Beseech thy lord

[ArchAngel]

On another note, since you were talking glassware earlier, is there anything particularly wrong with just heat cutting a few beer bottles for basic tumblers? Not as good as a proper glass, I know, but they're free and would be nice for when I'm sharing my booze. Which is actually pretty often.

Understand, I'm using mason jars atm. I could probably afford a run to Goodwill but I'm spending averse even when I have money (the $150 I spent on alcohol in the last week notwithstanding).

For the most part, beer bottle tumblers is fine. I still need to get around to making a set out of some of my favorite bombers. I mean, they look bloody awesome.
So, ideally, you'd have something like this:

The Glencairn glass, developed specifically for drinking scotch. Heavy bottom to keep the center of gravity low, round glass for swirling and what not, and the top funnel to bring all the nose straight to yours.
while they aren't massively expensive, it's not like it's free. I've used them before, but I haven't gotten around to actually getting one yet. I'm still using stemless wine glasses, mostly. Those work fine too, as just like with wine, are designed to keep most of the nose from escaping off into the void.
To be honest, this all might just be details that are beyond my level. I guess the rule of thumb is to make sure the mouth of the glass isn't too big.

So I really want to do National Novel Writing Month. But I have no idea what I should write about.


I'm torn between a Science Fiction story, a historical fiction story set during the outbreak of World War I, or just a straight-up treatise on the World Wars.

Any input?

Oooh, man. I love me some Scifi. Something fierce. Never let it be said I've discouraged someone from writing science fiction, but... I'd read the poop out of some historical fiction if you wrote it. I probably just haven't delved deep enough into historical fiction, but it seems like WW1 has been largely glazed over by most.
A straight write-up on the World Wars also sounds really good, but I think it might not fall into to the scope of NaNoWriMo's "novel writing." There might be less of creative writing to it, but it seems like it'd be simpler than writing historical fiction (which seems daunting to me) and could also be a nice body to build your fiction novel off of.
But, if you're looking for votes: historical fiction set at the outbreak of WW1. I'm already excited.

[Deepfreeze32]

Yeah, I had thought about that, and did come up with a bit of a compromise. (And while I would love to write a sci-fi novel and probably will in the future, historical fiction seems to be the way to go now)

It would be interesting to me to the story in the same style as A Song of Ice and Fire. That is, POV characters who may not be directly involved with the action, but witness it. For instance (Some long-term arcs here, probably well outside 50,000 words):

A lady-in-waiting to the Austro Hungarian court who sees the death of the crown prince, and witnesses the unraveling of house Habsburg. A British soldier who was part of the African expeditions undertaken by the British empire, and fights in the trenches during the war. A young American who survives the Titanic, and later ends up flying for the allied powers over Europe. An Ottoman General who oversees the victory at Gallipoli, but also witnesses the dissolution of the Sultanate he has served all his life. A German U Boat captain who stalks the oceans for perceived threats to the Empire. A Russian who served the Royal family, and is thrown into the middle of the October Revolution when her close friends side with the Bolsheviks.

I also feel like to serve dramatic tension, it might be worth writing the occasional short blurb from an actual person's perspective. For instance, if I could ever work up the courage, it would be interesting to see the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand from either the archduke or the assassin's perspective. Or a retelling of the final moments of Manfred von Richtofen (The Red Baron) from his own eyes.

I feel like this may be a bigger slice of the pie than I can handle. I don't know, it's definitely a long-term goal now.


Thoughts?

[ArchAngel]

Dude.
Dudicus Dudius.
Dude von Dudestein.

That sounds awesome. I love the ASoIaF POV style, and I think it captures complex and dynamic environments really well. Perfect for your subject material. Your proposed characters sound all super interesting. The inner scoop on the Habsburg house. Gallipoli? Oh man.

The Red Baron? Booyah.

A challenge, I imagine, would be having all these lines interweaving and tying together in the end, but to see that work out, it'd be a work of art.

I'm not sure if I fully expressed how genuinely excited I am about the outlook of this.

[Deepfreeze32]

Dang, you're making me all embarrassed and stuff.


As for tying it together, I do have a plan...ish. No specific details, but spoilered in case you'd rather wait to see any of it.

Spoiler:

Assuming characters survive to the end of the war, it might be interesting to see them all somehow meet during the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. I've got some ideas to make the stories meet in some form or fashion, then close out each character's arc individually, epilogue style.

