Amanda trust Kerse? Is he leading them into a trap? Even when she discovers Kerse's motivations and the information he had kept from her, can she still trust him? Is this a rescue or vengeance by Kerse? In the middle of the big battle, it falls to Amanda to take command of the rescue as Kerse is locked in a battle with past demons. At the end, Amanda still doesn't fully trust Kerse, but understand his action. Amanda's story is about trying to trust someone who doesn't trust her.

Nathaniel Trivedi's conflict is keeping his sanity in a situation of a grinding campaign. A member of Stone's Lament, he has seen the worse fighting of the Jihad and is currently involved in pursuing Word of Blake forces across the North American continent.

A student of history, he finds an outlet for his sanity in the Grasshopper he has been assigned to replace his destroyed Victor. This is the hook -- the "Mech's interesting history lets him forget the horrors and the grinding fighting for a few hours. The Grasshopper has a long and involved history over three centuries. Despite his lance-mates' teasing and his commanding officer's disdain for the Grasshopper history, he continues on his self-imposed activity. At the climax, the Grasshopper is destroyed, but Trivedi's actions helps Stone forces win an important battle. Instead of rebuilding the 'Mech, he thinks it is time to leave the military and return to pursuing a PhD.

So, three character, three different time periods, three different challenges. Each one must face a challenge -- Kenway, his crippled self-confidence, Amanda, her distrust of a secretive superior officer, and Nathaniel keeping his sanity in an insane situation. All overcame their challenges and all have changed in some way.

I'll talk more about character in another post, as this one is getting too long. I just don't know when, as there are a few matters that are coming up.

In addition, there may be some good news on the horizon, hopefully this month or next, about a Battletech product I wrote. I won't say anything else about it, but as soon as I can, I will write about it. It might just be the most important thing I've ever written for Battletech.

Later!

Craig

Submitting to Shrapnel

I've seen a few positive posts about Shrapnel #1, and a couple of questions about actually submitting to the magazine. Back in March of 2012 (Eight years ago!), I wrote a couple of posts I called the "Dos and Don'ts of Battlecorps Writing." Battlecorps has been discontinued, replaced by Shrapnel.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was thinking about revisiting the subject, advice about how to have a fighting chance of having your submission being accepted. I can't promise, in any way, that Shrapnel's Managing editor, will accept your story or article. What I want to do here is give you some tips that will at least make him think about it. I will include examples from my own stories to illustrate my points.

1) Read the Guidelines and Follow Them -- the guidelines are there for a reason. Writing in Battletech is writing inside a highly defined set of parameters, and requires the writer to follow them. If a submission clearly doesn't follow the guidelines, that does not bode well for anything else that is required from all writers. Adhering to the guidelines shows you can follow instructions.

2) Keep the Story Small -- When I say, small, I mean there's no room for massive plot and dozens of characters in a story that is at most, 7,000 words. That's roughly 23-28 pages of double-space typing. That's not a lot of room for plot, characters and resolution.

• a) Characters -- Ideally, you have one or two characters that are the main point of view the reader has into a story. Most of story will be seen though their eyes, their thoughts will be the one the reader will have insight to. Several supporting characters are possible, but each must have a purpose to the plot. Too many characters and they become just blobs; it is better to have two or three well-defined characters then half a dozen faceless blobs.

• One of my favorite things to do is take a basic character type and give it a twist; Mouse from my story, Shadow Angels, is an example A large man, he acts as the teams heavy support. Yet, he knits in his down time. In Thirteen, Ansgar Shurasky, an officer recovering from a mental breakdown, finds his new 'Mech haunted and advised by the his sister's ghost -- or is it his his own mind projecting a part of himself? Look for little things to make each character unique.

• b) Plots -- there is no room in 7,000 words for a complex plot. The best thing to do is have a main plot and maybe a subplot, if there is room for one. Plots need to be straightforward for the most part. It's okay to have a twist in the story, but you cannot go too deep into a plot in so few words.

• I like working themes into my stories. In The Lance Killer, the story is about superstition, survivor's guilt and redemption. A Matter of Honor is about honor and acceptance.

