Tragedy on Highway 1

Didn’t make my goal, and won’t be writing on that wip until Thursday. Gotta double the word count!

I am an active participant of this year’s NaNoWriMo! National Novel Writing Month is around the corner!

I’m taking a serious break from ghostwriting. It’s time I started writing under my own name. This month’s novel is part of a Tragedy of Highway 1 series that takes place right here in Alaska. The series premise involves a horrific four vehicle pile-up, and the people who were affected.

November’s book will focus on an EMT first responder and his team.

Hope you’ll join me for some fun!

As most of you know, I’m an active duty Air Force member. My current home is Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. I’m trenching through some rough injuries so my future as an active duty member is probably ending. I had a long email chat with Lynn Viehl and Merline Lovelace. Lynn taught me to look at my new limitations a lot differently than I had been. My handicaps were daunting, but she pepped me up with the idea that it’s boot camp for the handicapped. Just needed a new perspective and now I’m back to my optimistic and highly focused self. Merline is the commander of RomVets, an organization of military veterans (from all over the world) who write romance. Falling into their community was one of the best things I could have done for a writing boost. Their stories are inspirational, and they’re just so warm and friendly (and so supportive!).

You’re looking at the newest member of RomVets, home of “Military Women who have turned Sword into Pen.”

Shield image is ©RomVets, http://www.romvets.com

Day 1 has finished for me in NaNoWriMo land. I’m 1,870 words into my novel and my main character, Minx, is living up to her namesake. She’s knee-deep in trouble and has no idea what to do about it.

You see, Minneapolis Draven has faced her first dark moment of adulthood…the death of someone who’d protected her. He wasn’t even someone she liked…and somehow that makes it harder. I look forward to seeing what mischief Minx can get into tomorrow. Until then, I’m out.

Welcome to the blog of Jessica D. Russell. I’m participating in NaNoWriMo this year. (National Novel Writing Month, check it out HERE). My novel is The Skies of Venus: A Steampunk Tale. I’ve created a button for motivation and can’t wait to get started!

Artwork and background done by me. The image of the woman is a stock piece I snagged for free during a 123rf.com giveaway. The series and characters are copyright Jessica D. Russell.

In the world of steampunk, time is, in essence, frozen. You may be in a futuristic world or in the past of our Earth. The rules are very simple. Technology does not pass a certain knowledge level. Whether your world is dystopic or utopic doesn’t matter as much as staying within the rules of the genre.

Things to consider before embarking on your steampunk worldbuilding:

1. The physical space involved in a steampunk equivalent machine (a machine that you create to replace technology in use today: A computer, for example.) far exceeds (in both weight, size, and density) the requirements for current technology’s usage.
2. There is an expected stylistic flair to steampunk. A way of doing business, costume requirements, customs and courtesies, etc. Do your research on the Victorian era.
3. The buzz and hum of white noise in our time is replaced by the whirr and clicks of white noise in steampunk. Involve all the senses. The smell of grease and steam, the tick of gears, the way food tastes…
4. Technology is only as important as the scene in which it is broken. Hear me out. If I’m on a solar sailor powered by the ether of space a la Treasure Planet, mentioning the solar sails is a side bar, a relatively unnoticed thing. Unless it breaks…at that point your replacement/repair is necessary and it somehow affects your character interaction.
5. Ultimately your world is a backdrop, the stage on which the players play. If you don’t have a character arc, a growth and change of/for your character, readers won’t care how much time you’ve put into your research. They will put your book down and walk away.

It starts with the story first. Remember that.

A friend sent me this and I thought I’d share. Star Wars characters redone in steampunk fashion:

Enjoy.

I am a steampunk and cyberpunk junkie. Over the next few weeks I’m going to introduce new readers to the steampunk genre so for those who are already fans, please bear with us. We have to start with rules in a world if we want to be able to break them.

Wikipedia defines Steampunk as:

…a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used-usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England-but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of “the path not taken” of such technology as dirigibles or analog computers; these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or a presumption of functionality.

So instead of beeping and buzzing, we have whirring and clacking. Steam powered everything. Fantastic. I am not a huge fan of “the path not taken” stories, but I love their historical settings. See Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow or the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for references.

I would love to introduce you to my world, and I will…soon. In the meantime, enjoy these last days of summer.

Welcome back to Jessica D. Russell. If it’s been a while since you’ve been here, you’ll notice a few new changes. We’re recovering from a complete overhaul of the site, some information lost, and a few other interesting challenges.

I hope you like the new site and look forward to giving you more news soon.