rubyodegee Progress Report

Stories that keep me guessing about where the monsters are hiding. Under my bed or in my head?

rubyodegee Progress so far

36525 words 365.25% completed!

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Why the dark scary stories? Because while teaching I restricted myself to reading literature or young people's genre fiction that did not include scary stories, unless they were considered classics. I didn't have time to read or review "monsters under the bed stories." So now I am moving my interest in gothics along. I'm spending more time reading and writing soft horror, Gaslamp mysteries and science fiction.
Licensing for Candela Obscura stories and for the use of their world is what I anticipated. This makes it far less difficult to use my "other side of the Bridleborne Mountain" plans to create mirrored world that is trying not to repeat the issues confronting the big city, while not being able to escape thinning of the flare and the bleed that follows either.
Between preparing for World Ember and writing articles for the end of the year (January's competition), it is a challenge to finish at least five Black Ichor scenarios I am working on, but its also a joy to have these tasks to do. By January 15th, the entire process should be at the last editing stage for the work left, but there will always be the expansion to work on. And without starting from scratch. This is why I love the idea of narrative TTRPG storytelling. Set it up and ask the player characters to takeover the helm.   Once that gets tiresome, I can go back to short story telling that is akin, but definitely not the same. It means my own characters won't only be providing information, they will be solving problems.
     

Fiction First, Narrative writes the action, not the roll. Author scenarios that lean into chracter storytelling that supports a meaningful genre thread.   I've been working wth RPGs for nearly 20 years. Its been a behind the stage screen experience. Building 3d worlds with Blender, Unity and various platforms has been a time consuming, but worthwhile adventure. Since it took so much time, I missed out on the learning to write TTRPG scenarios, so last year I dropped out of the building 3d worlds and embarked on the building worlds with words journey.   More confusing than I thought it would be in general. For example, instead of starting with a character like I've always done when writing character driven fiction, I needed to remind myself to start with the villain and the ends to my tales. Leaving storytelling to the characters (agency) means that I needed to be sure I included everything those characters needed to storytell their adventures. So I tried a couple of methods that proved to be more confusing and hurled myself back to the start. Now I am here again with a difference. I actually spent part of my summer playing with group of Blades in the Dark and Candela Obscura TTRPG gamers, who are far more experienced than I will ever be. My game master, a professonal, is and extraordinary story facilitator and I plan to spend the next few months learning more about what he needs to interest his players. No, I don't plan to game master. My plan to write and illustrate scenarios instead.   If and when "access" to open 3d worlds is made better, I would like to experiment with TTRPG played with projection, but that is a few years from now. In the meantime I will work on becoming a better Scum and Villainy player while waiting for Illuminated Worlds to publish their much anticipated by me Complete Guildebook. I've already sent my wish to Santa.   Update: The complete Candela Obscura guidebook is in my hands. This means I can finish writing world elements left out until I consulted the book. I didn't mind a smidge of overlap, but neither did I want the structure of writing a side by side story to collapse either. Not only does it not collapse, the process of using adaptation is working well.

Interests & Hobbies

Images

3D World Building & Modeling Atheneum, Butterfly Propulsion, Who Console
3D World Building & Modeling Atheneum, Butterfly Propulsion, Who Console by Ruby O'Degee
Sugar Plum Fairy Rag Doll
Sugar Plum Fairy Rag Doll by Ruby O'Degee
Opera Singer Friend Tribute to Klee Watercolor
Opera Singer Friend Tribute to Klee Watercolor by Ruby O'Degee

Adopted Parents of four cats: Socks, Lilybit, Crystal & Dew, Water Color, Art Dolls, Pen & Ink Drawing, 3D Modeling and 3D World Building, Writing Fiction & text World Building, Story Catography, Collography & Book Binding, Handmade Paper Making, Bread Making (NOT Cooking!)... To be Continued.

Favorite Movies

  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1957 version
  • Classic Jane Eyre
  • Blue Velvet
  • Silence of the Lambs
  • Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo, North by Northwest
  • Rosemary's Baby
  • Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
  • The Shining, Misery, Carrie, The Stand, The Dead Zone
  • The Thing
  • Crimson Peak, Midnight Mass, The Pale Blue Eye, The Cabinet of Curiousities
  • Classic Scrooge
  • Star Wars, Sequels, Prequels, Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • The Hobbit,The Silmarillion, Lord of the Rings
  • The Prestige, Dunkirk, Oppenheimer, Interstellar, Insomnia
These are only the mystery/horror films I enjoy watching (some every year). I am a film buff. Albeit my favorites are usually physcological thrillers or historical movies, I like a tear jerking family dramas, biopics, inventive comedy and a little romance when I've "horrified" myself watching too many thrillers.

Favorite TV Series

  • One Step Beyond
  • Twilight Zone
  • The X Files
To be Continued

Favorite Books

  • The Stand, Rita Hayworth & the Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Shining...
  • Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Dracula
  • He, She & It, Woman on the Edge of Time
  • Oryx & Crake, Handmaids Tales, Lady Oracle, Testaments...
  • Seveneves, Snow Crash. Anathem, Termination Shock...
  • Name of the Rose, Prague Cemetery, Foucault's Pendulum...
  • Son of the Circus, Cider House Rules, World According to Gap
  • Desperaux (the book, NOT the movie), Tiger Rising, Magician's Elephant
To be Continued

Favorite Writers

Charotte and Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens, Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, Sheridan Le Fanu, Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, John Irving, Marge Piercy, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Kate DiCamillo, Neal Stephenson, Daniel Quinn, Barbara Kingsolver, Arthur Conan Doyle, Earle Stanley Gardner, Bram Stoker, Ann Rice, JRR Tolkien, Agatha Christie, To Be Continued

Favorite Games

Scum and Villainy, Candela Obscura, Vaesen, Myst, Riven, Myst Chronicles, Myst Revelations, Myst V, Obduction & Firmament, Clue, Mystery Mansion, 221 Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, Machinarium, Uncle Wiggly, To be continued.

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