• c) Scope -- Scope is important. Scope is the level the story is told at. Most novels have several levels of scope from the rulers and generals issuing the orders, all the way down to the foot soldier who's trying to survive the next five minutes. A short story doesn't allow all those levels. It's best to chose one level and stick with it, the lower, the better. A soldier trying to survive the next five minutes has a more interesting story then a General kilometers away issuing orders. For my story in Shrapnel #1, Blind Arrogance,  I told the story of a battle that had already been told in a novel, but instead of the grand sweep of a story, I told the battle from the POV of a Lance commander, who only saw his small corner of the battle.

3) Know the Battletech Universe -- On the face of it, it sounds like a no-brainier. But writing for Battletech needs a deep level of knowledge than a casual fan had. (I know there's are a few of you out there, just as I know there are some deeply committed fans.) The Battletech Universe has been built up over thirty-five years, and have a background that no other fictional universe can match. A thousand-plus-year timeline, thirty or so factions detailed out, thousands of 'Mechs and vehicles designs, technology laid out, and planets explored. That's a lot of stuff to dig through and it can be overwhelming.

My solution is to pick a time, a place and an event; then research the heck out of it. For the story Salvage, I chose Aldebaran, 3028, during Operation Rat (the story was part of the Operation Rat series, so the time and event were already determined.) For the story, I had to know which units were involved, something about the planet, and the time frame. It becomes just finding where to put the scenes.

It also gave me an idea of what 'Mechs I could and could not use in that time period; I could use a Raven, a Crusader, and a Catapult, but not a Bushwhacker or a Thantos. Being aware of when a design becomes available in the timeline is important; it shows your depth of knowledge.

• a) It's a matter of Details -- The great thing about Battletech is all the background is already in place -- you bring the characters and plot.  For Salvage, I used the AFFS ranks, and the Confederation using their pre-Xin Sheng rank system, for example.Also, a nugget of advice: The first Clan Mechs seen in the Inner Sphere have two that depends on the point of view of the character -- A Clan Warrior would not call his Timber Wolf a Mad Cat (Which gets a bit fuzzier when talking about the Mad Dog/Vulture, as the Combine uses a third name for it -- the Hagetaka). Any story that gets past the first hurdle (Being rejected right off the bat), will be sent to the fact-checkers, who will look at the details to make sure they all fit. Details are important; it's what makes the stories comes alive.

4) Don't go Overboard -- What do I mean by that? It means trying to make a major splash with your first story. Taking a major named character and using them as the main character. Using your home-brewed Mercenary RCT in your story. Rewritng events in Battletech history. Mary or Gary-Sue characters. BattleMechs acting more like Gundam Mecha. Show you can write a solid story, with your own characters and follow rules. Once you have a few stories under your belt, then you can start reaching out a little more (the home-brewed RCT and the Gary/Mary Sues characters needs to stay home though)

5) Develop a Thick Skin -- being a writer involves ego, and ego can be bruised. It's not easy to have a story rejected -- I have had stories rejected before. It's a hazard of the profession, and you need a thick skin. You may think your story is the best one every written, but it could also be the third or fourth similar story the editor has seen in the last week that has a similar plot/characters or it violates one of the suggestions above.

• a) So What do you do, if it is Rejected? -- Look at why it was rejected and consider what the reason was. Unless the Editor asks for a rewrite, move onto the next story, and don't make the same mistake


• b) So What if it's Accepted? Than congratulations and move onto the next story.

That's enough for now. Battletech is a fiction-driven universe; its what make the Universe come alive. It's a fun universe to write in, a chance to create your own thread in the Battletech Tapestry.

I may come back with another post like this, talking about different things relating to the actual craft of writing Battletech.

Later,

Craig

"End of the Road" has been nominated for a Scribe Award!

I was on-line Wednesday night when Jason (Who I know, is a LD for another gaming line) contacted me via Facebook IM and we had the following conversation:

Jason: Congrats on being nominated for a Scribe Award!

Me: ??
Jason: You got nominated for best short story in the Scribe Awards for "End of the Road."
Me: I did?

Jason: That's what my e-mail tells me.