I do, however, want to end it with some mention that this war will have had lasting ramifications, leading to the possibility of a similar series for World War II. But that's a loooooong ways away.


Now I'm just hoping I can deliver on all this. XD

[ArchAngel]

Haha, there's always rewrites
I genuinely think you have a great idea, and reading your historical breakdowns, you have the chops.

I'm getting the feeling, considering the massive casualties in WW1, that you'd be knocking out POV characters with a GRRM gusto.

[Deepfreeze32]

Yeah, some of the soldier characters may not make it. I want to have at least a few characters survive start to finish though, since that would make the story all the more interesting.

This is going to be tough, finding time to write. XD


On a different note, which Sci-Fi authors do you like?

[ArchAngel]

Yeah, I'm worried about making time, too.

Hmm, Sci-fi authors I like.
Some staples:
Larry Niven: N-Space, baby.
Isaac Asimov: Love me some Foundation.
Frank Herbert: Granted, I only read Dune, but man, what a great novel.
Jules Verne: Father of Sci-fi. What's not to love?

Timothy Zahn: I've liked novels for a while, especially some of the Star Wars Expanded Universe stuff. One of my earliest favorite sci-fi authors.
David Brin: Still in his Uplift trilogy, but I'm loving the world he built and also the subsequent universes that it inspired. *coughStarControlcough*
Ray Bradbury: Not always sci-fi, but his short stories are something of wonder. There's just a fascinating quality to his writing, an ease of story-telling.

Going over this list, I'm realizing how much more I need to jump into this. I have yet to read Stephenson, Gibson, Weber, Heinlein (I know, I know!), etc. This is not to say I don't have their books...
And even for my favorite authors, I need to read more!

[ScotchRobbins]

Thoughts on the whole deal in Hong Kong?

[Deepfreeze32]

Timothy Zahn: I've liked novels for a while, especially some of the Star Wars Expanded Universe stuff. One of my earliest favorite sci-fi authors.

It makes me happy that he made it on this list. Zahn is probably the best author to ever tackle the Star Wars Expanded Universe. I think what made it work was the fact that he didn't attempt to link it with the movies to the degree most of the books did. I don't know, every book I read that tried to establish strong ties with the movies ended up being either lame, or retconned by the prequels. And yes, some of them were so bad the prequels were a marked improvement. XD

The X-Wing series and Jedi Academy series also hold special places in my heart, and I think they excelled by distancing themselves from the movies, as I described earlier.


On that note, what works from the Expanded Universe did you like, and what did you wish they had done more of?

[ArchAngel]

Oh man, it's been a while since I read Extended Universe, but man, I did like me some X-Wing series.
You're right about distancing themselves from the movies; the best stories made some space to grow.
But yeah, I liked Kevin J. Anderson's and Michael A. Stakepole's work, even though I don't remember much of it.

There were also the Young Jedi Knights series, but they didn't end up grabbing me as much.

[Orodrist]

I ended up just hitting the thrift shops. Got two of these and two of the same style but with gold lettering for a grand total of $2 for all four. I like those, good heft, balances nicely and shaped enough so I appreciate the nose of a good whisk(e)y.

Also got a pair of nice shot glasses with gold rims and British landmarks on them for another $1. So I done pretty good. Now just to find a good martini glass.


Beer batter: good beer, or just use whatever's cheap?

[ArchAngel]

Nice, those look pretty good and sounds like a good deal!

For Beer Batter (including beer boil), I go with the cheap beer. This is when I buy mass produced beer. I doubt I could tell the difference, and from what I've heard, good beer actually could go very wrong when used with cooking. Coors light or PBR does the trick for this.

[Orodrist]

I actually used whatever Sierra Nevada calls their fall seasonal IPA last night for onion rings. Turned out great but none of the bitter hoppiness carried through. But meh, now I have five more to drink.


Flaming shots?

[ArchAngel]

Oh, is it their Red IPA, like Flipside? There wasn't much of a hop kick on that one, and tasted more like a Irish red. Which sounds like it could work as a base for a batter.

Flaming Shots? Yeah, I've done a couple now and then. So long as you drink quick and confidently; I was able to avoid lip burns unlike some friends. 151 burns with a really nice blue, and not going lie, a spilled flaming shot was a pretty sight.

[Orodrist]

Ah yeah, the Flipside. Haven't actually taken more than a sip of the one I used for batter yet so I'm not sure what I think of it.

Hot drinks?

I've been coughing up a storm so I'm slinging down hot brandies like they're water. Forgot how much I liked these.