Never let the truth get in the way of a good story

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What a week, what a week. My headspace is absolutely buzzing and I haven't updated this journal in a really long time. I should really make a habit of writing more often.

There's been a lot of writings to do with Shimmer, mostly due to the fact that I'm co-writing a crossover with another serial, the Legion of Nothing by Jim Zoetewey. I am to say the least incredibly excited to be pulling something like this together, especially considering that I'm a sucker for crossovers. (Back in the days I used to write fanfic I pretty much exclusively wrote crossovers.)

( Shimmer, Star Trek, the Bible, Al )

Well, tomorrow I head off to Supanova to man the Wibbly Press table and whore my wares to thousands upon thousands of conventioneers. It's something of a foreboding task for a recovering agoraphobic like myself, but I'm confident that I'll get through it without a scratch! (Hell, if that guy who looked like me could do it, then so can I!)

Vaguely I fear running into people I haven't spoken with in a year, namely a few former friends who I silently fell out with for a reason that eludes me. Not friendships I'm bothered with fixing, I'll admit, but I worry that with their arrival that drama will inevitably follow. Even worse: what if somebody from way back points and goes "hey, aren't you Opera Guy/Sparta Guy?" *shudder*

Whatever. It might serve as a pleasant distraction from everything else bothering me, namely the red tape that comes with helping Al with his travel arrangements. Even though I've (hopefully) planned for every contingiency I still find myself with this lingering dread thinking 'what if they don't approve his visa?' It's not a thought that sits well with me, even though that's not likely. All I know is that if anything happened... maybe I've hinged too much on this (or maybe I'm just that much in love. Go figure.)

Finally, finally, FINALLY! New Shimmer relaunches next week after a long delay! I'll be updating twice a week on mondays and fridays, and will be sure to post links here on LJ.

That's all from me. Maybe I should get some rest. I can still hear Al's voice telling me "you need an early night, babe" but I've been spoiled. I can't fall asleep without hearing his voice anymore. Damn him. (That's okay. My revenge is that he can't sleep without hearing mine, either. I'll try my best to restrain myself and not gush about how adorable he is, though I fear I may be too late.)

Ugh... Randi, you're such a sap.

Usually I spend most of my time banging away at Shimmer as I try to make it even better, but a majority of the comments I receive about my writing are about Good Kitty Bad. Most of them seem to consist of a universal line of thinking that basically goes "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO WRITE MORE!?"

Alright, people. Fine. I cave. I'll write more. I'm halfway through the first chapter and will post it on LJ when it's completed. (I know I sound frustrated, but it's actually come as a refreshing change, but I'm not giving up Shimmer for it. No way, no how.)

In part this is my gift to sakenichi. Yes, Jules, I'm writing Good Kitty Bad mostly for you. All of your LJ entries lately say depressed, and you are for good reason all things considered, and while there's not much I can say I figured 'hey, at least I can do this' and hope you smile a little because of it.

I hope the rest of you enjoy it too. You all nagged me for it, so you probably will. :P

For those of you interested I've decided to post the first part of the new Shimmer rewrite. It's not been announced on Wibbly yet, and I swear I'll get around to that sometime.

It's been a lot of hard work starting again from scratch, and for the most part I hope it pays off. I don't know if it's better than the original or not, but I do know that this version is going to be a lot cleaner and a lot more coherent.

Think I should keep posting these on LJ too? Or maybe I could just link them from Wibbly. That is, once they reach Wibbly...

Anyway, for your reading pleasure, my comic book opus in prose form. Ladies, gentlemen, and distinguished others, I give you Shimmer #01...

EDIT: Please keep in mind that I may choose to scrap this new version entirely, but for the sake of my sanity let's hope not.

 

( All that Glimmers (Part 1) )

About a year ago I started writing a web serial called Shimmer. The premise was rather ambitious at best, needless complicated at the worst:

Kaira Cade and her brother Justin were superheroes, Glimmer Girl and Flashbolt. Justin, being the adventurous type, was the first to put on tights and a mask, while Kaira being the overprotective big sister that she was did the same for no other reason than to watch his back. Eventually, there was an accident, the two switched bodies, had to live each other's lives, then Justin was killed and Kaira was forced to spend the rest of her life as him. After a long, angsty grieving period she decided that if she wanted anything of her old life back she'd have to do it the hard way, with hormones, surgery, etc.

Part of the reasoning behind this was to tell the story of a cis person going through a semi-realistic trans experience, but I doubt it was anything like that to begin with. I got lost, the plot became too muddy, and after fleshing out the verse I found that I loved it, but I couldn't continue. Why? Because I hated my protagonist the way she was.

So I've decided to start over and make things simpler. I'm getting rid of the body-swap angle to start with. That's just... well, a little bit shit. Now it's probably just going to be about a trans teenager using her powers to escape her dreaded everyday male life into a superheroic female one that she prefers. Last I checked that still hadn't been done in the mainstream comic book worlds, so for as much as I can be I'm being original.

*raises my glass* Here's to Shimmer Mk II!