Well, he sent me a copy of the email and the following is from the email:

"Acknowledging excellence in the field of tie-in writing, the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers is thrilled to announce the nominees for the 2019 Scribe Awards. Every year talented writers dedicate their skill and love of the job to creating works in various universes beloved by fans worldwide. Also every year, these authors raise the bar and make it more and more difficult for the judges to select the best of the best. IAMTW thanks all those who shared their work with all readers and also entered them in the Scribe Awards, and thanks the tireless judges for their efforts as well. We will announce the winner in each category this July at the San Diego ComicCon. Heartfelt congratulations to all the nominees: "

SHORT STORY
Battletech “End of the Road” by Craig A. Reed, Jr.
Battletech “Swords of Light and Darkness” by Travis Heermann
Warhammer “The Darkling Hours,” by Rachel Harrison
Warhammer “No Hero” by Peter McLean
Warhammer “The Passing of Angels” by John French

Now, what is the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers? It is an association of professional writers who write stories and novels in someone else's IP. Star Trek, Star Wars, Halo, Battletech, and Warhammer are examples of tie-in writers' efforts. I was aware of the association, and I'm eligible to join them, but have not done so because of financial reasons.

The Scribe Awards are for those people who writer tie-in product fiction. The categories include Adapted Novel, Audio Drama, Original Novel -- Speculative, Original Novel -- General, Short Story, and Young Adult/Middle Grade. The winners will be announced at the San Diego ComicCon in July.

I am honored to be nominated and congratulations to Travis Heermann for his nomination. Both stories are part of the Legacy anthology, so if you haven't read them, please buy the book and read both our stories and the others in the anthology.

I emailed a noted author who I've corresponded with in the past and asked them about this nomination. They have written their share of tie-in novels, so they have some knowledge of the awards. I also asked if this was something that should be trumpeted. Their response: "Congrats! Trumpet to the world. This is a good award from a good group. Bask. Enjoy. Recognition is always good."

So, I'm going to do that. I'm thinking there should be something sent to me officially informing me of my nomination. When I do get that, I'll take a picture and post it to the blog. End of the Road was a pleasure to write, and its themes came together in a story about war and its survivors easily. I hope the voters find it the same way to read as I did to write it. Again, thank you to the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers for this honor.

Craig

Forever Faithful -- The New Beginning of the Novel Line

Forever Faithful is the new Battletech novel, written by senior veteran Battletech writer, Blaine Lee Pardoe. While it isn't a Dark Age novel, it does flesh out some events leading up to several Dark Age events. I won't get into spoilers here, but there is a lot of groundwork about a certain group and the final fates of several characters from the Twlight of the Clans series are given their due.

As I have said before, the Jihad suffered from the lack of novels. The main reason was because it was caught in the gulf between FASA and Wizkids -- Wizkids wanted a new start, so they had a "Jihad" and moved the timeline forward sixty years. Fanpro, then later on, Catalyst Game Labs, had to take the Jihad and flesh it out. With the novels in limbo (In a legal sense, I think, but don't quote me on that.), the Jihad had to be explored through sourcebooks, short stories, and other products. The closest we got to a Jihad-era novel was Embers of War by Jason Schmitzer, which is set at the very beginning of the Jihad.

But Brent Evens, Battletech's Lead Developer, decided to concentrate on the IlClan era. And leading the way for this new era of Battle, the 35th anniversary of the game, would be the fiction. Novels and novellas would fill in the events around Shattered Fortress and IlClan, to take the Universe forward into the new era. (I still have no knowledge of any short stories plans. All I've heard is rumor, and even if I knew, I couldn't say anything.)

On a personal level, I hope that one day, Catalyst will go back and fill in the Jihad and some of the other eras with no novels or novellas. There are so many rich events that had yet to be written about in fiction. The Reunification War, The Amaris Civil War, the First and Second Succession Wars are untapped sources of stories that are the equal of any we've already seen. I, however, see Brent's reasoning. The need to fully flesh out the new era is the priority, and with this being the 35th year.

But Blaine isn't done. he has a novella and another novel that will get things rolling in this new era. I don't know when they'll be out, but I betting around Gencon. After that, I don't know.

But I don't want to neglect the two novellas that  came out at last year's Gencon. Blane Pardoe's The Anvil and Phil Lee's A Splinter of Hope. Both cover events written about in Shattered Fortress and gives depth to those events.

