SW10/WRIMO: Cauldron, Afterword

Scott Eiler seiler at eilertech.com
Sat Nov 27 10:54:43 PST 2010


Famous writers such as Neil Gaiman like to take seventy-five monthly
issues to tell their complete story cycles. That is to say, six to
seven years. My own stories qualify - by a factor of four. Yes, I've
been writing for a while.

I've noticed a three-year cycle in my own stories; I've enjoyed the
unintentional intensity of 2004 and 2007. But I now notice a six to
seven year cycle in my stories. I can describe that cycle as:

   1. Startup. (1983-1990) I wrote three different storylines: dreams,
fan fiction, and good old adolescent male power fantasy.
   2. Escalation. (1991-1997) With help from "power fantasy" gamers, I
merged all the story lines. Ellipsis came from power fantasy. Wyatt
Ferguson came from the dreams, but he got the fan fiction stuff too.
   3. Fan Fiction. (1998-2003, or, The Yearbooks Part 1) I still had
fan fiction in my story line. So I wrote about any comic book content
I wanted. My concluding story involved Batman, Doctor Strange, and my
own "power fantasy" character Ellipsis.
   4. Amateur Fiction. (2004-2010, or, The Yearbooks Part 2) I finally
swore off publisher comic book content. My characters have been strong
enough to carry the story on their own. But they've very much changed
their world. I sense a concluding story coming soon, if not now.

Rec.arts.comics.creative has seen roughly the last year of the last
cycle. The current story "Cauldron" is the major story for these last
three years and seven years. I hope it's worthy.

If I had to extrapolate, I'd have to say my next seven-year cycle is
that I increase my web production values with active content, and
build an active online readership. After that, I might finally go
traditionally professional - if traditional profession in publication
means anything by then. Thank you rec.arts.comics.creative for
continuous peer review that might help me do that.

I've sympathized for my poor characters being assaulted, but I've
loved to read this story as I wrote it and the stories leading up to
it. I keep saying, "Shit!" Shit Indeed.

This is the sort of story that comic books are infamous for. Here we
have an Earth-wide crisis. How shall we bring things back to
normal? ... No. We shall not. There can be no "normal" after a crisis
like this.

I know where this story leads. I've actually written that story
already. I call it "Earth 2011". And a mighty story it is, in my own
opinion. But I don't really feel like writing it again. I'd rather
write about (for instance) why people have to erect pyramids along the
St. Lawrence River to ward off the evil spirits.

I won't abandon my world or its story, though. For me it's all one
story line, and it never ends. But I'm ready to take the next cycle a
different way.

Superhuman World 2010 is leading to survivalists. I love reading a
survivalist story as much as anyone, and if I were to go pro I'd
probably have to knock one out, but I'm likely to write other stuff
more regularly.

My story is already full of universes. I have one world of interest,
from 2003-2005 stories. It's the kind of world where mystic Egyptians
might actually need to help secure the St. Lawrence River against
demons. I've already declared a way there, through the Sunset Door. My
avatar Wyatt Ferguson is likely to be there, helping refugees onto a
world that already had its catastrophe and needs people to help it
recover.

For people who actually read my stories, I propose the following
codewords:

    * SW11. My aspiringly-infamous Earth 2011. Survivalist follow-ons
of Superhuman World 2010 go here. Even if the stories extend into
2012, SW11 will be a fine tag.
    * BTD. Beyond The Door. Refugees of Superhuman World 2010 may
settle other worlds. Hello to the Omniverse!

(signed) Scott Eiler, 26 November 2010.


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