Brent has said that fiction was the driving force of Battletech in the past, and he wants to see the fiction driving the new era. I hope to be one of those who does the driving and I do have one or two Battletech projects that might see the light of day one of these days.

In the meantime, some of my stories are out there -- In the Battletech anthology Legacy I have a story, as well as the soon-to-be widely released Battlecorps Anthology 6: Front Lines. Hopefully other Battlecorps anthologies will be released.

In the meantime, I had a good month of February writing-wise, exceeding my monthly goal by almost two thousand words. Most of that was involved in related Battletech products I'm working on, mostly speculative as to whether or not they'll ever see the light of day as official products.

So, that's it for now. Trying to write blog posts isn't easy and I know little about what's going behind the scene is so little to begin with and what little I do know is covered by my NDA, so even if I knew anything juicy, I couldn't say anything. That's how it goes....

Later!

Craig

Not Really a Year in Review Post.....

As the title says, not much of a Year in Review, because there isn't much to review. . . .

2017 was a quiet year for Battletech. Our new Line developer (Brent Evens) has been working at getting the line back to where it was several years ago, with the timeline rolling forward. But beyond the already announced products for 2018 (the two boxed sets), he is otherwise keeping things close to his vest. Hopefully with the new year, he'll reveal more to us freelancers about what his plans are for Battletech.

My only published Battletech story last year was "End of the Road" in the Legacy Anthology, which was at Gencon. That's my second Battletech Story in Print (Hikagemono was in Battlecorps Anthology Volume VI: Front Lines).

"End of the Road" is a special story for me, because I got to spotlight a part of one of the least written regiments in the Battletech universe --- Stone's Lament. With so little written about them, I was able to take several bits and pieces I had written before and add them into the mix in a canon way.

While neither one are available in print form at the moment, I hope there are plans to make them so. But as to when and how, I don't know.

As for the "special project" I mentioned before --- still under development, but I still have great hope for it to be published.

Now, what does 2018 hold? A lot, if Brent has his way. He has already publicly stated that he wants Battletech to become again a fiction-driven universe, but in what manner or form we don't know yet. He's out of the office until next week, enjoying his Christmas/New Years holiday. Once he is back, we will hopefully know more about what he has planned. As for Randall, he's still involved with Dragonfire, Dragonfire, and Dragonfire. . . .

So, that' it. Not much happening at the moment. A lot of stuff is going on behind the scenes, but not may of us know what that is at the moment. We are as much in the dark as everyone else is. IlClan will be released, but I am not involved, so I don't know when or any other details.

But I am hopeful for 2018. Ideas have been tossed around and we should see some come to fruition in the next twelve months. The writers, line developers, painters, demo agents, and volunteers are looking forward to moving into the new era and taking the universe into uncharted territory.

The next two years should be interesting ones --- 2018 will bring Battletech out of it's years-long slumber and 2019 is the 35th anniversary of the game. Has it really been that long since I picked up the second edition Battletech box from a Hobby Store in Laurel, MD --- 30+ years?

So, that's what's going on --- not much of anything for 2017. 2018, on the other hand, looks to be a big year for the game and the universe and hopefully, we can carry that momentum into 2019 and do the 35th anniversary of the game right. I'm looking forward to where the universe goes and hope to be part of the team that helps create it.

And I will leave you with this holiday toast:

To all those present, I give you a Toast!

May the coming year be full of joy and light,
May friendships and romance survive more then a night.
May you find strength, peace and health this coming year,
May no darkness, hate and sorrow fill your soul with tears.
May life grant you everything it can,
May you find the grace to help your fellow man.
With this toast I do say,
May this year be nothing but brighter days!

Toast!

Happy New Year and on to 2018!

Craig

Hurry up and wait

I wish I could say I had news about the future of Battletech fiction, but nothing at yet. These things take time, and I hope they sort out soon.

But Brent Evens did drop a few hints when he answered a couple of fans questions on the "Ask the Lead Developer" board on the official Battletech forum. In one answer, he says the following:

From start to finish, 2018 is going to be a big year for BT with lots of reasons to roll dice and blow stuff up. One of the big pushes here is to once again use fiction (novels & novellas) to drive the storyline, heroes and conflicts. From book stores to websites there will lots of ways immerse yourself in BattleTech. (Italics mine)

 In another thread, Brent answers a series of questions, including this one:

[Question] Where do YOU PERSONALLY see Battletech going under your reign as Lead Developer for the next year?
[Answer] Two totally different flavors to that question so I'll answer both. In universe BattleTech will go through and beyond the battles promised in ilClan. The storyline blazes forward - with FICTION driving the IP narative (not sourcebooks.) In the real world though BT will absolutely be 'going' into the hands of new players, with box sets and support products that serve as gateway products into the game. (Again, Italics mine)

And this question and answer:

[Question] Will we get novels about the Home World Clans during the Wars of Reaving?
[Answer] Actually no, not in the short term, and if you had the power you wouldn't change that. Novel content releases at a really slow pace and there are much more important universe-plot-driving stories that need to be told. I'd love to see a series of Novellas telling those tales, but the chaffing you are feeling about that content is a downside of using sourcebooks to drive an IP (which was a reality Herb/Ben faced but which has changed for my tenure in the role.) Like I said, the industry is evolving, and we have to fit the stories we want/need to tell into a solicit-able schedule. Hope that makes sense. (and yet again, Italics mine)

So, along with the answer to other questions (Everything Brent said was posted a public forum, and he hasn't come out and told us freelancers what's happening, because plans are still being put into place), The impression I'm getting (and is is my opinion only, based on only what Brent has said publicly) is that he wants to have Battletech hit the ground running in 2018 --- with product and fiction, with Fiction leading the way forward in the universal story.

What does it mean to us writers? Not a clue. As I said, plans are still not in place, and we haven't been given anything to go on at this time. Is it frustrating? Yes! I want to sink my literary teeth into stories, maybe even novellas, and hope for a shot at a novel down the road (Novels are assigned to veteran writers, and I don't think I'm quite at that level yet.) I've done one or two side project relation to Battletech, but my writing ATM is in other areas (See my other blog --- Trboturtle's Writing Pad --- Life, the Universe and NaNoWriMo..... --- for details.

So, right now,. we are in a hurry up and wait mode, until all the pieces are in place. I don't know when that will be or what needs to be done, so all I can do is wait with the other writers until we are given the path we must follow into the next Battletech age.

Later!

Craig

A Changing of the Guard

In life, things change. People move onto other jobs, decide to spend more time with their family, or need some time to themselves.

No, I'm not talking about myself. I'm staying where I am....

However, who I deal with at Battlecorps has changed. Jason Schmitzer has decided to move on and left as Battlecorps Editor at the beginning of the year.

So, who replaced him?

John Helfers.

Who?

I was familiar with the name, but didn't really know who he was. So, I looked him up. The following is from the Penguin website: John Helfers' Bio

John Helfers is an author and editor currently living in Green Bay, Wisconsin. During his sixteen years working for Martin H. Greenberg at Tekno Books, he co-edited more than twenty short story anthologies, as well as overseeing numerous other ones for publishers in all genres. He worked with many well-known authors and co-editors, including Lawrence Block, Larry Bond, Dale Brown, Stephen Coonts, Nelson DeMille, Charlaine Harris, John Jakes, Anne Perry, Jeffery Deaver, Michael Connelly, Walter J. Boyne, Harold W. Coyle, Mercedes Lackey, Margaret Weis, Kevin J. Anderson, Ice-T, Richard Belzer, and Max Allan Collins. He has also edited more than forty complete novels by such authors as Doug Allyn, Brendan DuBois, James Patrick Hunt, and Jean Rabe.

He has also published more than forty short stories in anthologies such as If I Were An Evil Overlord, Time Twisters, and Places to Be, People to Kill. His fiction has appeared in anthologies, game books, and novels for the Dragonlance®, Transformers®, BattleTech® and Shadowrun® universes. He has written both fiction and nonfiction, including the third novel in the first authorized trilogy based on The Twilight Zone™ television series, the YA novel Tom Clancy’s Net Force Explorers: Cloak and Dagger, and a history of the United States Navy. His essays on the military have appeared in Beyond Shock and Awe, and in theHow to Lose a War series, including recent volumes on the Civil War and World War II. His most recent nonfiction book, The Vorkosigan Companion (co-edited with Lillian Stewart Carl) a guide to the science fictional world of Lois McMaster Bujold, was nominated for a 2009 Hugo Award. In 2010, the Shadowrun anthology Spells & Chrome won the Origin Award for Best Game- Related Product.

In 2011, he left Tekno Books to become a full time freelance writer and editor. He wrote several novels in the Room 59™ espionage series for Worldwide/Gold Eagle Publishing (including the launch book, The Powers That Be) and has also written novels in their Deathlands™ and Mack Bolan/Executioner™ series. Currently he’s working on several tie-in and original projects in both the adult and YA genre.

That is an impressive resume.....

Not that Jason wasn't good -- without his help, I wouldn't have grown as a Battlecorps writer. and we had a few discussions via IM and email about different subjects involving writing and stuff. He was the one to decided The Lance Killer was good enough to publish, and he did the same for every other story he published. He didn't accept everything from me --- I had a few misfires. He took on a tough role and did it for eight years herding a bunch of cats disguised as freelance writers, most of the time by himself until Phillip Lee assumed the assistant editor slot. A truly thankless job, but he did it and stories were still being published. He decided to leave on his own, to devote more time to his job and his family. I don't think we've seen the last of him.

But Battlecorps website goes from a strong editor to an even stronger editor. It's clear that Catalyst want the fiction to become an even stronger part of the company. No other game besides BattleTech and Shadowrun has placed such an heavy emphasis on the fiction --- it is through the novels and to a lesser extent, the short stories, advance the timeline and fill is small parts of the universe to make it come alive. and with the revamping of the Battlecorps website in the works, we should see a strong, better Battlecops website.

But John's more than Battlecorps' new editor, he is also overseeing all of Catalyst Games Lab's Fiction lines --- Shadowrun, Battletech, and any other fiction lines that come to fruition. Short stories, novels, anthologies --- they are his domain. He was brought on in 2013 to shepherded the return of the Shadowrun novels. When Jason left, John took over as Battlecorps editor, ably assisted by Battlecorps' Assistant Editor, Phillip Lee.

So, I have a new editor to become familiar with, a new way of doing things, and new challenges. I'm looking forward to John's stewardship of Battlecorps.

Welcome aboard, boss.

Craig

New Battletech Anthology Out

I can't believe it's been six months since I posted on this blog.....

Time for a quick update:

My story "Shadow Angels" was published on the Battlecorps website in (month) and I should have another story up soon. There's a third story I submitted for another anthology, which has a neat premise. There are a few other things floating in the wind, but nothing I can say anything about. And a few other non-BT related things......

According to my stats, that makes twenty-five stories published by Battlecorps, and a combined word count of slightly over two hundred thousand words. That's not bad, and hope to see twice as many stories on the site one day soon.

Anyhow, what this post is about is the new print Battletech anthology that came out at Gen Con (Cover is the picture above.) Volume 6: Front Lines is important to me because it is the first time one of my Battlecorps stories has appeared in physical print. Jason Schmitzer, Battlecorps' editor chose my story "Hikagmono" for this print anthology. I discuss "Hikagemono' in this blog post, so I won't repeat what I said there here. All I will say is that I'm honored that this story was one of those selected for this honor.

Right now, I'm involved in writing my third co-authored novel (non-BT) novel and I'm still waiting for a chance to write a Battletech novel. But for now, I'm content that I'm making headway.

It's a short post, but I will NOT let six months pass by without a blog post. That is something I want to strive to achieve the rest of the year...

Later!!

Craig

Writing for Factions

(Another image from HBS for their Battletech computer game. Appropriate for this blog entry)

Writing for Battletech mean writing from more than one faction's viewpoint. At any one time period, there will be anywhere between a dozen to more than two dozen factions I can choose from and write for.

I have my favorite faction, but writing for just one faction is not only limiting, but can be boring after a while. Each faction has their own set of history, values, and beliefs unique to them. It would be limiting to ignore them, just because I don't like the faction.

It's the challenge of reading about the faction (Be it one of the major interstellar states, one of the minor ones, a clan, or even a named Merc unit), finding the right plot that fits that faction, a time, a place and mixing them all together to create the story. It's establishing the characters and their motivations, which are tied to their faction. Their background backgrounds are formed from their factions, from a Combine soldier squaring off against a relative to reclaim the family's honor, to a civilian leading his town's population to attack an invading enemy, to a WOB agent defending an HPG station against a mob. The character must reflect their faction's POV (Or have a good reason not to --- in either case the faction's POV is the starting point for the character, and it goes from there.)

A word about POV: When I use the term "Faction's POV" (Point of view) I mean what does the normal character from that faction (Interstellar State, Clan, Comstar/WOB) believes in. For example, the Combine has a neo-samurai worldview, while the later Confederation has Xin Sheng, The Free Words League has local concerns and less interstellar unity. The Outworld Alliance has a strong pacifist streak, while the Concordant is fearful of the FedSuns. It is the generally accepted views of the factions majority. 

Looking back over the Battlecorps stories that I have published, I see that six of them have a strong FedSun/FedCom POV, while five others are from a Combine POV. Four have a strong WOB POV, four more with a Commonwealth/Alliance viewpoint, while only one of those stories has a FWL POV. Two Clan-centric stories (each from a different Clans), a single Outworlds POV, and three that have a Confederation POV as part of the story (but one one is what I would considered the main POV for the story)

So, I have plenty of other factions that I can still explore.

Word of Advice For Writers: When writing a character from their POV, be sure to know that character's faction mindset. It will form the base of the character, and from there, the character can be shaped. A Combine soldier will react differently to some situations than a FedSuns soldier would.

But it doesn't mean every character is 100% locked into their faction's mindset 100% all the time. A Confederation soldier is going to have a different level of intensity of mindset as compared to a Death Commando --- not that the soldier is disloyal to the Confederation, but compared to a Death Commando, his mindset is less set. Playing with different levels of the POV will help develop the character to be more fully realized, even if the evidence never appears in the story itself.

That's all for tonight.

Later!

Craig

Update and Thoughts About Writing in Eras.

(This picture is from the new Battletech game HBS is working on. It's their's, I'm just borrowing it because it looks good.)

Okay, I dropped two more stories into the slush pile, so that's now five I'm waiting for word back on. I'm also waiting word on another story I have, to see if it's still a viable story (It has been on my HD for a while, as one of those things that goes on behind the scenes cropped up just as I was finishing it....) The special project has been sent somewhere else for a look-see, and I'm sitting back and looking at what to do next.

And I've noticed a certain discussion that pops up on the forums --- playing in eras. Some people are firmly planted in 3025, and no father. Others stake 3050 as their go no father point, while others play Jihad and beyond. I'm not here to discuss what games era is best for you; that is your decision. What I am going to talk about is writing in different eras.

Most of my stories have been set between 3025 -3090, in part because there was a lot of background to work with during those years. Until recently, the Amris Civil war and the earlier Reunification War were broad-stroke events, with little detail for a writer to grab onto. Catalyst has rectified that, as well as laying out the exact structure of the SLDF and the House forces around the time of the Amris Civil War. I intend on generating story ideas based on those eras and see what happens.

But writing in different eras means a slight change in the approach. The Star League era has differences in technology and political situations to take in account that the Jihad era or the Reunification War era. It's digging through TROs to make sure the BattleMech or vehicle you want to use actually exists in that era. It's checking to see if there's been a change in the rank structure for a military force, and the world in question is actually part of the state you want it to be at that time period. I have to be aware of the political forces at that time (I am well aware of what the politics are post-jihad, but pre-Amaris Star League politics are a different kettle of fish).

For example, I had a Reunification War-era story I am currently writing. I need to know what 'Mechs and vehicles were around at the time and who had them. That also means I have to have the right variant of said 'Mech, and know the difference between the two. (Example: the 1N Rifleman is very different from the 3N model -- the 1N is 10 tons lighter, and has only paired large and medium lasers. Ironically enough, it also has slightly more armor protection than the better-known 3N.)

I also had to dive deep into the politics of the era and the military movements. I needed to know the which planet to stage my story on, who was fighting who, and what happened. I have to fit the story into the established narrative seamlessly. A different set of details to make it stand out from later stories.

So, I need to get back to this story......

Later!

Craig

And Two More Away!

Earlier today, I e-mailed my first two Battlecorps story submissions of the year. One is a sequel to a previous Battlecorps story, while the other is in a Battletech era I haven't written in before. I have no idea how they'll be accepted, but there's no time to wait.

There are other stories in the pipeline -- one will be published soon, and three (including the two I sent today) I'm waiting word on. There's three more stories near completion, and that special project is near done.

As for behind the scenes --- it's been quiet as Catalyst takes a breath before diving into the New Year. Things are moving at the upper levels, but the freelancers will know when we're giving our marching orders. Right now, a bunch of the freelancers/staff are digging out from the 2+ feet of snow they had dumped on them, so they may be a few minor delays as they recover from shoveling a lot of snow. . .

It's a short post tonight, as it's close to 3am here, and I need to get some sleep.

Later!

Craig

Swiming Upstream

I haven't blogged the last two weeks, because there isn't much I can say at the moment. A few things have happened behind the scenes that I can't go into detail about (Mostly because there are no detail to be had at the moment.)

On the personal BC front, the first C&C has come back on the three stories I sent to the workshop and I'm beginning to go over them. I don't want to rush them, as I want as much C&C as I can get on them before the final draft and submission. So, It's small steps on that front.

Most of my time since the last blog entry was spent working on another, related BT project (NOT a novel!) and beaten into shape. I'm just waiting on some minor detail and I'll start the process of submitting it.

Again, nothing new on the new Battletech novel front. Things must be happening, but they're going on at a level much higher that I have access to. Catalyst lets me know what I need to known, when I need to know it. I find out when things are published the same time as the fanbase does. I have no problem with this, because I don't need to know what's going on at the management level. I'm not management, I'm not making management decisions, and I have no say in the management of the company. I'm a freelancer --- I'm given an assignment, I complete it, and enjoy doing it. I then move onto the next assignment. Right now, my "Assignment" is to write more Battlecorps stories. If something comes up and I've a new assignment, I will do that.

It's a new year and the future is still unwritten. I will try to write some of it, and I hope you come along.

Later!

Craig

Gearing up for 2016

2015 was a bit of a wash for me when it came to Battlecorps stories -- only two published stories in the last twelve months. I do have a good excuse --- I was co-writing two techno-thriller novels for a large chunk of last year -- a combined 145,000 words between the two of them.

But now both of them are out of the way, it back to Battlecorps business. I've dusted off and revised three BC stories, which are now in the hands of the workshop and plan to do the same to two more completed first drafts. I have another story I'm waiting to be published, and just submitted another story before Christmas, so the ball is beginning to roll.

The goal, has it has been for the last several years, is to have six stories up on Battlecorps this year. One hopefully will be up before the end of the month, which leaves five to go. I am combing through my drafts, looking for ones that can be finished, or have a story seed I can use in another story. I will keep you apprised of my progress.

Nothing on the Battletech novel front. Most of that is happening way above my pay grade, and I will probably find out the same time you guys do. Being a Catalyst Freelance writer allows you a glimspe into what's going on behind the scenes, but rarely do you get the whole picture. And even if I did know what was happening,, NDA are in full effect.

Still, I have thrown a few BT novel pitches at the editor handling them, so we'll see if anything comes out of that. If not, we'll see if I can forge another novel idea. Until, it's Battlecorps stories and other stories not related to Battletech.

As I mentioned in my other blog, my goal is 5,000 original words a week, not words from rewriting, outlining, blogging, or anything other writing except story writing. Some will be Battlecorps writing, some of it won't, but the goal is 5,000 words a week MINIMUM.

To everyone out there, I leave you with this I wrote a while back and bring out this time of year.

To all those present, I give you a Toast!

May the coming year be full of joy and light,
May friendships and romance survive more then a night.
May you find strength, peace and health this coming year,
May no darkness, hate and sorrow fill your soul with tears.
May life grant you everything it can,
May you find the grace to help your fellow man.
With this toast I do say,
May this year be nothing but brighter days!

Toast!

Stay well, everyone and let's hit 2016 as hard as we can!

Craig